Which Medicare supplement to purchase?

Thunder Mountain wrote:
I talked to the staff at my doctor's office and they said that most of their patients use United Health Care supplements purchased through AARP. They said both patients and the office are happy with the service and benefits. They did tell me to stay away from Humana.

we have been enrolled in the United Health Care PPO since January 1 .... so far, so good .... prior to that we had Medicare as our primary coverage and secondary coverage through Blue Cross Blue Shield .... our problems with that coverage were with Medicare, not with Blue Cross .... we found that in our area many providers were no longer taking patients who had Medicare as their primary coverage .... I don't know if that still is the case

Jim

I don't understand the plans and how they vary from state to state.

We are in PA. DH has Medigap Blue, Plan F. He needed a good policy, as he is on dialysis and waiting for a transplant. We've been very happy with this plan.

The Medicare website has a great, free comparison tool designed to answer your question. It rates different providers by region. Quality, user satisfaction, cost.
Check it out.

I chose United Healthcare through AARP, plan "F". I have had this plan for almost 10 years and never once had a problem with acceptance or pay. I have used it on the road a few times and was never questioned. You do have to remember that the supplemental plans ONLY WORK WHEN MEDICARE ACCEPTS THE CHARGE. In my case, I have Medicare pass on the rest of the bill to the supplemental plan and the only issues arise when the MD or Hosp. tries to bill the supplemental directly. It is quickly fixed. So far, I have not had to pay out of pocket for anything I have had done, and I have had several hospitalizations and surgeries.
I am happy with my plan.

We have BCBS plan F supplement and have been very happy with it.

Thunder Mountain wrote:
They did tell me to stay away from Humana.

I have a nurse friend whose job is to investigate nursing home patient complaint/abuse issues. She works for a state that isn't one of the ones you mention. But FWIW, her advice is also to stay far, far away from Humana. She says they are notorious for pushing patients out of the hospital early and for refusing to pay for rehab stays.

Search out an insurance broker that specalizes in retirement insurance plans and ask them. They are the experts not an rv oriented forum. When DW retired that what we did. Turnes out she was better off with Kaiser for cost vs benefits ratio. No matter who you choose search out a plan that fits your budget. Most will offer different price plans. Personally anything aarp endorses I shy away from.

I have AARP and have had nothing but praise for it. I use Transamerica for my part D drug program and they have been very good. I went with them because they covered more of the meds that I need for my diabetes and asthma that AARP did not cover.