For some of us, in academia or other very large employers, we do not have a Medicare supplemental, as such, but rather our former employers continue us on the employee health insurance program as retirees with the caveat that Medicare is first, then they cover what Medicare doesn't. We retired from U of Texas (Tyler) and never, ever see a bill. Since we are on these plans, the caveat is that they have to be comparable to Medicare supplements - same with our prescription coverage; we get a statement every year that the plan is comparable to Part D coverage. Unlike some other organization, we are fortunate in that we don't have any co-pays except for our meds. And we also can get Vision & Dental since those are available to all employees. Also helps that big organizations (like the UT System) are self-insured and just use BCBS to administer the program.
Not to say there aren't some problems - like with our prescription plan - the formulary (list of meds they will cover) often change each year because the group doing the review are all at med schools or campuses that have a Pharmacy School. So they do academic studies and each year there will be a new list of drugs (usually combinations) that will no longer be paid for and we have to go with similar and hope they work as well.
