Medicare Advantage- Supplemental-Medigap Insurance Plans

[rondeb]

We have a Medicare HMO plan of which we would like to switch to another plan that is a little more friendly to those of us that leave their home for 5 or more months at a time.

I understand that each location has different plans available, however some of the plans will be available in all states if the company is doing business there.

What programs are you guys using. Are you happy with it. I am aware that a lot of the plans are going to go away this next year do to Obamacare, but I am just trying to get as much information as I can ahead of the time.


Thanks for any input you can give.

[Clay_L]

smkettner wrote:
Mom has no supplemental plan. Copays do not seem that expensive.

Copay is not the issue. It's the 20% of the bill that Medicare doesn't pay that the supplemental does that makes it very worthwhile to have a supplemental policy.

[Clay_L]

The federal subsidy forAadvantage plans is ending and there is a lot of speculation that the plans costs will be going up quite a bit.
Before anyone gets an Advantage plan it might be worth checking that out.

[wandering1]

If you go with a supplement plan which means you would have Part A, B, D, and the supplement then healthcare would be available to you anywhere you go as medicare. That is not the case with advantage plans which replace your medicare and function like an insurance policy. See a healthcare insurance broker to help you pick supplement coverage.

[Dutch_12078]

My $0 premium (I still pay the standard Medicare premium) United Health Care plan with Part D includes their "Passport" feature that lets me use any UHC provider anywhere in the US, with some limitations. The plan also allows out of network coverage at somewhat higher co-pays anywhere in the US and urgent care facility coverage at my regular co-pays.

[jalichty]

I have had Plan F through Transamerica for the last 3 1/2 years and Part D through Humana. As far as doctors and hospitals, I have paid nothing out of pocket since getting the insurance and have been to the emergency room twice in that time. As far as drugs, usually pay nothing extra for the two prescriptions I am taking, as long as I get them through the company site and get 90 days at a time, which works great anyway. Have paid some out of pocket when needing a short-term prescription and didn't wish to wait for the drug company to send it to me. This works, cost-wise, with generics. When you get to brand name drugs, the costs go up quite a bit. My wife pays $104 a quarter for an inhaler that has no generic counterpart.

[edatlanta]

I haven't been on the F plan as long as Jack and Nanci, but I agree so far.

[NanciL]

Get Plan F and forget the HMO's or PPO's
Both my wife and I have had it for the past ten years and it is fantastic.
You go to what ever doctor you want to including specialists and you don't have to go to primary one first.
Every thing is 100% covered, with no co-pay and there is long term hospital coverage.

Your state should list which insurers are allowed, and then they also list the annual cost of each, even though the coverage is the exact same and is set forth by the government.
When we get our bill each year we check the cost of the others, and if another is cheaper, we switch to that.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that OBAMA care doesn'r screw it up, since we never had medical insurance this good even when we were in the work force.

Jack L

[bsinmich]

PlanF will give the greatest coverage but is also the most expensive. There is also a High deductible F that give the great coverage after a higher deductible. For many people that can also be the least expensive option. There are a couple of the cheaper plans that will not give any coverage outside of the US but most will give $250,000, max. The drug plan, Part D, is a totally seperate item and can be purchased at a different place. I sell this stuff and if people have no great drug needs I tell them to get the Wal-Mart plan D. As long as you have coverage you can make a switch in the future.

[Dick_A]

This is a very important issue as many changes are coming.

Do not even think about posting political comments to this thread!

[obgraham]

Rondeb:
If you go to Medicare's website, or the Washington Insurance Commissioner's website, you'll find comparison charts of what supplementals are available. For a given plan "Letter", like A, or D, or F, the benefits are the same. The premiums might vary, and the provider choice will, too.

Having spent a lot of time on this, and after one of us tried an Advantage plan (cheaper, but a real PITA sometimes), we stayed with Premera in Washington. Covers almost all docs and hospitals, and has almost complete out-of-area coverage. I've been pleased with them for almost 3 years. Slightly higher premium, but worth it.

Drug-plan-wise, WalMart/Humana plan made the most sense for us.

Most distressing to me is that TriCare, which is what most Vets (those we owe the MOST to!) is such a lousy outfit for the docs to deal with, so many don't take it.

[time2roll]

Mom has no supplemental plan. Copays do not seem that expensive.

[Tom_N]

I have a Medicare PPO Advantage plan with Blue Cross Blue Shield.

The PPO plan has much greater coverage when we travel.

HMO plans are mostly local to your home area.

-Tom

[2gypsies1]

As full-timers we use Transamerica supplement through Good Sam. Along with our Medicare we have not had to pay anything out of pocket for multiple surgeries or office visits. We're free to using any facility of our choosing in the country. It's been excellent.