Medicare Supplement Plans

[max]

My previous employer is dropping retiree health insurance as of 12-31. We will receive money to buy supplemental coverage and a company is providing us with counseling and a list of suppliers. I am now looking at Mutual of Omaha and Blue Cross ( I have had BC for the past 40 years). I am also looking at First Health to provide Part D drug assistance. Anyone have exp with any of these companies.

[Florida Guy]

It sounds like you're looking for a Medicare supplement plan as opposed to a Medicare Advantage plan.
I have the latter. If you don't mind an HMO, mine is fine. You pay the same as you do for regular Medicare, but is also covers part d for the same cost. Plans vary from state to state, but go to medicare.gov and you can view plans available in your area.
Medicare only pays 80% of your bills, and you are responsible for the remainder. An advantage plan usually covers 100%.

[H Richard]

Medicare supplements are what you need if you don't want to get caught paying several thousand in deductibles and co-pays under an "advantage" plan. There are several different Medicare supplements, but only Plan F and Plan G should be considered. Plan F pays literally 100% of any deductibles and co-payments under Medicare. Plan "G" pays just like Plan F, but does not pay the Medicare Part B Deductible, currently $147 per year. The reason the Plan G is so popular is the cost of the "G" is usually $200 to $300 less than the Plan "F" and the only thing it doesn't pay is the $147, so you are usually money ahead.

I recommend you speak to a Sr. Insurance Specialist that Only deals with Senior Citizen health insurance. (If you are any where near Quincy, IL I can recommend a great one). You will also have to get Part "D" (Prescription Drug) insurance, and now is the enrollment period. I recommend you don't buy anything until you speak to a Insurance Specialist, it can be confusing, don't just buy the first thing that comes along it can be a big mistake.

[vytoland]

i have been using blue cross Medigap plan F for several years and am very pleased with the performance....never pay anything except the monthly premium...

for prescription medication...Medicare plan D from Express Scripts has been my choice......

this Medicare link may help in finding a Medicare Plan D provider.....

https://www.medicare.gov/part-d/index.html

[DWalt]

Assuming you are already covered under Medicare Parts A and B, as previously noted, you need a supplemental plan, AKA Medigap, to take care of what Medicare will not pay. There are a number of them around, and an internet search will produce a lot of information. My mother-in-law (age 105) has used a policy offered through AARP for many years, with no problems at all, and she has used it a lot. I don't particularly like AARP because of their extreme anti-gun positions, but it still might be worth looking at their Medigap plan. Similarly, there are many Medicare Part D plans. Your local chain pharmacy (Walgreen's, CVS, etc.) will have lots of information about those, or search the internet. These are not particularly cheap, and for individual coverage will cost you around $3000/year, more or less. But the alternative is paying a lot more out of pocket if you have any serious medical problems. Hopefully, your employer will pay most of the Medigap premium expense.

[LostintheOzone]

I have a Mutual of Omaha G gap and so does my wife. We use Humana for our drug plan. We are very happy with both. Friend has an Advantage plan and she isn't real happy with it. Not sure why, never got any details.

[kalei]

My wife and I both have BCBS Plan "F". We also use BCBS BlueMedicare Rx Prescription Drug Plan (PDP). We both have Medicare as primary and the Plan F as secondary. My wife was hospitalized with a stroke in both Feb and Jun, never had to pay for anything, the plan covered it all. I was in for 4 days with Diverticulitis in Aug and again, nothing out of pocket,,

[Tex1001]

I try not to slam any one's product without some kind of positive feedback, But...
My wife is a registered nurse, certified case manager in Texas.
When I retired, she was the first person I went to since she works with all of the Medicare supplement stuff. The first thing she said to me was "Stay away from anything AARP offers".
Just sayin'
_______________________
I don't have Alzheimer's- My wife had me tested.

[pawngal]

My late husband and myself have always had Plan F thru Mututal/United of Omaha. Always pays 100%. I think AARP offers this plan but when I checked it out it was cheaper to go directly to the insurance company. The Part D drug plans are a minefield, be careful, Very careful! Myself, I don't have one, I take no prescription meds.

[hoc9sw]

AARP does not provide insurance, it fronts plans for companies such as UHC.

I was in a seniors seminar a few months back, and they made the distinction between F & G. The G seemed better at first because of the cost - only pay the deductible. But they did bring up the problem that in some G plans you pay certain costs for each event, if I recall correctly, so for someone like me, with chronic recurrent cancer, G was not a real option. F was the winner. Better pay a little more each month than to save now and get slammed later.

But the key point is that these things can change every year. You have to plan now for next year based on next year. Last year's plans may change without the kind of notice that I will recognize.