I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU VETERANS.

[trailblazer02]

as i approach 65 years old, i'm getting dozens of solicitations from every medicare supplement company on this planet & three others.

i need to know from veterans who use the VA medical facilities as your main health care provider.

1...do you use medicare also, & how compatible is it with your VA benefits.

2...do you have a medicare supplement & how do the three entities co-ordinate?

3...i'm looking for input on deductibles, prescriptions & any thing else you care to add.

thanx in advance,
trailblazer

 

[Trooperdan]

Trailblazer, are you a retired vet and under TriCare or you have VA for service-connected issues? I have TriCare and Medicare. I'm in pretty good shape between the two of them and don't need a supplement. I've been pleasantly surprised at the quality of my treatment at the local VA. I can't say nearly as much good about the VA disability process however!

 

[trailblazer02]

Trailblazer, are you a retired vet and under TriCare or you have VA for service-connected issues? I have TriCare and Medicare. I'm in pretty good shape between the two of them and don't need a supplement. I've been pleasantly surprised at the quality of my treatment at the local VA. I can't say nearly as much good about the VA disability process however!

i'm not retired military, just regularly retired. no service connected disabilities.

TB

 

[diamonback68]

i'm not retired military, just regularly retired. no service connected disabilities.

TB

TB, I'm not either, but I go to the VA Hosp. in West Palm Beach and get great care. Primary Provider cost $15 per visit, a Specialist is $50, but if you see both on the same visit you only pay the higher one. Presciptions cost $9 for a 30 supply. Hospital stay, you pay the same deductable as Medicare. I've had a heart attack and got stents and lots of procedures since and now I have Leukemia and they have taken care of everything with relative little or no expense. Can't complain.
You can use your Medicare for minor stuff like coughs and flu etc.

 

[H Richard]

If you are not a veteran, your access to VA medical care would be restricted, I think as Veterans take priority. Also, it is income determined what your costs of drugs would be. If you have income beyond the standard you may not be eligible at all. If you have Medicare only, your deductibles and co-pay's can exceed several thousand a year if you need the kind of care most late 60's individuals do. In other words you need a Medicare Supplement. Not all Medicare supplements are equal, (in price). Your best bet is locate an Insurance agent that "specializes" in Medicare supplements. There can be a 20+% difference in price for exactly the same benefit. A Medicare supplement plan F has exactly the same benefits, but can vary quite a bit with price. AARP is one of the Highest Priced ones, you can usually find one $400 to $600 per year lower priced.

You can also log onto Medicare.Gov, and there is a Plan Finder there that is helpful.

 

[cowart]

i'm not retired military, just regularly retired. no service connected disabilities.

I'm the same. I don't use the VA hospital as it is too far away. I went on Medicare March 1. I enrolled in a Medicare managed care program (aka "Senior Care") at a large local hospital. Costs are:

Medicare Part A $115.40
Part B managed care $38.10 (there is also a zero cost option with higher copays)
Part D prescriptions $20.90

ER visit $50 copay
Hospital $400
Office visit $10
Preventive care $0
Prescription generic $5
Prescription brand name $40
Prescription non-formulary $75
Specialist $25 (no referral required)
Urgent care in $10
Urgent care out $40

The main deal with managed care is that you only get the lowest prices with their own people and facilities. My managed care doctor is the same one I had before I went on Medicare. They are in the process of building a new major hospital about 200 yards from my house, due to open in the fall.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

Trailblazer, are you a retired vet and under TriCare or you have VA for service-connected issues? I have TriCare and Medicare. I'm in pretty good shape between the two of them and don't need a supplement. I've been pleasantly surprised at the quality of my treatment at the local VA. I can't say nearly as much good about the VA disability process however!

I, too, have Tricare For Life as secondary and Medicare as primary. As a result, I don't know enough about the original question to answer it. However, I would like to emphasize that VA performance may vary from place to place, for various reasons. To attempt to make a long story short, I retired from the Navy (after 25 years) with an incipient kidney stone which made its presence felt about eight years later. Since I was in the Philadelphia area going to school on the GI Bill, I went to the VA. After one understandable misstep, they informed me that it was a big one, and they would have to cut me to get it out. Since I was about to finish school, it didn't happen, and I went to the VA in DC, my next stop. Fortunately, the MD there immediately told me that since I had retired from the USN, I should go to Bethesda, where I would get better service. I surely did. I got excellent treatment and removal of the stone (which WAS big, about the size of a short .40 caliber bullet) without surgery.

Those **********s in Philadelphia were going to cut me! Unnecessarily. I strongly recommend that anyone going to the VA watch those ************s like a hawk, use the internet, and get a second opinion whether it costs money or not.

 

[Maddog 521]

I thought there was no charge for Part-A.

 

[Armyphotog]

They have changed the rules without notifing anyone. As of 2003, the VA health care required you to "enroll" for benefits. After that date, you suddenly didn't qualify unless you were a war-time vet. That's okay, my hat is off to those guys. But when I enlisted at 17, one of the first things they told us was that we would never be turned away from a VA hospital. One of our "perks". Now, Congress and President Bush have made that a lie.

 

[Badkarma 1]

I have Medicare to cover the doctor visits and such, but still go to the VA for counciling. Dale

 

[schutzen]

Armyphotog:

"As of 2003, the VA health care required you to "enroll" for benefits. After that date, you suddenly didn't qualify unless you were a war-time vet"

Does that mean war-time as in during a war or an actual combat vet?

I fall in the former category. I was in during Viet Nam, but my duties were not in Southeast Asia. Currently I do not need help with my health care, but one never knows.

 

[Armyphotog]

I served during what is referred to at the Viet Nam era, albeit not in a combat role, even though I was in an infantry unit. Sorry, Schutzen, you either enrolled prior to 2003 or you are out in the street. My neighbor served in the Air Force, and beat the deadline, so he gets VA health care, and I don't. Doesn't seem right, but that's what they did.

 

[crsides]

Armyphotog - I'm confused with the answer you just gave. Seems to contradict you first statement. Can you clear that up.

Trailblazer 02 - My Dad was in WWII and got great medical care at the VA in Salisbury NC.

Thanks

Charlie.

BTW, I was in from 1969-71 and suffered thru two years in Italy. I do thank those who went to Nam.