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I have researched this issue online but have not found guidance specifically tailored to my situation.
I currently receive SSDI benefits, and will be eligible to participate in Medicare starting Nov. 2018. I plan to retire overseas, and, consistent with advice that I've heard, would like to sign up for Medicare as soon as I'm eligible in case I need to return to the U.S. for medical treatment. (My understanding is that I would otherwise have to wait months for coverage to begin).
I'd like to have Medicare advantage for all the usual reasons: (1) Original Medicare has coverage gaps that would be painful if not protected against by one of the usual Medicare enhancements; (2) Medicare Supplement plans are expensive for SSDI recipients.
The Medicare Advantage plans I've found so far seem to discontinue coverage for people once they're out of the country for over six months. I can keep searching for different Advantage plans, but in case I'm missing something here, am asking whether anyone knows of a better approach to getting what I'm after.
To help narrow the subject matter here, I want to clarify the following.
I don't expect Medicare, with or without an Advantage plan, to cover me while overseas. The coverage strategy I'm pursuing assumes that I will require treatment that is unavailable in the overseas nation I retire in, and that I'll return to the U.S. for treatment. Thus, I want a Medicare Advantage plan that remains active in the U.S. and therefore enables me to be overseas for an extended period (e.g. over a year or more at a time) and still be able to return to the U.S. for treatment covered under the Advantage plan.
Last edited by Voyager39; 12-24-2017 at 12:15 AM..
Have you considered that if you need medical care you may not be ABLE to travel? Perhaps if you do want to get an advantage plan you could return to the U.S. for check up or something every 6 months? Also if you do go advantage, go to see and get established with all the Drs. you expect to see in the future and that are in network
Have you considered that if you need medical care you may not be ABLE to travel? Perhaps if you do want to get an advantage plan you could return to the U.S. for check up or something every 6 months? Also if you do go advantage, go to see and get established with all the Drs. you expect to see in the future and that are in network
Thanks for your reply. I'm healthy enough to travel and retire overseas. However, as with most retirees, I'd like the security of having a place to go in order to receive first world medical treatment, which may not be available in my retirement location. My understanding is that accomplishing this as a U.S. citizen requires
being enrolled in Medicare prior to traveling overseas, and preferably having a Medicare Advantage plan to avoid the coinsurance costs associated with Medicare.
If you are planning to retire before age 65, you are stuck. Medigaps for those on SSDI under age 65 are too expensive - if they exist at all - and Advantage requires you live in the US at least 6 months of the year.
After age 65, it is possible to purchase a Medigap while you are a resident and keep it when you are living overseas.
Quote:
People with Original Medicare (Parts A and B) can get a Medigap policy (also known as a Medicare supplement plan) that provides coverage of emergency medical expenses outside the U.S. Medigap plans are regulated and sold at the state level. According to UnitedHealthcare spokeswoman Sarah Bearce, you need to be a resident of a state when you first buy a Medigap plan. After that, if you moved outside the U.S., your Medigap plan would continue in effect so long as you paid the premiums.
in which case I would strongly recommend a high-deductible F Medigap. Low premium - like $50/mo, or less, depending on your state. You are responsible for the first $2,240 of 20% Medicare copays, thereafter plan pays 100% just like any other Medigap F. Medigap is much preferable because you are not restricted to the Advantage plan providers, but can see any doctor who accepts Medicare. Many people on CD have the high-deductible F and find it very cost-effective.
That said, WA is a fairly liberal state. If you are planning to retire before age 65, doublecheck to see if there is a high-deductible F offered for someone your age on SSDI.
And, if you haven't already, consult your SHIP people - they may have an idea, as well:
If you are planning to retire before age 65, you are stuck. Medigaps for those on SSDI under age 65 are too expensive - if they exist at all - and Advantage requires you live in the US at least 6 months of the year.
After age 65, . . . Medigap is much preferable because you are not restricted to the Advantage plan providers, but can see any doctor who accepts Medicare. Many people on CD have the high-deductible F and find it very cost-effective.
Thanks very for this information. Can you tell me what CD stands for? (I'm pretty new to all of this).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ariadne22
That said, WA is a fairly liberal state. If you are planning to retire before age 65, doublecheck to see if there is a high-deductible F offered for someone your age on SSDI.
Thanks again. I'm still trying to figure out whether the premiums listed at the link below (for a subset of the participating insurance companies) for the high-deductible plan F apply only those eligible by being 65+ or whether those qualifying by disability are eligible.
You need to inquire of specific carriers relative to under-65 coverage. Chances are plans listed on that link apply to 65 and older. Finding coverage for those under 65 on SSDI is not easily done on the internet - even for Advantage.
Thanks very for this information. Can you tell me what CD stands for? (I'm pretty new to all of this).
Thanks again. I'm still trying to figure out whether the premiums listed at the link below (for a subset of the participating insurance companies) for the high-deductible plan F apply only those eligible by being 65+ or whether those qualifying by disability are eligible.
I plan to contact SHIP and possibly Premera to find out. Thanks again for this highly valuable lead, which I will soon follow up on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ariadne22
CD=City-Data.
You need to inquire of specific carriers relative to under-65 coverage. Chances are plans listed on that link apply to 65 and older. Finding coverage for those under 65 on SSDI is not easily done on the internet - even for Advantage.
The WA site above shows 2 insurers with "under 65 on SSDI" plans. Both on page 4.
WASHINGTON STATE HEALTH CARE AUTHORITY (HCA) BLUE CROSS PREMERA PLANS
Under age 65 Medicare disability Plan A = $265 Plan F = $ 361 ; no HD-F plan
UNITED AMERICAN INSURANCE CO
Under age 65 Medicare disability Plan B = $424 ; no HD-F plan
If you will have a U.S. address when you return for treatment, replace "Part D" in the answer below with "Medicare Advantage with Prescription Drug"(MAPD). The Part D SEP also applies to MAPD.
Quote:
Q. My plan when I retired was to live in the Philippines, and to return to the United States periodically for any needed medical care. What are expatriates like me supposed to do?
A. To qualify for either a Part D drug plan or a Medicare Advantage plan (which can include drug coverage), you must live in that plan’s service area. Our clever experts at the Medicare Rights Center have a workaround, but you need to be able to plan for your U.S. needs in advance. This workaround rests on your right to qualify for a special enrollment period (SEP) for a Part D plan each time you move into a plan’s service area. So, every time you come back from the Philippines, call your Part D plan about a month in advance. Say that you are moving back to the United States and you need to use your SEP to re-enroll in the plan because you are moving back into its service area.
In case anyone is interested in the follow-up here, the people at Premera in Washington state indicated that both their Medicare Advantage plans and their Medigap plans require residency in Washington state for the plans to be active.
So far, I haven't attempted to dig any deeper to find out whether the information provided by the people on the phone is correct or not. For now, I'm proceeding on the basis that it is correct and that I'll need some sort of travel insurance to cover me for any period, after returning from overseas, that precedes my eligibility for Medicare.
If you are planning to retire before age 65, you are stuck. Medigaps for those on SSDI under age 65 are too expensive - if they exist at all - and Advantage requires you live in the US at least 6 months of the year.
After age 65, it is possible to purchase a Medigap while you are a resident and keep it when you are living overseas.
[[People with Original Medicare (Parts A and B) can get a Medigap policy (also known as a Medicare supplement plan) that provides coverage of emergency medical expenses outside the U.S. Medigap plans are regulated and sold at the state level. According to UnitedHealthcare spokeswoman Sarah Bearce, you need to be a resident of a state when you first buy a Medigap plan. After that, if you moved outside the U.S., your Medigap plan would continue in effect so long as you paid the premiums.
in which case I would strongly recommend a high-deductible F Medigap. Low premium - like $50/mo, or less, depending on your state. You are responsible for the first $2,240 of 20% Medicare copays, thereafter plan pays 100% just like any other Medigap F. Medigap is much preferable because you are not restricted to the Advantage plan providers, but can see any doctor who accepts Medicare. Many people on CD have the high-deductible F and find it very cost-effective.
That said, WA is a fairly liberal state. If you are planning to retire before age 65, doublecheck to see if there is a high-deductible F offered for someone your age on SSDI.
And, if you haven't already, consult your SHIP people - they may have an idea, as well:
Thank you for reminding me of this thread in my more recently started thread.
I now recall that the SHIP people in my state indicated, in contrast to the guidance offered by Sarah Bearce in the quoted portion of the PBS page above, that one needed to be a resident of WA state to participate in the Medigap plans here.
I looked online but could not find a general rule covering Special Enrollment periods for Medigap insurance. For example, my recollection is that the ACA and Medicare Advantage (MA) have similar provisions enabling people to purchase insurance outside of open enrollment periods for reasons such as: (a) having recently moved to a new state; (b) ** having recently returned to the U.S. from overseas; (c) having recently lost employer-based insurance, etc.
Based on the above, a Medicare "navigator" of sorts that I met with locally suggested the following health insurance strategy for an overseas retiree, assuming that MA was an acceptable cost-handling option: (a) maintain participation in Medicare parts A and B while overseas, and of course, continue to pay Part B premiums; and (b) upon return to the U.S., sign up for MA ASAP which ought to become effective the month following signing up. Thus, the 20% co-pay coverage wouldn't be in effect immediately, but would become effective reasonably soon after returning to the U.S.
I searched online, expecting to find something similar for special enrollment period conditions for Medigap, but wasn't able to find it. I am trying to find out whether there is a general rule covering Medigap special enrollment periods that I can incorporate into a health insurance strategy. Any help here would be much appreciated.
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