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As mentioned way upthread, I started Plan G in 2016 at $124/mo California price. It goes up about $20/yr. My current rate is $228/mo. It goes up every September. In 7 years a $100 jump is not outrageous.
I'm sure actuaries are using a program to evaluate health conditions and usage, and probably do adjust each person's rate accordingly. I'm just guessing at that, but it makes sense.
My understanding is that annual increases are based on age, inflation, and geographic location.
Thanks for that. I've moved across states in the past 7 years (2 after the first one) and the increase has stayed about the same. I use the heck out of my policy but I guess that doesn't factor in.
Thank you, @loves2read, @ged_782! I don't expect anything relating to medical care in the country to work / make sense. When we get to it - 2 and 2.5 years from now - we will, of course, research it more closely and likely engage with an agent to help as well. But, it really should not be as difficult a decision.
Do yourself a big favor. See if your Dr's inc. dentist are accepting the MA plans. Here in De. many do not and you wind up with a bigger nut than you would have with the supplemental plans. We know someone, who is not a close friend friend so the details are a bit thin but she had a MA plan and found that her Dr. did not accept it. She then has some kind of health problem and instead of being able to simply pick a specialist for herself, she had to first find one who accepted her MA plan. Our dentist does not, nor eye Dr.
The MA plans in my area all include any doctor that I would go to locally, so that is really not an issue for me. I expect it would be for many people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pathrunner
karen_in_nh, it is clear that you can afford Supplemental. Why would you pay out $7K if you didn't have to - even if you can afford it?
Well, most likely I would NOT have to pay out $7k -- e.g., I have not needed any medical care at all since the follow-up to my 2nd TKR in July 2020. So most likely I will have more years of good health (although of course I know it's not guaranteed).
BUT ...
I am pretty sure I am going to go with a Medigap plan for just under $150/month -- NOT one of the Advantage plans (all of which have premiums of $0).
It IS hard, though, because starting 12/1/23 my medical insurance cost will be literally close to 3 times as much as I've BEEN paying and that is happening at a time when my INCOME is going WAY down. I've planned for retirement, of course, but I wasn't expecting to DO it until I was 68 to 70. My employer's retirement incentive -- which was too good to pass up, since I was 62 -- continued my full regular pay until JUST before I turned 64 (i.e., it went through December 2023) AND I was able to work on top of that, but my income this year will be maybe $50,000 (less than 1/3 of what it was in 2022, which was an anomalous year for me) and next year it COULD BE as low as $21,000 (in which case I would start social security, which would be about $2,700/month). It's very weird for me as I am a plan-years-in-advance kind of person (grew up in a very chaotic and financially-insecure way, which probably contributed to my planning instincts!!), but I simply CANNOT plan years in advance right now. I am 99.9% sure I will be fine as I should not need my retirement accounts for at least 2-3 more years and HOPEFULLY the freakin' stock market will have settled down by then ... but I am not good with uncertainty.
The MA plans in my area all include any doctor that I would go to locally, so that is really not an issue for me. I expect it would be for many people.
Well, most likely I would NOT have to pay out $7k -- e.g., I have not needed any medical care at all since the follow-up to my 2nd TKR in July 2020. So most likely I will have more years of good health (although of course I know it's not guaranteed).
BUT ...
I am pretty sure I am going to go with a Medigap plan for just under $150/month -- NOT one of the Advantage plans (all of which have premiums of $0).
It IS hard, though, because starting 12/1/23 my medical insurance cost will be literally close to 3 times as much as I've BEEN paying and that is happening at a time when my INCOME is going WAY down. I've planned for retirement, of course, but I wasn't expecting to DO it until I was 68 to 70. My employer's retirement incentive -- which was too good to pass up, since I was 62 -- continued my full regular pay until JUST before I turned 64 (i.e., it went through December 2023) AND I was able to work on top of that, but my income this year will be maybe $50,000 (less than 1/3 of what it was in 2022, which was an anomalous year for me) and next year it COULD BE as low as $21,000 (in which case I would start social security, which would be about $2,700/month). It's very weird for me as I am a plan-years-in-advance kind of person (grew up in a very chaotic and financially-insecure way, which probably contributed to my planning instincts!!), but I simply CANNOT plan years in advance right now. I am 99.9% sure I will be fine as I should not need my retirement accounts for at least 2-3 more years and HOPEFULLY the freakin' stock market will have settled down by then ... but I am not good with uncertainty.
I never knew that I was born with hip dysplasia and would need a hip replacement at age 51 because I couldn't walk without severe pain. A second one 10 years later. I never knew that my lungs would blow up from a pneumonia vaccine, causing the need for major surgery and two weeks in the hospital. It is your choice, however.
I'm not understanding your Medigap plan unless it covers the difference between your retirement health insurance. But if you are ending up pay over $300 (was it $379?) I don't understanding why you haven't checked to see what your rate would be for straight Plan G. You are 65 so you qualify for regular Medicare. Is you retirement health plan really that good, as in better than straight Medicare? Do they require you to carry the health insurance with the incentive they're offering?
I never knew that I was born with hip dysplasia and would need a hip replacement at age 51 because I couldn't walk without severe pain. A second one 10 years later. I never knew that my lungs would blow up from a pneumonia vaccine, causing the need for major surgery and two weeks in the hospital. It is your choice, however.
I'm not understanding your Medigap plan unless it covers the difference between your retirement health insurance. But if you are ending up pay over $300 (was it $379?) I don't understanding why you haven't checked to see what your rate would be for straight Plan G. You are 65 so you qualify for regular Medicare. Is you retirement health plan really that good, as in better than straight Medicare? Do they require you to carry the health insurance with the incentive they're offering?
My current cost for health care (same as I've had through my employer for the past 20+ years) is just under $130/month. Part of the retirement incentive for those of us who were between 62 and 65 was that the employer would continue our health insurance, with us just paying the basic employee rate, UNTIL Medicare started.
So starting 12/1/23 (because my 65th birthday is 1/1/24 so I "count" as turning 65 on 12/31/23), I will pay at least $164/month for Medicare (and that may be much more for 2023 and 2024 due to my PAST high income, even though my income will be VERY low starting next year) plus ~$150/month for Plan G (that's the cheapest I've seen for my area -- e.g., Harvard Pilgrim, which I was considering, is $174/month) plus an estimated $55 for part D, the prescription drug plan. (I need to look into part D more -- I currently take no prescription drugs at all but again, I realize things could change so I need to have decent coverage.)
Anyway, that's $369 compared to the $130 I've been paying -- not quite 3 times as much, but close, and again, it may end up being much higher than that due to my income in 2021 and 2022, even though the "extra" income was temporary (the retirement incentive pay was for 1.5 years).
How long with your retirement health insurance last?
My understanding is that Part B is $164 across the board and is not based upon income, but I'm not sure about that. You say your income will be very low as of next year so why would Part B cost you even more? It's true that I don't pay for Part B which is how I can afford Supplemental Plan G, and I don't pay for Part D either. Part B and Part D can be paid when income is below a certain amount and you don't have a lot of assets like property or a long term 401k. This is to help people have access to health insurance especially with rising costs that go up every year.
I was disabled before age 60, so I was on disability at age 59. It's tough to work when you are disabled, but some people do. I would like to work and supplement my income but the more I work the higher my health care cost (Part B and Part D) would be. It's a Catch-22. And that's if I were actually able to find a job that I can do. Men can usually find work "under the table" but women have much harder time doing that. Women are usually subject to paycheck jobs or jobs where they work domestically (caregiving, nannying) and are required to sign a 1099 for their employer so the employer can claim expenses on their taxes.
My father is on a retirement income from his career. He pays $350/mo. for his Kaiser PPO. (He was a mental health professional.) The only HMO I would ever consider going with is Kaiser. I've seen my father get excellent care for many years but people still seem to complain about Kaiser.
The hard truth is that most people pay at least $300/mo for health insurance when they reach retirement age. It's how the system is designed. Unless someone was a CEO or in Congress where they have lifetime Cadillac plans that cost them nothing, it's the way it is.
How long with your retirement health insurance last?
Again, my retirement-incentive health insurance STOPS when Medicare STARTS. So for me, that's effective 12/1/23 -- not quite 2 months from now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pathrunner
My understanding is that Part B is $164 across the board and is not based upon income, but I'm not sure about that. You say your income will be very low as of next year so why would Part B cost you even more? It's true that I don't pay for Part B which is how I can afford Supplemental Plan G, and I don't pay for Part D either. Part B and Part D can be paid when income is below a certain amount and you don't have a lot of assets like property or a long term 401k. This is to help people have access to health insurance especially with rising costs that go up every year.
Most people pay $164 because their income 2 years previous was $97,000 or less (mine was, too, much of my working life!). If your income was above $97,000, you pay more. They use your PAST income to determine how much you will pay -- not your CURRENT income. It appears to be 2 years behind? (EG the 2023 rate based on my 2021 income, the 2024 rate based on my 2022 income, etc. -- I THINK.) There IS a method of appealing for life changes, and I think RETIREMENT counts, so I will appeal if my 2024 premium ends up being based on my 2022 income, which was an anomaly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pathrunner
I was disabled before age 60, so I was on disability at age 59. It's tough to work when you are disabled, but some people do. I would like to work and supplement my income but the more I work the higher my health care cost (Part B and Part D) would be. It's a Catch-22. And that's if I were actually able to find a job that I can do. Men can usually find work "under the table" but women have much harder time doing that. Women are usually subject to paycheck jobs or jobs where they work domestically (caregiving, nannying) and are required to sign a 1099 for their employer so the employer can claim expenses on their taxes.
My father is on a retirement income from his career. He pays $350/mo. for his Kaiser PPO. (He was a mental health professional.) The only HMO I would ever consider going with is Kaiser. I've seen my father get excellent care for many years but people still seem to complain about Kaiser.
I lived in the Bay Area in California for 11 years (1982 to 1993) and had Kaiser insurance for most of that time. I found it totally fine. I'd grown up in the enlisted ranks of the military so HMO-style medicine was totally normal to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pathrunner
The hard truth is that most people pay at least $300/mo for health insurance when they reach retirement age. It's how the system is designed. Unless someone was a CEO or in Congress where they have lifetime Cadillac plans that cost them nothing, it's the way it is.
Alas, I did not realize that (^^^ bolded). I knew there was a premium charge for Medicare but I didn't realize that there was also a charge for the "gap" that Medicare doesn't cover (i.e. Medigap!) and for prescription drug coverage. As I wrote upthread, I wasn't planning to retire for many more years so would have just stayed on my employer's health insurance until then -- so I never had to look into Medicare!! Now, of course, I do.
I'm sure you would be successful with an appeal on the Part B issue, if necessary. They may even look at other years and decide up front to just charge the $164 amount based on your history.
My understanding is that the term "Medigap" is being phased out with the term now in use: "Supplemental". Again, that could be wrong. Many people are still using the term Medigap. I view my Supplemental policy as gap coverage even though it isn't called that in the paperwork. (It's called Supplemental.)
I just read an article in the aarp magazine that insurance brokers get paid quite a bit more money if they get people to take an advantage plan. There’s no way I would trust one. My understanding is that switching without underwriting is state specific. In Nevada they have the birthday rule which means you can switch between medigap plans that have less coverage only without medical underwriting.
In 3 years my medigap plan went from 150/month to 200 so I switched from a F plan to a G plan during my birthday month to get the premium back down to 150 although I know it will rise yearly also. My part d is 11 but after a year they raised it to 30. So every year I switch to a different one that only costs 11/month. It’s a pain because it usually involves switching pharmacies.
Most people have much cheaper health insurance through their employer and are shocked how much all the parts of Medicare cost. Right now I pay 320/month. I paid 110 when working. My monthly income is 2800 so HI is a big chunk and as I age it will just keep going up.
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