Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Medigap programs (provided by insurance companies) can impose a six month waiting period on full coverage for certain preexisting conditions. If you sign up for Medicare Part B within six months of first eligibility, you don't have the waiting period. Whether there are waiting periods or not for a particular condition depends on the policy. Medicare Advantage policies, on the other hand, don't have a waiting period.
Quote:
A Medicare Supplement plan must accept you if you enroll during your individual Medigap Open Enrollment Period. This is the six-month period that automatically begins when you turn 65 and are enrolled in Part B. During this enrollment period, you have a one-time, guaranteed right to enroll in any Medicare Supplement plan. Private insurance companies cannot deny you coverage or charge you a higher premium due to health reasons.
That's interesting. I've had knee OA for about 22 yrs and I believe Medicare will do their payments IF I opt for a replacement in the not too distant future. I just came out of a staph infection mess and was down and out for 4.5 months in hospital/rehabs. Those injections can cause infections so I worry about injecting. I did the syn visc yrs ago, and the hospital did a cortisone injection and I'm wondering if that injection pushed the infection even further along than it was. Long mess.
I don't know what procedures they will cover and will NOT cover, but they will insure a person under the insurance whether they have other things wrong or not. They cover people who are disabled, so that wouldnt make sense otherwise. I retired on disability and that was the insurance i got as my primary insurance. They have covered everything so far.
I don't know what procedures they will cover and will NOT cover, but they will insure a person under the insurance whether they have other things wrong or not. They cover people who are disabled, so that wouldnt make sense otherwise. I retired on disability and that was the insurance i got as my primary insurance. They have covered everything so far.
Well, at this point and I don't like to say it, but I'm more disabled than I thought I'd ever be. And everything started with hip replacement in 2010..and went down from there.
I understand. You don't want it on his records as a pre-existing condition. One other thing I would try is good shoes like New Balance and maybe inserts. Both of these can make a big difference in knee pain and the less pain, the more likely he is to move!
I don't think you folks quite understand my concerns.
Seeing a doctor now makes it a previous-existing condition. They wouldn't do much right now, except a farcified version of what I have suggested. But what if he needs a knee replacement, or some other invasive, expensive treatment in the future? Right now insurance can't deny treatment of previous existing conditions, but all that might change. What if he retires, goes on Medicare and some other supplemental insurance, and then treatment is denied because the knee was a previous-existing condition?
I think its best to just try to live with it for now, avoiding seeking a diagnosis unless it becomes an extreme problem. Meanwhile, we will do what I have suggested, unless that doesn't seem to help. Then we seek medical care.
He is 64. You have insurance. Use it. Pre-existing condition won't matter. He will be on medicare in a year. My husbands supplemental still covers my husband's heart doctors and he had the heart attack and surgeries on that when he was in his 50s.
Are you sure? I thought Medicare accepts everybody who qualifies. You mean Medicare also doesn't pay on previous-existing conditions?
See my response above -- no, it's not the case though certain Medicare offerings of the Medigap type (NOT the Advantage programs) can impose a six month waiting period for full coverage of certain preexisting conditions. But there will typically be partial coverage for that first six months. Get the Medicare & You 2017 publication from HHS, and discuss your concerns with someone at Medicare. If he signs up for an Advantage supplementary program he'll be denied nothing.
Medicare will not NOT accept him due to a pre-existing condition.
I'm not eligible for Medicare yet so don't have knowledge of how it works (so have nothing to add on that topic), but I'm wondering whether possibly a couple of subsequent posters missed the double "not" ("not NOT") in the post quoted above. (I missed it too the first time I read it.)
I'm only guessing that the poster intended this as a double negative. If I'm guessing wrong and the repetition was for emphasis (rather than a double negative), then never mind. (Maybe the poster will be back to clarify.)
Years ago I started having some trouble with my knees too, Glucosamine worked great. Once I lost weight, I didn't need it anymore and my knees have been fine. Never went to the doctor.
I doubt they would do much for his knee at this point, other than diagnosis it. Anything they might recommend we could do on our own, and avoid having the knee problem on his medical records.
Meanwhile, I think its important for him to have a complete cardio workup to determine if there's any restrictions on exercise in general. Just tell the doc he wants to lose weight. And NO, our insurance does NOT pay for any type of weight loss program, even if prescribed by a doctor, even if the patient is morbidly obese, even if he's had 2 prior heart attacks. Whenever he asks his cardiologist, or primary care doctors for referrals to a weight-loss program, they just give him a blank look.
Prevention is NOT a part of medical care in today's healthcare. Oh, yes, he went for his Wellness Exam---like a good little boy! He tried to discuss weight loss, and they just brushed him off. The wellness exam is a complete waste of time. You can't discuss anything related to a particular problem, or it will not be coded as a wellness exam. Therefore, insurance will NOT pay for it, and insurance will NOT accept it as the yearly wellness exam required to keep rates at the lower price option. All we can do is show up, wear paper, then have them ask a bunch of ridiculous questions, like how often do you brush/floss your teeth?
DH needs his blood pressure monitored better. He currently runs about 160/100, with Metropolol, 25 mg/day. Look, I take 50 mg 2 x day, and I weight about 100 pounds less than he does! But when he went for his Wellness Exam, they wouldn't/couldn't discuss BP, because then it wouldn't be a Wellness Exam Ok, so now he has to schedule another doctor appointment to discuss his problems. Oh, but, the Wellness Esam was "free" Yippee!!!! But he now needs to find another day off work for yet another appointment. That isn't always that easy to take time off work.
Ok, regardless, he has an appointment with his primary care physician this coming Wednesday. I will suggest he discuss all his concerns except the knee......while we wait to get on Medicare, which is in about 5 months for him.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ok, so now he has to schedule another doctor appointment to discuss his problems. Oh, but, the Wellness Esam was "free" Yippee!!!! But he now needs to find another day off work for yet another appointment. That isn't always that easy to take time off work. 
