Health Care Insurance during Retirement? (community, federal, retired, years)

[mlb]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

cobra is only 18 months. unless your state like ours allows longer and few do .

Read Q11 and Q13 - Qualifying evens:

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-consumer-cobra.html

[mathjak107]

Originally Posted by mlb

Read Q11 - Qualifying evens:

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-consumer-cobra.html

unless you have a special circumstance cobra ends in most states at 18 months.

i lucked out as ny passed its own law giving you 36 months no ifs ands or buts. i will use it from 63 to 65.

[rdflk]

And to think people in NY complain about their high taxes....
See some of what you get in return for your money!

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

if you take a medicare supplemental policy is that paid for with after tax dollars that just get lumped together with all your other medical subject to the same rules ?

As far as I know, after tax dollars.

[mathjak107]

thanks , i thought it would be.

[mlb]

Cobra is not cheap.

Might be cheaper to check out the ACA. I will retire and my spouse is 2 years younger so we'll have to look at those options.

[mathjak107]

actually we use a small business plan aca at work and they are much better deals than the individual aca plans you get on the exchange.

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

if you take a medicare supplemental policy is that paid for with after tax dollars that just get lumped together with all your other medical subject to the same rules ?

Part B premium and Medigap premiums are all part of deductible medical expenses subject to the 10% exclusion, of course. If you've got money left in an HSA, you can use that to reimburse yourself for the Part B premium and/or Advantage premium and/or employer sponsored retiree health coverage premiums, and other medical expenses. HSA monies cannot be used to pay for privately purchased Medigap premiums.

**

Just to fine-tune this, a bit:

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Medicare assigns a payment for each medical procedure then pays 80% of that approved amount. You either have to pay the other 20% yourself or have a supplemental plan.

Some only pay the remaining 20% but physicians may charge 20% above the Medicare approved amount and it takes a top tier Medicare supplement plan to pay that as well. These plans also charge a premium. Your best bet is to find physicians who accept Medicare assignment" meaning they don't charge the extra 20%.

Actually, that number is technically 15% - called the excess or limiting charge. However, in reality, the figure results in less than an extra 10% to the doctor, as Medicare will only allow him to charge 95% of the approved charge PLUS 15%.

Per Medicare.gov:

They can charge you more than the Medicare-approved amount, but there's a limit called "the limiting charge." The provider can only charge you up to 15% over the amount that non-participating providers are paid. Non-participating providers are paid 95% of the fee schedule amount.

Lower costs with assignment | Medicare.gov

In other words,

$100.00 - Medicare approved charge
$.. 95.00 - nonpartipating physician approved charge (95% of Medicare approved charge)
... 14.25 - 15% excess/limiting charge allowed to nonparticipating providers ($95x15%)
$109.25 - nonparticipating doctor charge
$.. 87.40 - Medicare pays
$.. 21.85 - You and/or Medigap pays

Only Medigaps G and F (including h-d F) pay the excess charge, however.

How to compare Medigap policies | Medicare.gov

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

If you enroll in a Medicare Part C, managed care plan you will usually have only minor copays for physician services.

Medicare Part C aka Advantage can be financially beneficial as to premium and drug costs with the tradeoff of copays for virtually every service, very high max out-of-pockets approaching $8k, restricted provider networks, many Advantage plans are HMOs, require gatekeeping and frequent approval on services for chronic care, and all manner of other problems, depending on carrier. Mayo Clinic and other similar facilities generally will not accept MA (Medicare Advantage [otherwise known as Medicare Part C] coverage, even those w/PPO out-of-network options. Buyer beware on Advantage is generally a good rule to observe. If you can afford it, a Medigap plus Part D is preferable. High-deductible Medigap F is a cost-effective way to hold down costs on an otherwise expensive Medigap while retaining full flexibility as to providers. Discussed, here:

Help - In Texas: Thinking Original Medicare and hi-D Plan F - thoughts?

[mathjak107]

we are looking in to this now for marilyn and overwhelmingly the advice was don't take an advantage plan if you can afford a medigap plan.

i am thinking of going high deductable f plan.

thanks again adriadne22 for all the info you have been providing me with,.

[zugor]

I was able to retire in 2004 at age 55 and kept my Kaiser coverage while I lived in CA during that first year of retirement. Then I moved to Virginia and my only option was to switch to a plan issued by United Health Care. The monthly premiums rose each year until in 2014 I was paying $1,535 a month. Under the ACA I was able to find a new plan for just $630 a month until I turned 65 in September. My costs for everything (Medigap plan F and drugs included) dropped again, down to just $290 a month.

The moral of the story: if you are figuring on taking early retirement do try your best to research medical insurance costs and just how much they might increase before you are eligible for Medicare, especially if your income will remain fixed.