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My wife has the AARP/UHC plan N supplement as she has several conditions. Monthly premium is $135.35
I have High Deductible F with Bankers Fidelity as I am a bit healthier. My monthly premium just went up to $44
Thank you, Ariadne22, your knowledge is invaluable. I do want AARP UHC because it's community rated and also because it has been outstanding for my mother (she has F Plan) through multiple surgeries, procedures, complications with re-admissions, scans, infusions, and many doctor visits -- everything has been covered completely. I'm leaning toward UHC Plan G for the peace of mind. I'm healthy now but want to ensure I never get the runaround decades hence when I'm in my 90's and not able to deal with paperwork. She's in her mid 90's now and her UHC F Plan premium is now $249/month (up from $236/month in 2019) which seems very reasonable. I assume their G Plan would increase at about the same rate with age.
The info and links you've provided on this forum have been a treasure in helping with a complex decision. Thank you for helping us navigate through it all and understand the choices.
You're welcome. Yes, $249/mo. for a 90 y/o is an excellent illustration of the value of community rated pricing. I've read of others in their 80's with attained-age premiums well over $400/mo., and rising, which is crazy. Rates in Tennessee are lower than other parts of the country. In WI, at 78 y/o, I would pay $330 for an AARP UHC Plan F. Instead, I would choose the WI hybrid Plan G/N for about $220/mo. The $20 doctor copay isn't going to break the bank and results in significant premium savings. Age 77 is cutoff for age increases for me. Your mother's might have occurred earlier. Thereafter, any increases for either of us would be for medical costs in the risk pool - which accounts for the $13 increase in your mother's premium.
All that said, I recently read humans are designed to live at least 90 years. More and more we see that happening, even with the men. So, when buying a Medigap, it's best to plan for a long life.
Last edited by Ariadne22; 08-22-2020 at 11:34 PM..
Contrary to many comments, there are some advantages to UHC Medicare Advantage PPO and POS plans. I reiterate:
"Not all Medicare Advantage Plans are restrictive as you indicate. I think you are referring to a Medicate Advantage HMO Plan. My Medicare Advantage Plan is a PPO and it covers me in and out of network at the same rate, and does not require a referral to a specialist. In fact, I haven't found any disadvantages to it and it covers more than just Original Medicare.
In addition to many other additional features, I get free fitness center membership with Silver Sneakers.
Look at all options and see which ones work best for you."
Check out your doctors and see what the situation is regarding the Advantage plan. I have UHC Advantage PPO plan and I have never had to pay more for going to an out of network doctor. I travel and have never had a problem finding a doctor that accepted my plan at the Medicare rates. I used to have a Medicare supplement plan and changed to an Advantage plan several years ago. I have additional benefits with no discernable disadvantages.
People use anecdotal scare tactics that sound authoritative. The Advantage plans may not be the best for you, but you should look at them as an alternative. I worked in finance and employee benefits. I would never tell a client to dismiss an entire category of options based on my anecdotal experiences.
We both signed up for a high deductible F plan after doing research this past year. All the numerous advertisements on television, social media and the proliferation of mailings when we turned 65 for Advantage plans, spoke more about profit than care to us.
DH has a coworker, also a friend, who was pleased with his Advantage plan and how cheap it was for him compared to a Medigap plan. He was surprised DH decided to go the Medigap route after telling him about why he chose his Advantage plan. This friend has now had two surgeries this year and is looking to switch to a Medigap plan. Anecdotal for sure, but it came as no surprise.
If you live in a state where switching from an Advantage to a Medigap may trigger underwriting, the decision isn’t as easy as for those who can easily switch. Choosing wisely is not easy with so many different possibilities and outcomes. It was one our harder decisions to make when retiring.
Personally, I think the insurance companies make much more money from the supplement plans than from the Advantage plans given the usually higher premium on the supplement plans. But that's just my opinion. I'm sure everyone has a second cousin's brother in law that had a terrible experience with their Advantage plan. "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise."
Personally, I think the insurance companies make much more money from the supplement plans than from the Advantage plans given the usually higher premium on the supplement plans.
Advantage plans are huge cash cows for the insurers - long have been. It's hard to find data, but I did locate this:
Quote:
For-profit Medicare Advantage insurers made a 5 percent profit margin in 2016 — twice the average of Medicare plans overall, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which reports to Congress. That's slightly better than the health insurance industry's overall 4 percent margin reported by Standard & Poor's.
Those profit margins could expand. The Trump administration boosted payments to Medicare Advantage plans by 3.4 percent for 2019, 0.45 percentage points higher than the 2018 increase.
Both interesting reads, especially Kaiser on how Advantage is compensated. Advantage can always go back to the govt for more money. Supplement plans cannot.
Advantage profitability is motivating health providers and insurers not previously offering Advantage to get into the market, including here in WI. We now have three major health systems in the Advantage market in my part of the state, one added just this year.
I'm sticking with my Medicare Advantage plan. It covers me in all regions of the US where I travel. I pay the same whether I see a network physician or an out of network physician. Every medical practitioner who has provided service to me has accepted my Medicare Advantage plan. It works for me and my husband.
I feel that the chorus that derides Medicare Advantage plans do many people a disservice.
Everyone should review all forms of medical and insurance coverage to find the plan that best suits their lifestyle and health situation. Rejecting an entire category of plans without a thorough review could be unwise.
As OP told you, his hd premium is $67/mo. Monthly premium depends on your age and company. Lowest for 65 y/o in your part of the country is $35/mo - average is more in the area of $45, increasing with age. No, Medigaps do not provide drug coverage. You would need a Plan D for that, which is an additional premium plus copays. Many people stay with Advantage because of the drug coverage.
Biggest advantages of a Medigap is NO OVERSIGHT on expensive (and often routine) medical care, no provider networks, use the plan with any doctor who accepts Medicare anywhere. But a Medigap + Part D is more expensive. Humana has an HD in some states which will pay for Silver Sneakers.
My AARP UHC pays for Health club memberships. I am on a zero deductible Plan F. I don't think we have used anywhere near what our monthly costs are, because I don't have to concern myself with any other bills.
I do track my prescription drug expenses, though. We signed up for the cheapest Part D we could so, in the future, should we ever need a Part D plan, we won't pay a penalty on our premiums for not having been in a Part D plan all along. Does this mean we don't have prescriptions? I wish! But we don't use the Part D plan we are paying for, because we found a way to pay for our prescriptions that costs us even less than what it would if we used it.
So far what prescriptions we do have are all covered by our KrogerSC plan ($70/year), with copays using GoodRX at our local Harris Teeter, and our costs are less than we were paying out of pocket for each drug under the previous Part D plan we had that was costing us more than three times the premium. Most of the copays under the Kroger plan cost us $0.00 to $6.00, with a few that are more costly. On the GoodRx website we can see how much more the actual cost would have been without their discount. It seems to jive closely with what we were paying out of pocket with our old Part D plan.
Plus, the drug prescriptions also qualify for Harris Teeter's fuel discount at BP gas stations. Since we are retired, we don't drive that much, and we almost always are getting $1 discount every time we fill up. You can get up to 35 gallons per fill-up so the last time we actually filled up both cars without turning off the pump in between.
My AARP UHC pays for Health club memberships. I am on a zero deductible Plan F. I don't think we have used anywhere near what our monthly costs are, because I don't have to concern myself with any other bills.
I do track my prescription drug expenses, though. We signed up for the cheapest Part D we could so, in the future, should we ever need a Part D plan, we won't pay a penalty on our premiums for not having been in a Part D plan all along. Does this mean we don't have prescriptions? I wish! But we don't use the Part D plan we are paying for, because we found a way to pay for our prescriptions that costs us even less than what it would if we used it.
So far what prescriptions we do have are all covered by our KrogerSC plan ($70/year), with copays using GoodRX at our local Harris Teeter, and our costs are less than we were paying out of pocket for each drug under the previous Part D plan we had that was costing us more than three times the premium. Most of the copays under the Kroger plan cost us $0.00 to $6.00, with a few that are more costly. On the GoodRx website we can see how much more the actual cost would have been without their discount. It seems to jive closely with what we were paying out of pocket with our old Part D plan.
Plus, the drug prescriptions also qualify for Harris Teeter's fuel discount at BP gas stations. Since we are retired, we don't drive that much, and we almost always are getting $1 discount every time we fill up. You can get up to 35 gallons per fill-up so the last time we actually filled up both cars without turning off the pump in between.
I went back and looked at my KrogerSC account and it is telling me I have saved about $5500 this year so far. We have about 10-12 maintenance drugs plus the occasional antibiotic or flu drug(Tamiflu). I have been tracking all the charges we have paid out of pocket, including the $70 membership in Kroger via Harris Teeter, and the monthly payments into the (cheapest) Part D plan, which all comes out to be about $1100 this year so far. It's possible the $5500 could be slightly over inflated, but it would have to be grossly so, to actually be losing or breaking even.
Things I'm concerned about with going on medicare coverage and costs :
#1. out of pocket expenses and keeping them as low as possible.
#2. no increases in policy premiums as I age
#3. ease of switching from say medigap to medicare advantage plan and vice versa if I change my mind.
#4. good coverage if say have to go into a nursing home.
Any quick easy answers would be helpful...just getting started and will be 65 in a few months, gotta figure out this confusing stuff !
Should I choose a Medigap or Medicare advantage plan ?! Medigap plan G ( as are some Medicare advantage plans ) is looking good but can't find out much about Out of pocket limits as of yet which can bankrupt folks.
Am in NC if it matters and have no health problems other than dental issues. On no drugs , etc. I've been very fortunate health wise so far, knock wood.
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