Moving to Alamogordo (Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho: dermatology, home, live in)
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It's pretty much a done deal that I'll be moving to Alamogordo in a year give or take. I was stationed there a little over 30 years ago. When I told my wife about it she wanted to see it. I thought she'd hate it. But we looked at 3 possible places to move and made Alamogordo the first stop. We might as well not bothered with the second stop. And the third one on the trip, we didn't even slow down. The wife absolutely fell in love!
OK, so I'm trying to get some information before this happens. Specifically, I need to know some things that somebody who's retired military and on Medicare can answer. Maybe somebody else knows some, too. But anyone falling into that paradigm should certainly know.
As a first step, I need to know how well Holloman treats retirees and their medical needs. I don't have any special needs of my own. My wife won't need to worry about that for a few more years. But she has a few things that will matter once she gets to the stage I'm in.
It's not going to change our plans to move. (Although the economy might if some of the warnings I've read are real.) But we need to plan some things out before making the move. And that's going to be the biggest concern overall.
Alamogordo has good coverage for basic medical needs. Keep in mind that it's only an hour's drive to even more extensive medical facilities in both El Paso and Las Cruces. I live in Ruidoso, which is 2+ hours to El Paso or Cruces and I choose to skip over going to Alamogordo for specialty care: dermatology, cardio-vascular, ophthalmology, neurology, and orthopedics. Especially if surgery is involved.
El Paso has VA hospitals, both long-standing and brand new and a large population of military retirees. It is the home of Ft. Bliss, after all. Many from NM go to Albuquerque for VA care, but that's a 3 hr drive from Alamogordo.
Thanks for that. But I'm more interested in Holloman itself. I'm wondering because of overall cost.
Just had my first physical under both Medicare and Tricare for Life. Before I didn't pay anything for my coverage (premiums covered wife and son - still do for now) and my copay was $20. That was Tricare Prime. Now I pay for Medicare Part B so I can keep Tricare coverage. This physical they did slightly less than usual, billed Medicare, billed Tricare for Life and I'm getting stuck with $240 for the privilege. I'm not so concerned about my own needs because I've been pretty healthy all of my life. But I'm trying to get an idea of future costs when my wife is forced onto Medicare like I was.
Good access to military facilities would help with that. I know Holloman handles retirees. But since every facility has their own rules about what they handle, I'd like to know what I can expect when I move there.
I'm not against going to Mexico for care if it really comes to that and the cost is low enough. That's probably how we'll do dental anyway.
Like I said, I'm trying to get a feel for what to expect.
Phydeaux, I am not sure how extensive the medical facilities are on base, but I know that the Holloman doctors have staff privileges at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamo.
My internist in Alamo sends me to Las Cruces or El Paso for specialists.
Bill, I'm hoping I only need to go that route for more serious things. With any luck we won't have much of that.
My biggest concern is cost. Medicare Part B alone will cost us more than my premiums were to keep my family covered once we're both on Medicare. Like more than 5 times as much. (Mine were zero, coverage costs were for her and my son.) If this one physical is any indication of what to expect for the future, I worry about what happens if she needs more care and we get too old to travel to those places easily. I don't expect that to happen for a long time if ever. But it's something we need to plan for. And knowing what we have to work with at the outset is vital to making the necessary decisions.
As I say, this won't change the plan to move. (She'd probably shoot me if I tried to nix it anyway, and I'd want to move whether she did or not.) I've got a year or thereabouts to work this all out. Any information I can gather beforehand is going to help. So thanks for the info, I'll add it to my considerations and plans.
It's pretty much a done deal that I'll be moving to Alamogordo in a year give or take.
I am retired military, however we have lived in Rio Rancho, adjacent to Albuquerque over 15 years. It is A 230 mile, 3 and a half hour drive to Alamogordo. I spent some time in the Alamogordo area in the 70's and 80's.
I know almost zero about Medicare, my wife takes care of that. We are near a military hospital which we used when we first arrived here, however changes over the years had made local civilian facilities prety much mandatory or just more convenient.
I am retired military, however we have lived in Rio Rancho, adjacent to Albuquerque over 15 years. It is A 230 mile, 3 and a half hour drive to Alamogordo. I spent some time in the Alamogordo area in the 70's and 80's.
I know almost zero about Medicare, my wife takes care of that. We are near a military hospital which we used when we first arrived here, however changes over the years had made local civilian facilities prety much mandatory or just more convenient.
As always, good post Rich....and thank you again for your service.
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