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I do NOT have Medicare, I and my wife declined it.
Why ever would you do that? It only costs $210 a month for both of you. Sign up for one of the better zero premium Advantage plans and your yearly medical expenses would likely be quite low.
Most private insurance companies do not offer coverage for those 65 and over.
Having spent quite a bit of time in Canada and Europe. I can say with certainty, their health coverage is not a panacea! Many of my Canadian and English friends complain about their system and one English friend came here for cancer treatment. The most common comment I heard from Canadians was "It's a good place to be healthy or a good place to be dying-in between no so much." Wait times for what is considered non life-threatening issues are excessive. A few years back I did some research and found that here in Raleigh North Carolina we had more MRI machines than the all of Canada. I don't know if that still holds true or not but it was enlightening as to why wait times seem to be longer.
Medicare covers that. I've certainly seen my share of Urologists over the past 5 years to know that. He needs to talk to other doctors.
Sure it covers it. It also narrowed it down to one treatment option. The cheapest, least invasive.
Which burned my dads intestines to smithereens. Causing my dad to go septic... They had to cut his intestines out and give him a crap bag, in less than 3 months.
Sure it covers it. It also narrowed it down to one treatment option. The cheapest, least invasive.
Which burned my dads intestines to smithereens. Causing my dad to go septic... They had to cut his intestines out and give him a crap bag, in less than 3 months.
What sort of insurance does he have with Medicare? Some of the worst private insurance Medicare Advantage plans go as cheap as possible in an effort to save themselves as much as possible w/o regard to patients health and sometimes refuse to pay for other better options. Lots of complaints on that issue re them. But even MD Anderson (very best in the world for cancer) will accept Medicare (not necessarily Advantage though).
When I say I've talked to urologists, I have - big time. I have what seems to be an uncureable but controllable bladder infection. Over the past 5 years I have had every kind of probe, test and scan that exists along with thorough examinations plus one stay at the hospital for further testing. Medicare has paid for it all without question.
So far things have worked out very well. I do have examinations every 6 months. And Medicare pays those. I do wish they paid for all the vitamins and herbal products that I have to take though.
What sort of insurance does he have with Medicare? Some of the worst private insurance Medicare Advantage plans go as cheap as possible in an effort to save themselves as much as possible w/o regard to patients health and sometimes refuse to pay for other better options. Lots of complaints on that issue re them. But even MD Anderson (very best in the world for cancer) will accept Medicare (not necessarily Advantage though).
When I say I've talked to urologists, I have - big time. I have what seems to be an uncureable but controllable bladder infection. Over the past 5 years I have had every kind of probe, test and scan that exists along with thorough examinations plus one stay at the hospital for further testing. Medicare has paid for it all without question.
So far things have worked out very well. I do have examinations every 6 months. And Medicare pays those. I do wish they paid for all the vitamins and herbal products that I have to take though.
Full military healthcare.
At a certain age(70) they the government start weighing life expectancy verse cost.
Medicare has to authorize your care. If they do not authorize it, not US Doctor will touch you, or fear the governments boot on their throats.
At a certain age(70) they the government start weighing life expectancy verse cost.
Medicare has to authorize your care. If they do not authorize it, not US Doctor will touch you, or fear the governments boot on their throats.
Nope, that has not been my experience at all. Nor did that happen with my mother at age 89 a few years ago.
Full military healthcare. Now, that doesn't exist unless you go to VA.
Today at age 65 you sign up for Medicare and TFL (Tricare For Life for retired military) acts as supplementary insurance. It pays the 20% of whatever Medicare pays 80% of. But with that you can go anywhere in the US for treatment. MD Andersen (the best cancer center in the US if not the world) accepts Medicare, even Johns Hopkins does. And places like that offer the best treatment, not necessarily the cheapest.
Medicare itself generally doesn't give nor require pre-authorization for treatments. There are exceptions.
As an example, Medicare usually doesn't provide for dental treatment unless there is documented proof that dental treatment is required to stop and cure something like jaw infection. My wife had that and it was necessary to remove an implant as part of her treatment a couple of years ago. We (her doctor) submitted an authorization request for treatment to Medicare who approved it. She then went to the hospital for the operation/procedure which they paid.
Her operation was not cheap, that I can tell you as I saw the final bills (an amazing number of strange hospital write-offs though). Nor have all the medical procedures that I have gone thru been cheap either. But they have been successful. And not one of mine has required a pre-authorization from Medicare.
My (our) experiences with Medicare have been totally different than your fathers. I don't have an answer other than perhaps our doctors are more knowledgeable, better and have more experience in this than his.
Anywhere there is money involved there is fraud. I've read that Medicare fraud is something like 5%-10%. A large amount of money.
The state of Florida has a large number of retirees on Medicare and the governor there is well aware of the fraud issues.
He sure is--he should have been in jail because of it. Instead he's the tea-party backed governor of Florida, who has done nothing but hide in his mansion and come out at election time to bestow projects on cities while seeking votes.
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