Can we talk Medicare supplements

It is VERY confusing!

I will warn you against a Medicare Advantage plan. It is the same as having an HMO. You are limited in what procedures the plan will accept. For example, SIL needed varicose vein treatment. Her dr. warned her that one vein in her leg was very likely to rupture, and if that happened she would bleed to death. Her plan refused it as they considered it for cosmetic reasons only. She took a chance on waiting because it was so costly. She changed back at the end of the year to a regular Medicare plan and the treatment was covered. MANY of my doctors will NOT accept a Medicare Advantage plan.

My husband had BCBS for his supplement until I retired and we both are carried on the Teacher Retirement System supplement--it is currently with Aetna.

I am not an expert but looking into this as DH will be 65 and signs up for Medicare next month. He won't need supplemental insurance just yet because he is still working and has a good medical plan.

My understanding is Medicare only covers 80% and that is why most people buy supplemental coverage. If you are healthy in your younger retirement years, maybe you won't need this. But what happens let's say if you are in a car accident and it was your fault. If you sustain injuries and have a long hospital stay then your supplemental would kick in. At least that is my understanding.

Also, my boss and his wife have supplemental coverage. Each year during open enrollment I shop around for them to make sure they are getting the best coverage for their premium dollar. Even though they have premium increases each year, dollar for dollar the coverage they bought years back is much better than what they can purchase it for today. So, I guess you can not opt-in now, but then the older you get, the more expensive the supplemental will cost. 

I think that costs vary by state.

If I am wrong, I am sure someone will correct the record here!

Buying health care coverage in the US is still a hot mess. Good luck!

Beware that different states might also have different names for plans/levels/etc. In TX, it is my understanding that Advantage plans don't cost extra but supplemental do. cadoodlebug --is that $73 portion for Part D (prescription coverage) or your Part A/B premium? I have to agree that I have only heard good things out of Kaiser and do wish they were national. And that they could compete across state lines.

I have an advantage plan, SCAN. Neither my husband nor I have medical issues and we don't take meds. However, I did have hip replacement last year and it did not cost me one cent. Before that I fell and dislocated my shoulder, had to go to ER for them to put it back in place and then had an MRI. All in all my medical bills were over one hundred thousand last year and I didn't pay anything at all...zero. In the past we've had colonoscopies, blood work, shingles vaccine, etc and again pay nothing. Prescriptions are $5 when we do need meds for something.

I am in So. Cal. and I have a huge pool of doctors to choose from. My surgeon was top of the line and I was very lucky to have him. I'm not sure how an advantage plan would work if we were in a small town and didn't have such a wide choice of doctors. The SCAN customer service is wonderful.

You have the option each year to change so you can always go with another plan next year if you chose to. We would have wasted a lot of money by now if we'd gone with a supplemental plan.

ETA: We pay no premiums except the hundred dollars that they deduct from our social security checks.

I live in Texas, too. We got supplementAL with Scott and White. There are several levels. We choose the free one. It has paid. I do not understand how. They explained why they offer the free plan, but either I didn't understand, or I have forgotten. 

I do understand that you do need to get a part D policy when you are 65, though, or else you will have to pay more when you sign up for it. I just got the cheapest one available since we don't take any routine  meds. It has worked fine too. We have had these about 4 years..

Just been through this with a senior family member. She moved locally and thank goodness we had a top-line medicare advantage PPO available in our area. One was not available where she used to live. It does cost an extra $139/month over the part B cost BUT it limits yearly costs to $3500 in-network, $5500 (combo of in- and out-of-network). Also in-network there are $0 copays for primary care and $15 for specialists. So much better than her previous medicare advantage HMO plan which was horrible - everything needed referrals and approvals and no-one wanted to take it. As for standard medicare, the supplements were a NIGHTMARE to understand. I know it costs more but if you can get a PPO it does limit your overall yearly costs -- which for us likely facing a serious neurological diagnosis soon seemed like a good idea.

Scott and White is/was a huge medical facility in Central Texas. IIRC, they merged with the Baylor medical plans about 18 months ago.

I'm not really knowledgeable---but at our TRS meeting a couple of years ago they were making a big deal out of Scott and White merging with the Baylor Health systems.   They were trying to get us all to sign on with a Medicare Advantage plan and discussed the merger.
That is really about all I know.    --When I knew my drs would not accept the Advantage plan, I tuned out on the presentation.