I’ve already started the application process and have selected for part B to start
in April '24. Right now I’m trying to figure out which company would be best for
part D. It seems that no matter which plan I choose Yelp will have an overwhelming
majority of one star reviews on it. Other websites are more positive but a large number
of plans don’t look that great. So far, the AARP Medicare Saver from UHC appears
to be one of the better ones.
I haven’t started on supplemental insurance yet and am not looking forward to it.
Any advice would be appreciated.
(For those of you living in nations with universal health care: Relax, pour yourself
a drink and be glad that you don’t have to deal with this sort of thing)
It’s been quite some time since we chose a supplemental (“Medigap”) plan, and as I recall, you can find comparisons on the Medicare.gov web site. Plans range from a Yugo to a Rolls Royce. Whatever you do, choose a plan that covers the 20% that Medicare doesn’t. You may expect to stay healthy, but anything might happen, and it’s not worth the risk. I had cancer surgery, and it was all covered.
Be sure to look up the differences between so-called “advantage” plans and “supplemental” health insurance. They are not the same and a wrong choice can be highly risky, especially if you get sick.
Though we chose another company, I know people who have AARP supplemental insurance and are happy with it.
For Part D go to medicare.gov and plug in the drugs you are currently taking and see what is the cheapest. Note you can switch Part D plans at the end of each year–so if change drugs you can change your drug plan at the end of the year. And see what pharmacies are available for selected plans–1. preferred pharmacies are going to be cheaper and 2, you may already have a pharmacy you like best.
The only addendum I can make to the above is not to judge “cheapest” by premium alone. The results of your search should give you an estimate of your annual expense including deductibles and copay.
As far as supplemental insurance is concerned, a SHIP representative can be an inestimable help in navigating the minefield. I would not have known that the employer from whom I retired would cover half of my Part F premium otherwise.
Many of us should avoid “Medicare Part C” a.k.a “Medicare Advantage” plans. These require you to use doctors they have approved (I think HMO’s do or did the same thing). Instead, “Supplemental” a.k.a. “Medigap” plans let you choose your doctors.
As far as “Medicare Part D” a.k.a. drug plans, we wound up choosing a low cost one whose deductible is high enough it probably won’t kick in for our fairly cheap prescriptions. The reason is that our health could change and we could require very expensive prescriptions. Not choosing a plan now could have required us to pass various tests and whatnot before we could buy a plan later.
I had fairly good health insurance before I retired, but I’m happy to say that our Medicare A + Medicare B + supplemental + Part D actually give us better coverage today.
I made a mistake with my Part D when I retired a year ago. I went for the “best”, which had zero deductible but a high ($112) monthly premium. That cost me $1344 for the year.
When renewal time came I went shopping, plugging in my medications to determine my costs. I went with an Aetna policy that has just an $11/month premium; I paid the entire year’s premium ($132) off at once. The deductibles for my meds amount to $114 for the year.
Part D plans should not cost much unless you are on extremely expensive medicines. I 've been on the Wellcare Value Script plan for a couple of years. It covered my blood pressure medicine and cholesterol medicine and, last year, had a monthly premium of $7. This year, its monthly premium is $0. (Yes, that’s right.) Take the previous advice and enter your medicines in the Medicare.gov site. Go for the cheapest plan - you can change it every year without risk. Also note that plans that have high deductibles, sometimes still cover Tier 1 (and sometimes Tier 2) drugs without any deductible.
As for Medigap plans, the ONLY deciding variable is price. Don’t be fooled. The government specifies exactly what must be covered in every Medigap plan. There really is no added value from one insurance company to another. (Some companies give additional benefits over and above government required coverage, but I’ve never found those to be useful.) The first decision is which Medigap plan you want. Plan F used to be the best - it covered all additional charges, including the Part B deductible, but that plan is being phased out (any Plan F you find now will be VERY expensive to encourage you to choose another plan). The next best is Plan G, which is just like the old Plan F, but it doesn’t cover the Part B deductible. There are also more choices of Plans, but I’ve never used those.
Once you’ve chosen your Plan, now you can shop on price, only. The insurance provider really doesn’t matter, I’ve found. I use an independent Medicare supplemental insurance agent. They are up on the latest prices from all the insurance companies and can assist you in the application process. You (should) pay nothing for this service. They get their commission directly from the insurance company.
I assume you are taking expensive drugs. Almost everything I take is a generic, and I’m paying under $10 a year these days. Two of my three drugs have 0 copays, one has $15 for 3 months worth.
That’s the one I’ve had for the past 7 years, and never a bit of trouble with it. I just discovered that UHC also has a benefit of a reduced cost dental plan. I’m going to the new dentist under it next week, we’ll see how it goes.
As for Plan D, besides checking what’s in the formulary, check on which pharmacies cost less under their plan. When I started on Medicare I was going to a local pharmacy, but they were a lot more expensive than CVS. I felt bad, but CVS is open 24/7, and they aren’t, and I’ve never had a problem.