Is that with a spouse and kids? That’s crazy expensive for an employer plan.
It is for a family plan - but that’s not the cost an employee/retiree pays,They pay about $710/month. Which means my employer pays about $2390/month for an employee/retiree with a family plan.
When I retired my employer gave us access to a slightly-subsidized version of the existing employee plan, and this year for a full family it was about $3200/month. I have priced on the open market most years, and I’ve found some cheaper, but not much at the same level of coverage.
Right, as I said it was expensive. The advantage is that you get the rate negotiated by your employer - in my case a Fortune 100 company, so pretty good, and you get to keep your doctors. I looked at ACA, but it had high copays and wasn’t necessarily accepted by my clinic. I was glad to get off Cobra and on Medicare, for sure.
I just received notice from our Part D (prescription) insurer, Blue MedicareRX, that our premiums will be increased next year. By a lot.
This year, we (wife and I) are each paying zero dollars premium each month. Next year, the premiums will be raised to 45 bucks each month, for each of us. So we’ll go from paying nothing to paying over a thousand bucks in premiums next year.
Yes, I will be shopping for other plans, just as soon as they are available.
This is bullshit.
Agree it’s bullshit.
I wonder how much the year(s) of zero premiums were just a way to lure in a bunch of people and then crank the rates and hope most of them are too lazy / senile / set in their ways / ignorant of the Part D procedures to bother switching.
I too have enjoyed a zero-premium Part D for the last 2 years. I’ve not gotten any news about my 2027 premiums, but thanks to you I now know to be paying close attention. I probably would have been anyhow, but now it’s for sure.
Just got my Part D brochure.
The good news is my premium is going up from $0.00 to $5.30/mo. I can handle $63/year.
The less good news is the deductible goes from $615 to $700. So that’s another $85. we’re up to ~$150/year increase.
Then come the copay changes.
Basic Meds = “tier 1” = $15 this year and $20 next year. Per month. So $5/mo = $60/yr increase per med. That can add right up.
Fancier meds = “Tier 2”. $20 copay goes to 25% copay. That’s where this could screw somebody who’s watching their pennies.
The higher tiers are even worse.
Bastards.
This is a long thread, so forgive me if this has been covered. I just retired and have things mostly worked out, but I’m getting a part B premium increase based on their most recent income report ('24 W-2). I see that you can challenge some findings but don’t know if it’s possible to get evaluated for current income, rather than having to pay extra for 1-2 years until your tax return catches up. Thanks for having this thread.
Very short version: Go to the SSA website, obtain Form 44 which is a PDF. Fill it out and snail-mail (yep) it to your local SSA office. It’s pretty simple.
Form 44 is designed for exactly that situation, the transition year(s) when your taxable income craters upon retirement. You tell them what you expect to have for taxable income in 2027 and they just take your word for it. But … if you get it wrong enough they’ll (eventually) bill you for any unpaid IRMAA that later tax returns show you should have paid waay back when in 2027.
Longer versions ... You can read about it upthread here:
And in even more detail here, with some gotchas:
I probably should have added ‘is there a time limit on it?’
In what sense? You can file the form any time. About any relevant year. It’ll take them a couple months to process it and make a decision and if appropriate change your B & D premiums.
My recollection is that they do not offer a refund if you overpaid for e.g. the first half of the year before they approved your form. But that’s not a sure fact; I might be mistaken.
Is that responsive? If not ask a longer question.
My excess payments were refunded shortly after my request to rescind IRMAA was approved.
Thanks for the update / correction. Good to hear.
When I was approaching retirement I knew this issue was out there and my retirement date was early enough in the year that I had time to file it promptly upon retirement. It must have taken effect timely enough that I had paid little or no excess so hardly noticed the refund.
The best (cheapest) plan I can find also has a premium of $5.30 a month, or $63 a year. That’s $126 for my wife and me. Not as good as $0, but better than $1087 if we keep the same plan (and change pharmacies). Our drug costs remain at $0 for each of the five meds that we currently consume daily.
I’ve been in a $0 plan for the last ~2 years and the only outlier is Eliquis. For the first fill of the year I’m paying about $470 for a 3 month supply, but then it decreases each quarter as deductibles and whatnot are met. Given the premium, it’s still the best overall value for me, and coincidentally the company has the best Part D rating in my state.
Yeah, sorry if I seemed cryptic, I’ve just seen enough things where ‘you have 30 days to dispute these findings…’
FWIW, I have seen something on the gov’t website aobut addressing overpayments but didn’t look into it. I’ll get back to the thread if there’s something interesting there.
And thanks so much for starting this thread.
I’m not sure if that was directed at me or at the thread in general. I’ve contributed a few posts based on my as-lived experience. But I sure didn’t start this thread.
The actual OP @JohnT started this thread to share his hard-won knowledge as a professional Medicare counselor / salesperson to baffled seniors.
Now that deserves thanks from all 62 of the other posters. And however many hundred have been reading along silently.
Thank you John! This is the kind of work that makes the Dope great.
Strongly seconded.
That was such a great answer I I got you confused with the OP.
My apologies and appreciation to JohnT.
Heartily agreed!