When you’re a kid, you think, man, when I get old, I’ll get free medical. Nay nay-it’s horribly confusing AND CERTAINLY NOT FREE!
So I got Medicare the first year, then part B and drug coverage the second. All $$$. Now I hear I need a “Medsup”
So I’m researching thru the tons and tons of mail that comes on this and I get to United Healthcare AARP Medicare. Which promises a $0 monthly premium. That includes prescription drug coverage (the Cigna drug coverage I had last year doubled in price and raised the co-pays almost 3X). All at no extra cost at all since I have part B.
Somebody somewhere at United Healthcare has to be making money on this, right? I mean, I wasn’t born yesterday–ain’t nothing free. They said it’s an HMO with all the BS that means, but still–no additional cost?
So what’s the catch? Is this a good deal or not? The other sups I check want from $135 to $185 a month and this is putting a crimp in my retirement plans.
I’m in somewhat the same boat (I’ll be retiring next year and have been doing research). What I’ve found is that the lower the premium, the more restrictive the network and the more hoops you have to jump through to get specialist care. YMM, of course, V.
I’m with UHC, and yup, I have a plan with no extra premiums and a $0 copay for visiting my primary care doctor. I don’t know the economics of it, but they’re definitely worth researching.
One resource that might help: there are health insurance agents who can help you pick a plan and explain all of the details. They’re generally paid by commission, so no direct cost to you.
The one big thing I decide when switching from PPO (I would NEVER consider an HMO, as long as a PPO was even a remote possibility):
Buy the most insurance you can afford.
In my case, I have two nasty long-term, progressive diseases, so that influenced my decision. But not by much - US Healthcare is obscenely expensive (another thread) and can increase at really breathtaking rates.
Insurance, OTOH, is regulated - the premiums are almost always going to lag the market.
Dummygladhands, what you describe sounds like a Medicare Advantage plan, not a supplemental.
Medicare Advantage plans are plans where an insurance company provides you with coverage equal to or better than traditional Medicare’s. They don’t charge you, but do take your Medicare premium to as payment. The government pays this.
Many offer drugs coverage and maybe vision coverage.
These plans can be an HMO or a PPO.
Supplemental plans cost extra, as it’s a plan that’s secondary to Medicare.
There are both Medicare Advantage plans and supplemental plans available under AARP United Healthcare. I just checked (sorry, mom, I used your birthday).
I view Medicare Advantage as privatized Medicare - for which the government pays a for-profit company 114% of what they pay for a Medicare enrollee. It maintains the traditional US approach of having an insurance company participate in your healthcare decisions.
Medicare Supplement (MediGap) plans are insurance policies that pay for medical expenses or excess charges not covered by Medicare. You and your doctor still make healthcare decisions but if Medicare won’t pay what your doctor bills, the MediGap insurance will. If you don’t get a MediGap policy at 65, you can be denied a policy based on your health.
It’s certainly not easy, and the cost can change over time, unpredictably.
I have a PPO with Anthem/Blue Cross. When I had my heart surgery (costing about 100K), they paid for every cent of the surgery, hospital stay and at-home follow up. But then I was paying up to $500/month for Rx copays. Then this year, suddenly the Rx copays came down to maybe $20/month. With my new health problems, they’re paying for MRIs, CT scans, physical therapy and back surgery.
When I turned 65, I tried to sort out all the confusing options, and chose this plan. Since then, I’ve just stayed with it. It costs me about $50/month, and is well worth it. I’d never change to an HMO.