# Sorting through Medicare: what a fucking pain in the motherfucking ass **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 27, 2026, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437 "2026-05-27T21:29:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/1 "2026-05-27T21:29:45Z")
No question here (or only rhetorical ones). _ **I’M JUST VENTING.** _ _ **I’M GOING THROUGH THIS SHIT NOW** _ _ **WHAT A FPITA** _ Maybe this should be in The Pit? I turn 65 next month. Medicare kicks in on Monday. I have my card, I have my Medicare number. I’m sorting through the plans now, and signing up. I thought life gets easier when you’re retired? Silly, stupid Bullitt. What a Government Operation. _ **WHAT A FPITA!!!** _ ‼ rant endeth ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/2 "2026-05-27T21:44:27Z")
It gets much easier after the first time. If you’re still happy enough w the setup you’re arranging now, just sit still next year and it’ll all autorenew. But yeah, it feels like was designed as the final exam for your working life. And an exam 90% of the class will flunk at least one section of. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/3 "2026-05-27T21:50:31Z")
Yes, I always wonder about politicians who talk about “Medicare for everyone” as a solution for universal health care. Clearly they have never had to go through this. If there ever is universal health care in this country, I hope they carefully and impartially examine the Medicare experience, learn from that, then scrap it and start over from scratch. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/4 "2026-05-27T22:03:39Z")
I shouldn’t have to depend on it the first two and a half years that I have it. I kept the insurance I had through my work when I retired at 60, albeit at an increased rate. It’s still a lot cheaper than I’d get through ACA. My wife is insured through me and is 2 and a half years younger than me, so during that gap I’ll have both Medicare and Blue Cross. I don’t know this for sure, but I’m guessing I can use it as an opportunity to see first hand what Medicare will and won’t cover. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/5 "2026-05-27T22:09:20Z")
There are companies that will help you sort it out for a fee. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/6 "2026-05-27T22:12:22Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > I don’t know this for sure, but I’m guessing I can use it as an opportunity to see first hand what Medicare will and won’t cover. By law, Medicare is secondary to any employer insurance. So Medicare won’t spend a penny until your employer insurance denies some claim as medically unnecessary. Only then will they step in. Unless they make the same denial. All your deductibles and OOPs and whatnot from your employer policy will be the same as if you didn’t have Medicare. None of that stuff can be submitted to Medicare for secondary reimbursement. As such, what you’ll be experiencing these next years is totally _not_ a test of how standalone Medicare might work for you after the employer plan is gone. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/7 "2026-05-27T22:15:39Z")
Oh well. If it weren’t so expensive (a little over 900 a month) I’d probably just keep it even after my wife turns 65. I’ve been very pleased with it, except for the time they tried not to cover my daughter’s emergency appendectomy because she had the temerity to need it when we were visiting a neighboring state. We did fight it successfully. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/8 "2026-05-27T22:19:42Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > There are companies that will help you sort it out for a fee. There’s also free assistance through volunteer programs for each state. In California, here’s a link to [HICAP](https://cahealthadvocates.org/hicap/). Here in Oregon, they’re called SHIBA. I use them every year to narrow down my best Part D coverage, but they were especially helpful in sorting through the gobbledygook when I first signed up for Medigap. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/9 "2026-05-27T22:21:06Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > There are companies that will help you sort it out for a fee. Or you can contact your local [SHIP](https://www.shiphelp.org/) agency. They don’t charge a fee and aren’t affiliated with any insurer. ETA: Curse you, @Aspenglow! ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/10 "2026-05-27T22:22:39Z")
\< cackle!! \> ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/11 "2026-05-27T23:54:38Z")
My employer discontinued our insurance in December. Everyone over 65 has to use Medicare. We get reimbursed 100 per cent but it has indeed been a shitshow. I am getting to see how it all works with full reimbursement but what a headache. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/12 "2026-05-28T01:08:59Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > There’s also free assistance through volunteer programs for each state. In California, here’s a link to [HICAP](https://cahealthadvocates.org/hicap/). Whoa — thank you! I’ma chekkinit out! Added — truly a shitshow, @Ellecram . > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > So glad _“my”_ idea helps you. 😉 Added 2 — oh I missed that! Thanks Thanks Thanks also, Beck! You ain’t so bad bad bad. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2026, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/13 "2026-05-28T01:15:49Z")
So glad _“my”_ idea helps you. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2026, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/14 "2026-05-28T01:23:04Z")
I’ve attended two classes for retirees about parsing all the Medicare options, and when I left them I was more confused than when I started. Fortunately (I hope), I live in California, and should be able to meet one-on-one with a HICAP volunteer to figure out what will work best for me. I turn 65 in a few months, so I better get a move on! (Thanks for the reminder, @Aspenglow !) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2026, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/15 "2026-05-28T01:27:34Z")
Let’s not forget the ultimate guide to all things Medicare. No Doper should get past age 64-1/2 (or let their older spouse get past that age) without a thorough reading cover to cover. It’s now 5 years old, plus subsequent addenda, but the big picture remains valid even if certain details of Medicare have been tweaked by one administration or the next. > [@America's Elder Crisis, Medicare Edition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-elder-crisis-medicare-edition/937146): > > They call, or we call them, an inexhaustible stream of elderly, disabled, and/or poor Americans, all with their stories to tell. Different in the details of course, but in the aggregate a theme develops, a daily oral history of a shattered medical insurance system, not broken because of governmental incompetence but of an insane ideological commitment to “choice” and “competition” and “the market” even in areas where these ideas do not belong. And it has been my experience in the private Medica… ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2026, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/16 "2026-05-28T01:28:31Z")
Thanks @LSLGuy . ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2026, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/17 "2026-05-28T01:33:25Z")
Here’s another product nobody in their early 60s should be without. > **[Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions](https://store.nolo.com/products/social-security-medicare-and-government-pensions-soa.html)** > > Learn all about maximizing your Social Security, Medicare, SSI, Veterans, FERS and CSRS benefits and navigating the system with confidence. This all-in-one resource gets you the most out of your retirement benefits. It’s all but imposible to piece together a coherent understanding of all this crap from purely online resources. Online is too much looking at the universe through a soda straw. And way too much content written by people (or bots) who don’t understand it themselves. A book, whether paper or e-, is a vastly better tool for a large mass of semi-arbitrary detail, and these folks have one of the best. Your library may have a copy if you’re disinclined to spend $23. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2026, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/18 "2026-05-28T01:52:21Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Whoa — thank you! I’ma chekkinit out! So glad if it helps you! They were invaluable to me here in Oregon when I went through this a few years ago, as was the thread referenced by @LSLGuy below. One thing I’ll add about HICAP is, remember they are all volunteers, and as such, some will be much more knowledgeable than others. If you don’t get all your questions answered the first time you talk with someone, don’t be afraid to try again with a different volunteer. The best thing I learned from @JohnT’s thread was this: In most cases, if you can afford the monthly premiums, just shop for the least expensive Medigap (Supplement) plan. This is traditional Medicare. Every insurer that offers it is required _by law_ to provide the exact same coverage, and the only difference is price. Advantage plans sound great up front, but as you age out and require more care, they may haggle with you over what they will cover and what they won’t. Do ask your HICAP helper to confirm this, though, for your own individual situation. > [@ricepad](#): > > (Thanks for the reminder, @Aspenglow !) Trust me, you can never start too early to research all this! No sooner will have have the main plan figured out, than you’ll have to move on to Part D for your prescription coverage. That’s a real shell game, too. Do yourselves a favor and get all your maintenance prescription medicines listed for the HICAP volunteer: The full names of the drugs, the doses, even what form the dose is delivered, whether a tablet or something else. They can then run your particular drugs through their software to determine which insurance carrier will give you the best deal each year for what you take. Yes, you, too, will be bothering your HICAP volunteers every year for help with this – as do I. Two years ago, I saved close to $1,000 for the very same drugs just by changing providers. This year, my Part D carrier was still the best deal going, so I didn’t have to change. Nice when it happens, but I sure don’t count on it. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2026, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/19 "2026-05-28T02:29:03Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Advantage plans sound great up front, but as you age out and require more care, they may haggle with you over what they will cover and what they won’t. Another issue is that if you start on an Advantage plan switching to a medigap plan will require medical underwriting, with rates dependent on your pre-existing conditions. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2026, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437/20 "2026-05-28T03:03:33Z")
I’m 67. Still employed and hence insured by my employer, but I see this shitstorm looming and I am _so_ not looking forward to dealing with them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorting-through-medicare-what-a-fucking-pain-in-the-motherfucking-ass/1030437.md?page=2)