AZ Jane

Remember to check all your options. I am fortunate enough to retire from the government, yea I know! But my medical coverage can be continued after retirement, with family coverage. So after retirement, my "supplemental" insure to cover me and the hubby was only $240 a month extra which includes medication and eye care. So check with that also.

leighway

Please someone correct me if I'm wrong...we have medicare plan F, which means we have medicare and we pay for that. In addition, we pay an EXTRA $150-170 per month for the supplement plan..the reason we do this is because medicare only pays 80% and we are stuck with the other 20% which in the case of a large hospital bill, would bankrupt us.
So, we pay around $99 for medicare and an extra $150 per person for the supplement which in our house amounts to around $500 per month for insurance...is that what others are experiencing? That doesn't make it free and doesn't make it cheap...especially on social security.
Would love others' input on this...

Prism99

leighway, as far as I know you are correct. Plan F refers to the supplement. $150 per person is the individual rate around here. My dh and I have supplement policies with the same company, so we get a discount for husband/wife coverage that brings our monthly payment down to something like $225. You might want to check with your supplement company to see if you are getting the spousal discount.

patski

If you don't get the medication part and then add it they charge from the 1st year so you might as well include it. We have a friend that sells this kind of insurance and he spent hours explaining, we chose Cigna but he told us every year you have to check the plans!!

tenngal

You are absolutely correct. I've had the F plan with American Continenal / Aetna for 7 years and have never gotten a bill or had a copay. Also signed up with Silver Script for Plan D. My hubby has many health problems and takes lots of medicine. I have no affiliation with either group, just did Medicare billing many years before retiring. They are a little higher priced, but well worth it.

carolynjo

We have had plan J for 15 years. No out of pocket costs and no co-pays. There is no longer a plan J but F is similar to it. We love it, though it is expensive. But, as long as we can afford it, that's what we'll get. Also, please get the prescription plan as well.

Prism99

leighway, you may also want to double-check your policy to make sure you are getting a non-tobacco-smoker discount (our company gives one) and also that you are not paying for a foreign travel rider (extra charge that you may not need).

Edit: Please don't quote me as I am not an expert on Medigap plans (supplemental plans for what Medicare does not cover).

As I recall, the federal government defines what plans A through F cover. Plan F is the one with the most coverage. Many different companies will offer plan F, and *all* of these plans are required to meet the same requirements. However, different companies charge different monthly rates for the same plan. That is why you need to shop the companies in your state before purchasing.

Also, when you retire, there is just one *6-month window* during which you can purchase a Medigap supplement ***with no questions asked***. This means whatever company you choose must give you the policy even if you have pre-existing conditions. After that window closes, you can still purchase a Medigap supplement policy *but* the company can ask questions and can turn you down. My sister missed the window and has horrendous pre-existing conditions; however, because she lives in MN she was still able to get a different kind of supplemental policy with similar coverage at a similar price. In many other states, getting this kind of policy after the window closes when you have pre-existing conditions would cost you considerably more per month.

joivey

I chose plan F, which is the same coverage no matter what carrier....but there is a great different in the costs among the different companies. There is a website at www.medicare.gov that gives you much good information.

lindaschipper

I'm not looking forward to the Medicare process at all. I'm 64 and just now starting to get phone calls about coverage from a few places. Thankfully my husband went through this last year and he can guild me.

Rose Marie

I just cancelled United Healthcare since they decided to start charging 43 dollars a month for it. It was free.
I had some tests done so what happens is if you use it, they start charging for it.