It's Time For Medicare (whether I want it or not)

[fishheadbob]

My BIL just came up with this info.

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Your B.I.L. is only a little bit right, the printed sheet a little bit wrong. The letter says it is not automatic. The letter is wrong. SS knows when you were in the service by who it was you were working for. Huh? If your earning for whatever year were reported to SS by a uniformed services branch they know you were in. When you retire one of the questions they ask is "were you ever in the service?"; that's as a backup. It's a fairly routine matter rarely requiring you to produce a DD214 since they already know your dates of service.

 

[ultrarunner]

January is always interesting when it comes to scheduled surgery for a number of reasons... Deductibles and Co-Pays reset and Coverages may change.

My brother was scheduled for surgery and at the last minute his approved surgery cancelled when employer changed plans... also at the last minute...

On the Medicare front seniors are coming in and finding their new Advantage Plan may not be contracted which is a shock because say they are a regular patient or come in for imaging services or cancer treatments... the last thing they expect is their Advantage plan offering enhanced services would be a problem... even to the point the new plan provided transportation to their not covered appointment.

 

[ovrszd]

I am retired military so basic medicare and Tri-Care for life is about as good as it gets. The whole process is very confusing, and it was very hard to find a clear answer as to whether I needed any supplements. (I don't, TriCare for life takes the place of supplements and prescriptions for me);

In my area there were free seminars on signing up for Medicare. Granted, they were sponsored by insurance brokers but there was a lot of good information and explanations provided about the Medicare system.

One odd fact about signing up. When we were doing our initial application I provided a specific change over date. I had given two month notice at work and new the exact date I would switch to Medicare. That day came and went. A month or so later we went to the doctor and had an issue with the billing. Turns out you had to call Medicare a second time and tell them you really dropped your other insurance. Got a love a bureaucracy.

Get the books from Medicare and start reading now. Some choices, if made wrong could penalize your for a long time.

Doug in SW IA

I too am retired Military. My medical coverage monthly costs went up when I had to join Medicare.... Tri-Care is an excellent retirement benefit for Military.

 

[ovrszd]

Your not going to get any "pay back benefit" unless you can qualify for Medicaid. And you have to be pretty poor to qualify for that. Only dual eligible's get their part B paid for by the government. And my guess is anyone that owns a tractor is not going to qualify for Medicaid. Joe Namath and George Foreman's lies aside. If the zero dollars monthly is all you can afford towards your healthcare plan, then that is cool. Just don't get chronically ill. You will have to pay a little as you go and you will likely be able to afford that, just don't get really sick.

My Mom qualified for Medicaid in her late years. There was even a stipulation concerning how much money she could have in her checking account at any given time. I don't remember exactly, but it was under $1,000.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

My 1st year Medicare I was just as confused as anyone. Wound up on the plan offered to retirees from my former employer ... Aetna Advantage. It cost a F O R T U N E and I wasn't going to do that again.
I found a United Health Care AARP Medicare plan - and, no you don't have to belong to AARP ( I certainly don't) - ZERO DOLLAR PREMIUM. It's a very good plan.

If you have any way to retain an existing Dental plan - DO IT.

 

[Oaktree]

Wilford Brimley was one of my favorite actors until he got in on that game with private providers being handed government money out of the pockets of those that worked for it.

Brimley was before my time, other than being the guy in the Grape Nuts (?) commercial talking about eating tree bark or something similar I'd never heard of him. Did he shill for some "rip-off-seniors" outfit too?
Don't forget about Tom Sellek shilling for reverse mortgages.

Applications for a business taxpayer number are up 59%, and that's just the quitters who incorporated. It looks like people are giving being their own boss a try. Most of them won't make it, but a lot of them will. What to they have to lose? They can work for an idiot for scut wages, or they can work for themselves for the same money. Some of them will do a lot better. I think we're seeing a big socioeconomic change, but what do I know?

I went that route about 10 years ago when the company I was working for went toes up. I was a little too young to fully retire, but finding a similar paying job that didn't involve a really long commute (or move) was close to nil. Mine was a fairly specialized trade, but there was no one else anywhere near that did it so I made out.
You do need to be disciplined though, and remember that your income is gross, not net. I've read that something like 90% of small businesses that fail are not because the owner wasn't good at their trade, but because they were a lousy businessman.

I found a United Health Care AARP Medicare plan - and, no you don't have to belong to AARP ( I certainly don't) - ZERO DOLLAR PREMIUM. It's a very good plan.

If you have any way to retain an existing Dental plan - DO IT.

I have never in my life had a dental plan that was worth the paper it was printed on. I did the math on a couple of them, and there was no scenario where I wouldn't come out ahead by skipping the insurance and paying for the services myself.
Don't even get my wife going on those AARP health care plans. She had one for a while, the premiums were low, but they covered almost nothing.

 

[sree251]

I have never in my life had a dental plan that was worth the paper it was printed on.

My dental plan is to let my teeth fall out and live with it. When it's time to go let them go.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

My dental plan is to let my teeth fall out and live with it. When it's time to go let them go.

LOL ... isn't that the truth! With a cap near $1500/yr, it only takes 1 visit to wipe it out.

 

[KennyG]

Don't even get my wife going on those AARP health care plans. She had one for a while, the premiums were low, but they covered almost nothing.

Depends on which one you get. AARP promotes a whole range of plans and they are standardized to the Medicare requirements. I have the "N" supplement plan from United Health Care and it works well for me. I have very little health issues, so I never hit the deductible but I get the negotiated discounts, the free preventive care and have coverage anywhere in the world.

We are moving in the direction of high deductible plans so you have to take some responsibility for yourself. Of course, the option is to go bankrupt and get everything covered through Medicaid (which seems to be the option Namath and JJ are pushing.)

 

[LFP57]

I'm turning 65 in a few weeks and trying to understand what to do about the Medicare enrollment, I'm still working and plan to for another year or so. I've received different information regarding enrollment, some say I don't have to enroll now and they mention a SEP (special enrollment period) for the Plan B that allows me to wait and not get penalized. I'm told that I must enroll for the main Medicare now and wait for the plan B, the Medicare website is not clear on the SEP and when to enroll or if there's a special form to complete.
If I must enroll in Medicare now, what happens with my employers insurance, will there be an issue with having both and who pays for any medical expense?