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

[lman]

Maybe he was trying to cheer up this dreary thread.

 

[dmccarty]

One other thing to consider if your are taking trips overseas is to take out a temporary travel insurance plan for the duration of your trip to cover the possibility of medical needs (accident or sudden severe illness). In many ways this is preferable to any overseas travel your normal plan might cover, BUT getting the payments coordinated and the overseas providers payed can be more trouble than it is worth. It is much easer to take out these temporary policies for a few 10's of dollars per individual and be done with it.

Again, this is "off the wall" and not really relevant to the original questions, but something to keep in the back of your mind if you do overseas travel.
...

Yep.

We have taken out travel and trip insurance going overseas and staying in the US. We figured there was some risk in some of these trips, and for the US trip there was, and the insurance was used. No problem getting the insurance to pay up.

The problem with getting sick overseas is not just paying for the treatment but getting home if needed. Some places you will NEED to get back to the US and that can be very expensive. One needs evacuation insurance in those situations.

Read about an Australian who was on a boat in one of the Pacific Islands. She got bit by a shark and stabilized but there was no way she was going to get good treatment on that island. She had evacuation insurance and a jet ambulance, with a nurse(s) and doctor on board flew a couple of days out to the island to get the patient back to Australia. Having to pay that out of pocket would have cost a fortune.

On one of our trips we were traveling by boat. One night we went ashore for a party and we were tied up to a floating dock. When we left the boat, we just had to step from the dock to land. No problem. Well, six or so hours later, we returned to the boat and the dock was a good 12-15 feet lower. The tide had gone out. It was also raining. There were two ladders from the land to the floating dock. I picked one. The wrong one. I picked the ladder that was made from flat bar for the ladder rung where the bar was vertical so my boot would not be likely to slip. The other ladder rungs where made from round pipe and were slippery. So I made the right choice. Or so I thought...

The ladder work just fine until I got to the bottom of the ladder. The ladder ended about 5 feet above the floating dock. I decided it was safer for me to fall to the dock rather than climbing back up. So I did and did not get hurt. I had the wifey climb down the other ladder that reached the dock. I was REALLY glad we had trip and evacuation insurance. Even more glad that we did not NEED said insurance.

I have read of Irish citizens getting sick in the US and needing to get back home, both because they did not have health care coverage in the US but also because their illness was going to require a long time in the hospital. They had to ask people to fund their air ambulance back to Ireland.

Evacuation AND health care coverage is important along with trip insurance.

Later,
Dan

 

[Jstpssng]

Many I know are waiting for Medicare age to retire...

Health Insurance is right up there after wage earned.

I'm on that list. I still will keep working, but not at a job where I'm expected to work somebody else's hours. I may get back into contract timber cruising, although I can't cover the ground the way that I used to.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

So much to keep up with on this topic.

 

[dmccarty]

Thank you to ljjhouser and K0ua for the information they have provided. K0ua has had a few MC conversations on TBN over the years, and frankly, MC is co complicated I have to read the multiple conversations to try to figure out MC.

I am years away before I can sign up for MC but at least I am STARTING to get a clue thanks to K0ua and ljjhouser.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[JethroB]

Thank you to ljjhouser and K0ua for the information they have provided. K0ua has had a few MC conversations on TBN over the years, and frankly, MC is co complicated I have to read the multiple conversations to try to figure out MC.

I am years away before I can sign up for MC but at least I am STARTING to get a clue thanks to K0ua and ljjhouser.

Thanks,
Dan

Same here. Thanks guys.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Yes, thanks for taking the time to explain things.

 

[zzvyb6]

I went with Humana as a supplement 6 years ago. Plan G. 3 months in to it, prostate cancer surgery total cost $125K. My total out of pocket was ZERO.
Last year Humana called to say that I wasn't using enough of Plan G to warrant the extra monthly price. So, reduced it to $100/ month.

BTW: I just got a form letter from Social Security that our great president has recognized that the Cost of Living is up, so I get a 5.5% raise in S.S. SAME LETTER says that because of inflation, Medicare fee will be increasing. So with the +raise and the -increased fee, my NET monthly benefit will be DOWN about $200. ! That's what politicians call a win-win.

 

[k0ua]

Thanks guys, just trying to help out a bit on a VERY complicated subject, and a moving target one at that.

 

[ponytug]

X2 on the special insurance. We volunteer at events in the back country, and the not so back country, see folks get helicoptered out all the time, when the EMTs make the call that the patients are either too unstable to survive the long ambulance ride, or are too young or too old to risk it. Even a short flight can be $40,000. We needed an air evacuation once, and it was over $110k just for the flight, but essential to get the necessary treatment. (Two nurses, special plane, ambulances at both ends. Even if you can fly commercial, you would need several seats, two nurses, oxygen...It adds up, and many commercial carriers don't want the risk.)

If your insurance doesn't cover it, there is a relatively affordable insurance service Air Ambulance - Coverage Area & Pricing - AirMedCare Network for domestic use, in many areas. (I have never used it, but know people who have.) Senior discounted membership of $60-65/yr per household, but read the fine print.)

All the best,

Peter