# How do you start?



## QuickSilver (Feb 6, 2016)

I am retiring the end of this year.. Hubby will turn 65 in November and is currently covered by my employer group insurance..   I already have Medicare part A.. BUT will need part B... a Supplement and part D..   Hubby will too..  and Starting January 2017 we will both be totally Medicare..  We have opted to go with traditional Medicare because of hubby's cancer diagnosis... and the uncertainty of what this may bring..   

I am not the type of person to wait until the last minute and have started investigating our options..  Both of us will sign up for part B..  but I have no idea how to begin the search for a supplement and our Part D coverage.  So that is my question..  Did you go to an insurance broker?   Did you just go online and make your choices?   I'm not comfortable with that.   I want to have a face to face with someone who will be able to explain all the plans.. and help us figure out what to pick and get us signed up.   Is the someone like that?  Tell me how you first made your choices please..  and how early did you start looking before your retirement..  I know I have time yet but I'm starting to gather info..


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## Ken N Tx (Feb 6, 2016)

Get ready to pull all your hair out!!!

I started out with the AARP United Health Care for my supplemental insurance..They seemed to have the best plan and low premium..I made the mistake of not signing up for any drug plan as I thought I did not need it as I a was/am not on any drugs!! I signed up for United Heath Drug plan at a later date and had to pay the penalty!! United Heath Care and Drug plan where both a mistake!! After the first year (Gotcha!!) they raised my premium $100 a month!! This year the Drug plan went up $11 a Month AFTER the enrollment deadline!! I will be looking for another plan next year..

When UHC went up $100 I got hold of an Insurance Agent and went with Mutual Of Omaha Supplemental Plan..Best move I made...Their premium was lower than UHC but gradually increased as my age increased (so did all plans)..But I have to say that I am well pleased with MoO as I have never spent a dime out of pocket since 2009..

My wife and I both have had many doctor/hospital visits and always left their offices with a "have a nice day you are 100% covered".


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## QuickSilver (Feb 6, 2016)

Thank You Ken...  this is exactly the feedback I had hoped for.  SO you just look for any insurance brokerage and someone can sit down with you and explain the different plans?  We have a big brokerage a few blocks from here.. looks like the sell many different kinds of products..


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## Ken N Tx (Feb 6, 2016)

Next October I will be looking into the Walmart Senior Drug Plans


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## Babsinbloom65 (Feb 6, 2016)

QS you should start getting all kinds of information on the different plans and what they offer, etc. in the mail. You can also go on line to Medicare.gov and fill in some information and they will show you the plans offered in your area and what they cost and offer to you. You should also find on that site a number to call to go in and talk to someone who can help you pick the best plan for your needs. Our Library over here even held a seminar on this. There is alot of help out there so you will be able to make the best choice for you and your husband. If you have not gone on Medicare.gov that would be a good place to start.


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## QuickSilver (Feb 6, 2016)

Good advise.. thanks...   I know it's different for different areas... but I was trying to get a ballpark idea of price..  I want to start figuring out where it's coming from and want to let my finance guy know what I will be needing...


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## NancyNGA (Feb 6, 2016)

A note about part D only.  I spent weeks studying all this, so an advisor might be a good idea in hindsight. There are basically three levels of coverage, depending upon how you want them to handle the "donut hole."  Look at the website of some well known company and they will give a detailed comparison.  It won't vary much from company to company.   I do remember that you could not later switch to a lower/cheaper plan (of the 3) without a penalty.  You could switch to higher level coverage without penalty.


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## Babsinbloom65 (Feb 6, 2016)

QuickSilver said:


> Good advise.. thanks...   I know it's different for different areas... but I was trying to get a ballpark idea of price..  I want to start figuring out where it's coming from and want to let my finance guy know what I will be needing...



You will get that ballpark price on Medicare.gov.


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## Jackie22 (Feb 6, 2016)

I made the mistake of going with AARP too, Nancy is correct, there are websites that compare the different companies in your state.....here is just one.....https://www.ehealthmedicareplans.com/?type=MS&allid=SEO39973

I finally went with a company here in Texas, New Era, have had them for several years and am very satisfied....good luck.


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## Underock1 (Feb 6, 2016)

I can't claim expertise by any means. My wife handled all of it years ago. I was involved enough to know that its a real zoo. We had a Humana agent originally. They were horrible. We were constantly assaulted with sales pitches. We got our most understandable explanation from our local Pathmark pharmacy and ended up with AARP. We just paid the donut hole out of pocket. My wife was on a lot of drugs for years. We had drug costs, but nothing unmanageable. We never paid a dime for her final two months in three different facilities with every test imaginable being done.

 One glaring loop hole. With very few exceptions, ambulance costs are *not* covered by Meducare and can often be catastrophic.


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## QuickSilver (Feb 6, 2016)

I know that here an ALS Ambulance ride.. even with the Fire Department is close to $1000...  

I think I will be pulling my hair out..   I just want to go into a place... have someone lay it all out so I can make up my  mind...  I know that's wishful thinking.. and I'm going to have to research it myself... and get myself more confused..  I am not looking forward to it at all...


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## Underock1 (Feb 6, 2016)

QuickSilver said:


> I know that here an ALS Ambulance ride.. even with the Fire Department is close to $1000...
> 
> I think I will be pulling my hair out..   I just want to go into a place... have someone lay it all out so I can make up my  mind...  I know that's wishful thinking.. and I'm going to have to research it myself... and get myself more confused..  I am not looking forward to it at all...



You understand the situation perfectly. I am totally burned out on medical paper work. I have my existing plan. Let them rape me. I can't deal with it anymore. 

Not to bounce your thread off topic, I just want to put up *two warning flags.*
The major threat to senior finances is not the hospital and drug costs. Its the catastrophic costs of nursing home care and medical transportation. Both are minimally covered, if at all, by Medicare and the cost of insurance is prohibitive. Many seniors are being reduced to poverty because of them every day. You could easily be wiped out within a year.


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## Lon (Feb 6, 2016)

I found and enrolled in the AARP United Health Care Plan F which I found through MercerMarketPlace.Com. The My Drug Plan is with Aetna. I enrolled in both plans in early December 2015 and they became effective 1/1/2016.


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## QuickSilver (Feb 6, 2016)

Is plan F a pretty good plan Lon... ??


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## Lon (Feb 6, 2016)

QuickSilver said:


> Is plan F a pretty good plan Lon... ??



I believe it is. Full choice of doctors, hospitals, no co pays at all or any out of pocket or maximum benefit. It's their most expensive but best plan available. I pay $231.50 per month for my self. My drug plan is separate with Aetna and I pay $24 per month. There is modest co pays,


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## FazeFour (Feb 6, 2016)

QS, when I had to figure out the medicare situation for my parents, I finally went to the social security website and found an actual phone number with an actual person who walked me through the ABC's and all the terminology and general costs. My parents wound up paying $135/mo for the coverage that met their needs. Donut hole time was awful as they had to pay much more for their medications (about $600/mo!) but the hole passes and the cycle begins again. My main point, though, is I did get good help, starting from the SSA website. Good luck!...and tear somebody else's hair out


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## Ken N Tx (Feb 7, 2016)

QuickSilver said:


> Is plan F a pretty good plan Lon... ??





Lon said:


> I believe it is. Full choice of doctors, hospitals, no co pays at all or any out of pocket or maximum benefit. It's their most expensive but best plan available. I pay $231.50 per month for my self. My drug plan is separate with Aetna and I pay $24 per month. There is modest co pays,



Yes Plan F...Check out Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois, my 95 year young MIL has them and has had them for years, she pays $202 a Month for the Supplement..


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## Butterfly (Feb 7, 2016)

FazeFour said:


> QS, when I had to figure out the medicare situation for my parents, I finally went to the social security website and found an actual phone number with an actual person who walked me through the ABC's and all the terminology and general costs. My parents wound up paying $135/mo for the coverage that met their needs. Donut hole time was awful as they had to pay much more for their medications (about $600/mo!) but the hole passes and the cycle begins again. My main point, though, is I did get good help, starting from the SSA website. Good luck!...and tear somebody else's hair out



I absolutely agree -- call them and they are a great help.  I got great advice when I was researching what I should do. I finally went with a local Advantage plan (no cost over the Medicare $106 or whatever it is now).  It's tied to the best hospital here, and where the best docs practice anyway, and almost every physician here takes the plan.  I get the Plan D, and it also covers ambulance rides as long as it's reasonably medically necessary.  I've had no problems or glitches with it.  I pay some co-pays, but NOTHING compared to what a good supplement would have cost me paying every month -- that even includes two hospitalizations for hip replacement surgeries.  

At, say $200 a month for a supplemental plan, over the course of the 5 years I've had the Advantage, I figure that would have cost me around $12,000.  The hip surgeries cost me in the neighborhood of $500 copays all together, and other costs have been very negligible.


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## prowler (Feb 9, 2016)

Quicksilver -   Yes, the plan "F" is an excellent plan. It provides almost everything you could need. Also, it seems to be the most popular plan aside from the "G" plan. My wife and I are preparing to go with the "G" plan because it contains everything provided in the "F" plan except for a one-time, annual deductible. In our specific situation, the deductible amounts to $147.00 each for the year and we were unable to find an "F" plan priced low enough to compensate for that amount.

I totally understand your hesitation on taking this on. Such a hassle! There might be a local insurance agency in your town you know who might direct you to the one handling Medicare supplemental insurance. That person would walk you through the steps. A good agent will search through a list of companies representing zipcode and come up with the best price coupled with an "A rating" for an insurance provider.


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