Posted on 01/18/2017 2:12:52 PM PST by originalbuckeye
We pay a measly $2,000 for the Wife and I. Just sayin’. LOL
“Medicare is a secondary payer, meaning that if someone who has Medicare is also covered under another plan, that other plan is primary.”
—
Not always.
I have been on Medicare for years-—Medicare is primary.my back-up plan is secondary.’
.
Wow! I’m sorry! I thought ours was high.
Don’t be sorry. In December 2013 we paid $1,000 for COBRA.
Thank you Obamacare.
I only wish I would get a nice Letter in the Mail from the People my ridiculous Rates supplement, like you used to get when you sponsored a UNICEF Child overseas.
If you’re on Medicare or about to receive Medicare you might be wondering: “should I also get supplemental health insurance?” The truth is, if you get supplemental insurance for free (for example, from your former employer), then sure. Otherwise, if you have Medicare and buy a supplemental policy with your own money, you are effectively giving an insurance company your money so that they can keep it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-belk/medicare-supplemental-policies_b_3901861.html
This is why I dropped my supplemental policies after I got on Medicare. My medical expenses per year are much less than my policy costs.
I have plan F. That’s it for supplemental. I am paying for it each month so that I can continue with the doctors I had before Obamacare was mandated and Medicare kicked in. My supplemental is probably more expensive than some because the doctors and hospital we had been going to do not accept the Medicare reimbursement, it is now waaaaay too low......but part of the cuts to Medicare that Obamacare ordered.
I’m really lucky because I have the same doctor as before Medicare and any tests I need are done locally in the same labs and hospital I have always used. My eye doctor also accepts Medicare and so does the eye surgeon I used last year. All in all it is much cheaper for me to go without the supplemental and just pay what isn’t covered.
I like that there is no network so no need to look up doctors or labs etc.
” I am sometimes surprised that people don’t know the true cost of insurance, and the benefits that they are actually getting.”
Amen to that. One would think that on a venue such as this folks would not be so ignorant. It’s really comical to hear someone piss-and-moan over a $15 copay.
It speaks to the pervasiveness of the government gravy train - even “conservatives” are riding it and indignant when they have to cough up a dollar or two for their own health.
If they knew what people like you were paying to carry them, they might be able to be convinced to, at a minimum, stop whining “its not FREEEEEEEE”
I've read the average person at age 65 will have about $130K in out of pocket medical expenses over the duration of their life. That doesn't include long term care.
Get back to me when you’re retired and your drug costs are 5 times what they used to be. And when your SS income is 33% of what your working income was. And you are still taxed on it, too.
“Get back to me when you’re retired and your drug costs are 5 times what they used to be. And when your SS income is 33% of what your working income was. And you are still taxed on it, too.”
Listen to yourself. Whose fault is it if you are not ready to pay for the healthcare you need or your income goes down?
Your problems are not my fault. You can be sure I’ll be ready when I decide to retire, because I never lived above my means, I always worked hard and at multiple jobs, and I’m not going to retire “early” Why didn’t you do those things?
I pay tens of thousands of dollars a year in SS tax alone so you can bitch and complain that you don’t have enough ladled onto your plate from the gravy train. You’re welcome anyway.
So get back to me when you can man up and take responsibility for your own life and actions, and not wait for someone else to take care of you.
I agree, insurance is never on your side, but some do a good job at keeping my costs lower than they would be (many a year they’ve paid out more than we’ve paid in for our premiums.).
I have MS and for many years took one of the MS injectable meds for the cost of about $3000 per month (15 shots, one every other day.) I had the same copay as any Tier 3 med for which I was grateful.
I went off that med a few years ago as my MS “status” changed and drugs are not approved for the level that I’m at, and that’s okay with me.
But my insurance now handles those Disease Modifying meds as non-formulary and the cost is something like 25% of the actual cost. At that cost, I wouldn’t have taken the med because I couldn’t have afforded it.
However, I know the Pharma companies do offer assistance programs and the cost of meds are greatly reduced, and this is outside of insurance. They have a sliding scale, based on income, of what they charge for the med, and it comes straight from the drug company. I can understand why the insurance company had to protect themselves, because some of the newer drugs in this category can run up to $60,000 a year (for the pill form), versus the $36000 a year the injectables cost when I was using
I’m not quite Medicare age, another year for that, but I’ll stay on my husband’s insurance as long as he is working for a company that provides healthcare as an option. We pay a chunk each month and the company pays the rest, but at this point I’m probably paying more than I’m using, as far as services and meds go, but I would never be without coverage because I know first hand how quickly bills can mount up if there’s a medical crisis.
All I can say is good luck to you. You obviously think that SS and Medicare are Entitlements and I am actually getting more than I paid for. I worked in the medical industry for 40+ years and actually started working part time jobs when I was 14. I DID save for my retirement. The costs since Obamacare was implemented are much higher than any of us could foresee. But trust me, those of us who have been paying into our ‘benefits’ for 50 years did expect to have some breaks on extra costs. Obamacare wiped that out. When my mom was on Medicare, her payouts weren’t even close to what I am paying. So, from your lofty position on that ‘I am better than you’ cloud, good luck when you do retire. I hope you have set aside several million to compensate.
Best wishes to you, too. - Time flies. Ya’ll seize the day.
I’m 70 and a half. All I was promised was threescore and
ten years with any extra just a bonus. - When my dad came
out of WWII, he didn’t think with all he’d endured that he
would make it to 70. He made it to 81. - Seems like just
yesterday that I was 52. We are ALL unsure about what the
future holds; but it will be okay. Take care of each other.
Fang is 73 going on 74. Has had a struggle healthwise ever
since he was 40 - multiple surgeries. We need each other
when we get old. It ain’t glamorous; but it’s reality.
- I knew I’d had all the Clintons I could take for a
lifetime; so held on and hobbled to get to the polls and
vote against HITLER-Y on Election Day. TRUMP has the whole
MSM and a bunch of Dhimmicrats ganged up on him; but I
just keep hoping they’re the ones with egg on their faces
in the end. - Don’t give up at 70. It’s not for quitters
and sissies. Keep on keeping on and MAGA!!
SS and Medicare ARE actually (and by definition) “entitlements”, and you already have two data points to extrapolate the future of those programs:
Your mom got more than you.
If you can’t afford to retire, you shouldn’t retire. If you retire anyway, you shouldn’t complain.
Who is better than whom? You are retired. I work 70+ hrs a week. I’m paying you, yet you are the one complaining.
I am retired. Not that it is any of your business, but I retired after my 63rd birthday due to a work situation that was causing such stress that my blood pressure became a problem. The new mid-40’s Lib manager, put in charge of our workplace, made it her goal to get rid of all the ‘elders’ so she could hire youngsters and pay them less. So she won, but I suspect I have added several years to my life as I am no longer subjected to her blatant ‘ageism’ mentality.
Your compassion is underwhelming. I worked for 50 years paying for everybody else and yet, I am not getting the benefits I was promised. Yes, my mom got more and you will likely get less than me. I sure hope you don’t feel you can complain then.
I must say I am really surprised at the lack of empathy on our board lately. My original point was wondering why I, as a retiree, had to pay 5 times the amount that my husband, still working, has to pay for the same medicine. Why don’t retirees get the same breaks that working people get, especially considering that retirees are on fixed income? Our programs for the elderly need to be revamped. I hope Trump has good people ready to do the job required. Especially after the hemorrhaging of so much money on people who have never contributed anything to this country. Done here.
“Your compassion is underwhelming.”
Compassion should not be measured by how much of other peoples money you get. That is how the left works.
Just take the entitlement in the amount that is allotted to you and stop complaining. Make it work or do something to get more money. That’s what people do.
That doesn’t show a lack of compassion from me. It does point out that you have a natural human reaction. As long as people are giving you free money, why won’t they give you more free money?
Everybody wants more. I want more. I work harder when I want more.
Good luck. I’m expecting nothing from government when I eventually “retire” - it’s a scary thought, but it is my problem.
‘how much of other people’s money you get’
REALLY? I would be quite happy if they would just give me back the money I paid over the last 50 years and let me buy my own health insurance, at pre-Obamacare prices, for the rest of my life.
‘As long as people are giving you free money, why won’t they give you more free money?’
I consider it my money.....I paid into the fund for 50+ years. I am not asking for what wasn’t supposed to be mine.
“I consider it my money.....I paid into the fund for 50+ years. I am not asking for what wasn’t supposed to be mine.”
It is not your money after it is taxed. I know you consider it your money. Everybody always does. That’s how “conservatives” nearly always justify it when they get a check from the government.
THe check you get is an “entitlement” It doesn’t mean you are “entitled” to “YOUR” money that was taxed in the past, it means you are entitled to other peoples money before it is taxed, now and far into the future.
Therein lies the problem with government. They will always dissappoint you because they don’t give you as much as you want, and so you have to elect leftists if you want to get a “raise” - and all too many people are willing to do it.
The money in your check comes from me - Just a guy working for himself trying to make a living, but doing OK, from a guy who is barely making it because he works and is trying to raise a family, from a single mother working as a waitress trying to stay off welfare, and from your grandchildren, some of whom haven’t even been born yet - but who will be none too pleased that their grandparents have spent their money.
You should come to grips with the reality of SS/Medicare. Then you will not be surprised when the checks get smaller or stop. Then you will understand why your doctor doesn’t want to accept you as a patient anymore.
Should you come to understand how SS/Medicare are funded, you’ll be a bit more philosphical about co-pays and taxes and a few of lifes other annoyances.
But you won’t ever get there. Nobody ever does willingly, but at least now you know the truth. You screwed up. You trusted your government.
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