Psalm 98:1, 2
I switched from Mutual of Omaha to Cigna (both plan G) and saved almost $60 a month for the same coverage.
Good luck to you.
In my case there was only one.
You should either be on Cigna HMO or Aetna Medicare Advantage.
There are several different levels of Medigap plans identified by letters. Level F are the most expensive, but as you’d expect, have the most coverage. However, Level F is now only available for people who already have it. Level G pays the same as Level F but has a deductible. Other Levels pay different amounts. All policies within a level have to pay exactly the same. You can go to the Medicare website medicale.gov, enter you zip code and they will show you what’s available in your area.
There are also Medicare Advantage plans which cost much less per month but tie you into a particular healthcare system and act more like an HMO.
You can also get information, or at least find out where to get info by contacting a local senior center.
Good luck.
Medicare.gov allows you to compare plans for your specific area. Plans do vary from state to state and county to county.
There are too many variables to give much information here.
Some Medicare Advantage plans have zero deductible and varying drug coverage.
United HealthCare does not pay providers on time. They also deny claims constantly. It is basically criminal what they do. As a result, you may find it hard to obtain care, some providers will not accept UHC. I would avoid this insurance plan.
Is your spouse on an employer-sponsored plan? If so, can her plan be your secondary after Medicare as primary?
You should look into a Medicare Plus program. Many have BETTER benefits than medi-gap insurances & often have zero expense. I put my parents on a plan 15 years ago. They have an out of pocket maximum that is less than the premiums of a medi-gap plan & they pay $0 premiums. When my father had multiple surgeries & was in & out of a coma with many weeks in the hospital & rehab, he didn’t incur enough expenses to meet his out of pocket max by a few hundred dollars.
Call an insurance broker that specializes in Medicare.
Medicare Advantage plans. Mine is with Humana, sister is with Optum (AARP). My Humana is fantastic. 100% coverage for everything, all my doctors are in network, all my drugs are covered, and I get $75 per quarter to spend in there online-pharmacy.
Note you have to sign up by Nov. 7.
I used Medicare Simplified
http://www.medsimp.com/
Contact them for the Video explaining options.
This is a 6 year old one, but I’m sure they have a more current one they will send the link to. I watched and there is not much change from 2014 to today. Mostly that there is no Plan F offered anymore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEZaD-UXwkU
A couple factoids I picked up during my search
1 Medicare Advantage Plans love you as long as you are healthy.
2 The Medigap plan you choose will probably be the Medigap plan you keep for the remainder of your life bec the Ins Company can’t refuse you as a new enrollee. And changing companies will almost always involve a medical exam and every few of us are healthier as we age.
3 One only gets one chance to bite the apple, choose wisely.
Just went through this selection, sign-up process and it is one of the most frustrating experiences I have ever had.
The insanity of the entire nation signing up to renew medical care in the same two month period is, insane. The system is gridlocked and unfortunately it coincides with my first sign up as I turn 65 this month and my wife in February. Thus sign up for the rest of this year and renewal is a cluster fluck even much more complicated than I’ve already described below.
The system is rampant with opportunists selling things and lots of legal wiggle words to execute scams. I do not see how a simple person manages their way through the maze without being taken to the cleaners. I have thought about writing a short guide to the process but think that short may be impossible while still being honest about options.
For us G is the best gap plan coverage. It is similar to the old F plan but has the $189 part B deductible. You can’t get plan F anymore for some reason.
I did not want Advantage at all since it is much like an HMO and I can’t even go to the doctor or hospital out of network without penalties. This means that across the state line, 25 miles away is off limits and instead, to get to a decent hospital system already brim full, I have to go 100 miles. On top of that travel coverage is limited at best and zero our of the country.
Part G for me starts at $239 or so a month but with discounts is $126 or so and for the wife it is $118.
We chose United at the recommendation of many acquaintances in spite of my hatred of AARP and because they are the only carrier in our area large enough to offer community based pricing which is a relatively fixed price for a large group policy. Allegedly this only goes up by inflation each year as opposed to the other two that go up by a schedule that gets pretty pricey in the out years plus inflation. My other choice had been Mutual of Omaha but they only offer Age Based Pricing and the out years get pretty sporty.
Some of the comments on this thread make me wonder about United now. It is always something. Always.
The literature says you have only one opportunity to get Medigap and that you are stuck with the provider you initially choose unless you apply and requalify subject to a physical, acceptance and limitations or wait periods for prior conditions but only during the annual election period and otherwise subject to other conditions. Then there are others in our family who say that is not so and that they change Medigap carrier and plan regularly. I think it is because they are covered by a UAW plan for that in their retirement. I am not as I have never been in a union and have been self-employed and taking care of myself and others all my life.
Then there is Part D drug coverage which is another cluster fluck but not so much as the Medigap.
Simple things, like just a note by mail, e-mail or in your account web page telling you: “You are renewed for next year for Medicare / Medigap / Part D.” would make things so much easier. But hell no! For some reason the Einsteins who run these fool programs can’t do even that simple thing to reduce or eliminate the angst of coverage, the log jam of calls and the confusion it creates.
And then there is the maze of automation you have to navigate to eventually maybe talk to a person who can and will help you. With each group I have had to call it takes at least five minutes to give your name, DOB, address, policy number etc. to even get to the help menu that does not have any items pertaining to your question so that you can wait for a person who you can maybe hear or not. All the time praying your cell phone connection will not quit and you have to go through the whole access drill again. All the while you are out on the porch or making like Green Acres up a telephone poll trying to get two bars from Verizon and keep them meaning you must stand frozen like a statue once you have a connection.
So now I have three medical insurance cards for each of us and a personal information web page for each of the six cards to keep up with now.
I think our total insurance bill will be less than half the nearly $24,000 we pay now that we only benefit from after something like $17,000 out of pocket. Our new deductible should be $189 each for Part B.
What would you expect from a gooberment designed program from a gooberment that can’t even get rid of the twice annual charade of Daylight Savings Time / Standard Time switch or that takes decades to procure an F-35 that won’t work or an election system that destroys our voice?
You had better keep up your prayers to the Lord because He is the only one remotely interested in helping you or able. Uncle Sugar sure doesn’t love you.
i got a Medicare advantage health plan Anthem zero premium, zero copays 900.00 annual out of pocket, starts in jan.
Flee medicare advantage. It is a scam.
Anything too good to be true still is.
I hate BCBS.
BKMK