Posted on 12/30/2023 10:03:55 AM PST by OneVike
Thanks for the info.
You really need advice. AARP is communist. But AMAC has consultants on the matter. So does USAA, if you are a member. Do it. Sounds like you don’t have the coverage that you need.
You really need advice. AARP is communist. But AMAC has consultants on the matter. So does USAA, if you are a member. Do it. Sounds like you don’t have the coverage that you need.
Lady Jane, I pay $11/month for prescription drug coverage with a $250 deductible. Through Aetna and using CVS as pick up points.
Cannot wade into the incredible complications involved in all this here. But you are better off with it than without it!
I go years without getting a prescription filled so that plan wouldn’t work for me.
You’re right - these plans are incredibly complicated! What’s good for your next door neighbor might be terrible for you. Some people feel they are better off by self-insuring. They may be. Rush did it.
I have wellcare too for Rx.
At the time you could change companies, I saw a link that said there are Rx coverage with no monthly fee.
With my old one, the monthly fee was about $20, with small copay.
Welcare was on the list of zero premium so I switched to it.
Copay is always under $10.
Now, at the end of the year, all Rx’s are zero Copay
I must have paid enough Copay so now it is zero.
Works good, have had welcare Rx for years
I have been on Medicare since I was 62, works good.
My supplemental (because Medicare only pays 80%) is Anthem Blue Shield, 250 or so a month premium.
I then looked to the internet. I found a program called RICE. Rest. Ice. Compression. Exercise.
It took a long time but eventually the shoulder healed and now I haven't had any problems for years.
Use you own judgement.
You know best, but I would try a good acupuncturist before I went the replacement route. Use google or yelp reviews to see how they worked for others.
Doctors are like vampires, you don’t want to invite them in.
Talk to them about what medications they will be prescribing. Get a good rx card and you may find how little you pay.
It’s worse than not paying.
These patients often forgo treatment, atrophy or have spasticity, and suffer and die as a result.
That's what insurance is for. To protect you from catastrophic conditions -- for which you have absolutely no control.
Buy an Advantage plan if you are absolutely, 100% certain you will NOT have any catastrophic illness or disease or devastating accident in the future. 'Cause if you do, you pay big out of pocket, and, MORE IMPORTANT, you are limited to the providers dictated to you by your plan.
By the way, I say all of this as someone who never set foot in a hospital as a patient in 69 years, was a runner, and led a healthy lifestyle. Then came the cancer diagnosis along with kidney failure and six weeks in the hospital, along with two years of treatment, dialysis, and visits to the top cancer hospital in the nation. That top cancer center saved my life, and if I had an Advantage plan, that center would not have been an option. My medical bills for those two years topped $3,000,000. My out of pocket was less than $2500 with Medicare and a Blue Cross supplemental.
Good luck.
yes it is
I am against ‘medicare advantage plans’ actually. I had Plan F supplemental when I was working and carried that plan (grandfathered) over into retirement. It’s expensive, but I have much the same medical expense experience as you and if I’d have had ‘advantage’ I’d be homeless now, IMO.
Not so... Advantage does not dictate...you choose in-network for the best cost sharing by contract... you can ALWAYS pick any Medicare doctor and pay out of network cost, all disclosed up front!
And every Advantage plan has a max out of pocket for the calendar year... they are far less expensive for most of my Medicare clients. ...ymmv
Apparently, you've never had a serious, life-threatening event.
I went to the top cancer hospital in the country, which saved my life after being seen locally at an excellent center, and all of my bills were paid. Everything. I know people who had Advantage who attempted to go to that medical center, and it would have bankrupted them just to get a second opinion -- much less treatment. So, they settled for something less than the best care possible.
Second, I had over $3,000,000 in medical bills and paid less than $2500 out of pocket. With Advantage, my out of pocket would have been well over $250,000.
So, if you know without a doubt that you are TOTALLY IMMUNE FROM ANY CASTOPHIC event and are 100% positive, then go for Advantage.
Otherwise, you are foolish.
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