Posted on 08/10/2023 5:20:29 AM PDT by ChicagoConservative27
Seniors face more than $50 billion in unpaid medical bills, many of which they shouldn’t have to pay, according to a federal watchdog report.
In an all-too-common scenario, medical providers charge elderly patients the full price of an expensive medical service rather than work with the insurer that is supposed to cover it. If the patient doesn’t pay, the provider sends the bill into collections, setting off a round of frightening letters, humiliating phone calls and damaging credit reports.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
So about half of what we’ve sent to the Ukraine
Some claim $200 billion or more. I wonder if we can even obtain an accurate figure.
Make sure you have your medical costs covered. Even if you are 65, Medicare will not cover everything. Unless you have a bucket of money to draw upon (and I'm talking well into six figures), get some supplemental insurance to help cover the out of pocket. Also, make sure you have long-term care insurance in case you need to spend months in a rehab or nursing care facility. Medicare typically covers only up to 60 days.
There are many people who work decades to build up a decent retirement nest egg. They retire thinking they are all set financially but with one debilitating illness, those retirement savings can get totally wiped out in no time at all if you do not have supplemental insurance.
Traditional Medicare is coverage. Medicare Advantage is insurance. Know the difference.
Can’t take care of our border, vets, or elderly, but we got plenty of money for war...any war.
The VA in my area is great. Just recently had an MRI. Cost: $50
—”If we just treated seniors like illegal aliens, there would be no problems ... everything would be free!”
Well, that one triggered me!
I had (past tense) a gold-plated insurance plan.
I received a notice that my insurance was TOO GOOD and 0bamacare imposed an escalating penalty until it met their standards and the benefits were to follow my wife and I FOREVER. My coworkers said lawsuit!!! That went nowhere.
IIRC I paid over $2,000 per month(pretax),
My hearing aids are massively expensive $10K + but paid for almost everything, not multiple units for each TV/computer.
I’m considered profoundly deaf without the aids, was shot in the face.
Now my insurance pays $1500 per ear.
My audiologist said the VA provides the same unit and the insurance will pay for the adjustments.
My audiologist is in the next suburb, the VA is a hike (I’m a disabled vet and receive a small monthly rebate on my income tax, and license plates are free) and often a day or more waiting. Plus I paid for the insurance for over forty years.
In additional missives from my insurance, I can have a FREE SEX CHANGE, well-baby care...
A doctor gave a man six months to live. The man couldn’t pay his bill, so he gave him another six months.
Henny Youngman
Additional advice. When you turn 65 you must sign up for Medicare. Had a friend that at 65 decided he wasn't going to sign up for Medicare. He had good insurance that he could well afford to pay for. About a year later, when he went to his doctor, he was told he had to have Medicare, they couldn't bill his private insurance. He signed up for Medicare and was told his premiums for the part B (?) would be higher for the rest of his life as he didn't sign up when he turned 65. Yes, a lifetime penalty.
Also, when initially signing up for Medicare if you don't get their prescription coverage, or a Medicare approved prescription plan, but later you decide you want prescription coverage, same thing, premium is higher as you didn't sign up at 65. Even if you don't take any prescription medicare they will penalize you forever. Bottom line, get the cheapest approved prescription plan. If in the future you do have to take meds you can change your plan in the last quarter of the year.
Thats surprising,,,,my insurance dropped me when I was 65, saying I was no longer eligible for coverage because I was medicare eligible.
It was like automatic...within days of my birthday.
Does she not have a Part D plan?
That’s good that they notified you. This was about ten years ago and I don’t know the insurance company. Knowing my friend he may well have gotten a notice, didn’t read it, and pitched it into the trash as junk mail.
My girlfriend is a civilian employee at a U.S. military base, just turned 65 this month, and her employer-provided private coverage will continue, although she has the option to join Medicare. I have not heard of a provider rejecting this type of insurance, over 65 or not.
For each 12-month period you delay enrollment in Medicare Part B, you will have to pay a 10% Part B premium penalty, unless you have insurance based on your or your spouse’s current work (job-based insurance) or are eligible for a Medicare Savings Program (MSP).
The Part D penalty works the same.
And if you are on good terms with your children and in poor health, start now in moving your assets to their names (with the assistance of an elderly law attorney). There is a “claw-back” period of five years (I believe) and any assets transferred after that period of time will be cancelled. If you spend months in a nursing home paid by Medicare, they will come for your home after your death regardless of who it is left to in your Will.
For instance if a widowed mother enters a nursing home six months prior to her death and transfers her home into a child’s name at that time, then after her death the government will still take her home. It matters not if it is now in her adult child’s name and that child has moved in with their family. There are a few exceptions for long-timed live in care givers, but you need to have an attorney to help you make those decisions.
Good to know, thanks.
Well mine was group...it may be different
I also plan to get supplemental insurance to cover any gaps in the Medicare coverage.
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