Is it worth getting supplemental insurance?

That is a great question. My husband and are not of age yet to receive Medicare but our current Blue Shield premiums for individual insurance are off the planet! over $1,600/mth but employer pays. We don't know what to do once we "come of age" and semi-retire since our income will barely allow us to have a supplemental at all even though our insurance agent tells us that supplemental will be cheaper....HA! Probably still astronomical and unaffordable. We are healthy but husband had a heart stent ten years ago which makes him have a pre-existing. How do people afford the rates and is there anyone out there who understands this Obamacare stuff and whether you can go without supplemental and still "get away with it" if something medical should arise that Medicare doesn't cover? We are in Ca but will be moving to Oregon in a year or two.

I personally favor supplement. Have you tried checking on other companies to sre if price is lower! We use aarp for my mom. They have several plans to choose from.

we have the aarp and it was probably one of the best rates out there. We are thinking of switching to the medicare advantage-but not sure how reliable this would be. Also now that the President has been reelected-we need to figure out whats the best way to go. grannys mommy-you need to sign up three months before you turn 65 and all pre-exsisting conditions are waived. So u have no worried there.

I am the attorney in fact for my mother who is in stage 5 Alzheimers Disease. She is in assisted living. She has Medicare Part A & B. We did not choose Part D. With her income level she is eligible for patient assistance program for her Alzheimers medication which costs a fortune. I pay for here assisted living and her other medications that are all generic, they are $10.00 for 90 days and an additional $3.00 per 30 card bubble packed which assisted living requires for dispensing the medicatiions.

If we had the Medicare prescription plan she would not get the Alzheimers medication through a patient assistance program.

Her supplemental just went up to $300.00 a month. It pays the hospital deductible and what medicare covers it will pay the part that the patient is responsible for after the medicare Part B pays. That is $3,600 dollars a year. Due to the stage of her disease and financial position she may be better off without the supplemental. Interested to hear your answers........When I am unable to help her with paying a portion of her assisted living she will have to go on medicaid.

I have medicaire and AARP because many docs are opting out of medicaire or thinking about I go to a very large medicial 20 facilictias in 3 county so they almost have to accept medicare but their billing people love me for having both-no co-pays at all and can see the docs I want to go to-they have several plans-it is not cheap but if you see what office visits or ER visits cost you will realize why insurance is so expensive-I feel it is worth it I do not understand Obamacare at this point.

Wow that $300 a month seems rather steep. Have you looked into maybe going to a different medicare plan. If she has plan f-that is the best one offered and the most expensive. We had plan f with blue cross. We switched to aarp and to plan N. Not all companies carry PlanN and your really need to shop around. Good news though-you have until dec 7th to change-might be worth it to look into this. Good luck

I think it's dangerous to do without it, but you might be able to find a better rate for it. Start with aarp, they know what they are doing.

Oh wow, do I have an experience to share with you. My husband is on medicare, I am too young still (and so paying half of our salary for insurance). I decided to look for new insurance, and while speaking to the salesman he asked about my husband's supplemental, which was through AARP. Well, it had doubled since he had started (about 3 years ago). I said oh, no, we are covered there. Then later I rethought and said, "well, why don't you check it and see what we can get". He had the EXACT same insurance for half the price. In other words it was knocked back to where he had started 3 years ago through a different insurance. He also cut my cost back a little with a smaller deductible (from $10,000 ded to $2500 ded). This is the lesson I learned: check for new insurance every other year, they are playing you and count on you being too tired to check with other companies which will compete. This includes AARP.

What we need is a single, nationwide universal health insurance program and policy. What all of your postings show is how fractured and maddening it is to sort out what's what as each state manages it's health policy & $$ differently beyond the old-school Medicare A & B. Write your representative, especially if you have new one's elected yesterday. The whole Medicare prescription program is all about who did successful lobbying imho.

Grannysmomma - my dad was a federal employee and had a federal BCBS for our family. My mom was on it until she went on Medicaid (she's in a NH and it get's "suspended" and not ever cancelled because it's federal) and her monthly BCBS rate was about $ 250 & automatically taken out of her SS and paid 100% of whatever Medicare didn't with no limits. Doc's & hospitals love this type of insurance. Most lawmakers are under this type of federal health insurance policy and because of this are totally insulated from understanding the total clusterF* that dealing with the health care system is for average folk. Write your representatives and tell them you want change that needs to be universal and in clear understandable language. Imho this is an issue for all of us, but especially this is a woman's issue (no matter what your political party is) as we are default caretakers, caregivers and do the brunt of the work one way or the other.

Exactly amitebird! You need to check each and every year. But it also depends what state and what county you live in!!!!!! I did not know that, till I had many discussions with my cousin, who is a Medicare advantage salesperson. In my particular state, BCBS is the insurance of "last resort". In other words, they will take on anyone.
Everyone knows their own financial situation best, but I personally would not go without a supp. But I am one of those individuals that "falls in the crack". I earn too much on disability, to get help, but do not get enough to cover all my basic expenses. So I used up everything I had, including my retirement and then had to file bankruptcy, because my house is not paid. And I do not have an elaborate home. I had also put a line of credit against my home for my cobra insurance. You have to be on disability for 24 months, before you qualify for MEDICARE!!!!
This is not an uncommmon situation!!!!!!! The rules are "goofy"!
The supp covers the 20 % that Medicare does not cover. If you are on costly or could potentially be on costly medication, then I would also recommend a Part D. Because my cousin, not as my insurance rep, but as my cousin, advised me not to go with the advantage plan, due to my many dr's visits and high cost medications. He/she said that I would be "nickeled and dimed" to death, with the advantage plan. So you have to look at each individual situation. There are some "free" senior advisors out there, but if you have family or friends that you trust, then have them help you sort it out.
As far as the new health care, I am not sure that any of us can completely understand it! I know that congress does not. They did not even read it!!!!!!!
And I am a health care professional, on disability. There are some things that will be better for some people, but others will definitely have a disadvantage!
In my "humble" opinion, if we could get rid of lawyers! guess what they write the laws! and the hefty pharmacy prices, life would be a lot easier. But that is just an opinion! Yes, there are people in the medical profession, that no longer see it as a calling, but as a high paying profession. But if you have ever been on their side and see all the paper work that is required, you would be amazed. It is not a wonder that you do not see your health care provider, except for a few minutes.
Which in my opinion, is TERRIBLE. You can not treat someone appropriately, in that short amount of time.
Each one of us should do what we can to help turn this crisis around. One person cannot do it alone. But each time you are able to say something in a polite manner or sterner, if needed, perhaps our message will eventually come through!

Try USAA. My parents had Plan F supplemental and paid $180.00 per month. They are excellent to work with and docs love them.

I am 66 years old and being treated for Cancer. Some how, when it was time for me to sign up for Supplemental coverage, I didn't sign up for Supplemental part B....don't ask me why/how, but I did. When I got my diagnosis, and subsequent surgery, chemo, and radiation treatments, we were understandably concerned as to what our out of pocket expenses were going to be. We had an insurance broker come to our house to explain things. As it has turned out so far, what we have had to pay out of pocket has not exceeded the cost of what Supplemental Part B - $96/month for 22 months (I turned 65 in Feb. 2011). I do have prescription coverage and cannot purchase a separate Part B policy without giving up my current Supplemental Part A and prescription coverage which I get through my husband's retirement benefits.

We are only responsible for the 20% that Medicare does not pay so after Medicare reduces the fees to what is amounting to 10% of what was originally charged, the remaining amount isn't so daunting. The insurance broker said we weren't in as bad a position that we originally thought. So, I would encourage anyone to check with an insurance broker (he did not charge us for his service) before making changes.

I just finished chemo yesterday and still have radiation treatments to go. Chemo has been running around $13-15K per session, Medicare reduces those fees to around $1300-1500, and we have been paying around $130-150 per session.

Now is the time to make a change, before Dec 7, or you are stuck for another year. I have Medicare Advantage thru United Health Care and do not pay any premium. They take the amount out of Social Security, the medical amount they are already charging me. I haven't checked into what is going to happen to the Advantage policies since Obama is going back in. I think they are trying to get rid of them or rearrange them some way. Wouldn't hurt to call United Health Care and see.

I am 77 and have AARP supp. ins. plan L. and pay 115. per mo.I get assistance ,I am handicapped with a service dog, I only get 28 dollars a mo. food stamps and they tell me that includes my dog. I was getting 140. before the other agent retired and the new one really doesn't care. I cannot afford to keep my supplement so my question is, if I drop my supplement will Obama care pay my health bills?

Also, I really wish we had universal health care. then ins. companies could not rule, doctors would make more money because they wouldn't have as many expenses and the Gov. would just write the check each mo. to whom ever is running the program.

I have no idea what plan my dad has on AARP but I do know that it is $179 per month. He still have copays for meds though. He does not have copays for the doctor and when he went in the hospital there was no out of pocket cost to my dad. I think his annual cost out of pocket is something like 2700 per yr, that is meds only, he was taking a ton of those. Now I have him on baby aspirin and his blood pressure meds... the rest are supplements so I am not chasing those side effects all over the place. He is doing great but the wallet is being depleted rather quickly since herbal supplements and vitamins are covered by no one

Kattie5315 - my guess is that your dad's out of pocket cost with the co pays of meds is 2700 per year. Then this year after you reached that amount you had to pay 1/2 of the cost price of the med. It used to be all of it!!!! If I remember right, by 2014, it should be down to 0 after the 2700!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anybody, remember something different?

Question : Do you want to avoid out-of-pocket expenses every month, well/sick/ or not, or, do you want to overcover yourself in case of catastrophic illness? My choice in 2012 was Medicare Advantage. I assume that any cost was taken out of my S S check. No monthly premiums because I am fairly healthy.
Prior to that I had Medicare Parts A and B with United HealthCare Plan F (the most expensive). The monthly premiums for that were $189.13 per month, and I never got sick. That's when I changed to Medicare Advantage. Still not sick, and I have NO out-of pocket expenses for healthcare.

N1 -everyone gets part A when they turn 65-covers hospital only. If you go on any type of supplemental insurance and that would include the medicare advantage, $99 is deducted from the social secuirty check every month. Having said that, I have a few questions regarding medicare advantage. As I understand it you do not pay any premiums with that however do you know if and when you would have to pay out of pocket and what is the percentage if lets say I would end up in the hospital with some catastrophic. I always say if its too good to be true well its not good at all.

Playagrandma, Thanks for the explanation of Medicare and Medicare Advantage.. Ishould read that brochure that they send every year, and perhaps I could understand the programs. Everyone gets Part A when they begin receiving Social Security. I didn't like the $189.13 every month, now going up to almost $200.00, so I checked out Medicare Advantage. So far it's working for me......no monthly premiums. If I should become ill, and of course that will happen someday, I have enough money to pay the hospital and doctors. The end-of-life issues are a different story. Hopefully we'll all know wht to do at that very special time.

So if you pay no premium per month with Medicare Advantage, is that through United Health Care??? do you have much higher out of pocket costs, ie. deductibles? I am just beginning to read the brochures and tried to get to some of those communities meetings but they are held at times that my father is just not moving so quickly or sleeping... just never seem to get out the door in time.

On my United Health Care Medicare Advantage I do not pay a monthly premium. There are co-pays which I think might be 20% but not in all cases. This plan also includes prescription coverage at $6 each, but in the new year that is going down. Also, doctor visits now are $10, but go to $0 in the new year. It is not offered in all counties but you should surely check it out. It has worked really well for my family.

Also one other thing of course i forgot to say that with part B you pay $100 every month which is deducted from your ss check so you really dont miss it. Althought the part f is the best its also the most expensive We have the part N-which really there is very little difference. The one difference-there is a $20 co pay for the dr if they choose to bill you for that. So far we have had only two dr do that. And $50 billed by the hospital if you should go to the ER but waived if admitted to the hosptial. Currently my 75 year old husband pays $147 60 month but if that goes anymore we will probably switch next year to the advantage

What is the Medi-care Part B deductible and also I am confused on the definition for Medi-care Excess in Part B? I am trying to help my 84 year old mom decide which plans to sign up for this year...it is all soooo confusing. Thanks for any help.

Are eligeble for medicaid ,that solves a lot of problems

GrannysMommy, First of all, see if there is a senior "helper", that is free in your state or county. They can help you "muddle" through this mess!!!!!!!!
In my opinion, they want to confuse us! Remember that lawyers write the laws!!!
It is difficult for me to understand how someone who has a college education and has worked in the medical field and I still cannot understand how they word things.
In my opinion a lot of it is "lawyer speak"!
This whole thing is a gamble as I see it, no matter what you choose. For a year, you hope that your "prediction" for the next year was a good one! If you are fairly healthy and then oops! get sick, you may be stuck with bigger bills than you might have imagined! So you really need to think about what monetary resources you have and would you be able to pay it out of pocket!!! If not then I would choose the best possible, for what you can pay for per month.
Leave it to the government to write it in English, and we still can not understand or comprehend it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you are confused, the only comfort is that you are not alone in this confusion!!!!!!!!!
And depending on your monthly income, you may actually qualify for MEDICAID, AND then it is a totally different "ball game".

GrannysMommy: When we went on Medicare, our BC/BS plan automatically became the supplimentary. It pays very little on anything except for medications. I recently had major surgery and learned that it paid all of .03 on my MRI (other things they paid .01) Surprise -- it finally paid .55 on one bill. We are looking into other plans to see if we'd pay less for medication coverage. BC/BS is a joke.

The search continues.........for the most appropriate plan for you. Medicare is a given, right, amott6?? The remaining 20% is yours to pay, or to obtain a Supplemental Plan. Nothing is automatic. Not in this life. You choose to apply or not. I chose Plan F, United Healthcare for the supplemental for many years, and found that I was paying TOO MUCH. I never got sick, and it was money down the drain. About two years ago, I chose Medicare Advantage with no monthly premiums, no deductible and only a very small co-pay with each doctor's visit. $10.00 to my doctor ( still is) and, $35.00 to a Specialist. ER visits are $65.00 and long-term hospitals stays are $3,500.00 total.
Of course things my change someday, but right now, this is something that works for me. You should look into such a Plan.

We're giving up the search for this year, so we'll stay with BC/BS for now. Al is under too much other stress right now to make a decision. It was part of his retirement plan. So far, Medicare pays most of the bills. We also bought a long-term policy years ago that is paid off now.

amott6: Don't give up the ship. I would give more consideration to either Humana, United Healthcare or AETNA instead of BC/BS. You know that they all offer no monthly premiums and very little co-pays.....under the Medicare Advantage Plan.. If you think that a long-term hospital stay is coming along, or perhaps expensive surgery, then Medicare Advantage is not for you. Otherwise, why not try Med Advantage?