So who else has had enough with the Medicare Enrollment commercials? Yeah like Joe Namath, Jimmy Walker and George Foreman are on Medicare Advantage with Medicaid buy back. I'm also getting robocalls. Replacing the extended car warranty calls for the next few weeks. If you need coverage don't call that number.
I don't seem to see many of the commercials, but I have a habit of muting commercials, so I probably just haven't noticed. Since I recently turned 65, I do get bombarded with paper mail though!
I've already carefully chosen my first medicare plan for this year and presumably if I don't do anything, I simply keep the same plan for next year, easy peasy, unless I make a change. But I keep getting mail and messages saying that I haven't chosen my plan for next year, which is so confusing.
Now, I simply don't open anything from any health insurance company except the one I ended up choosing. I can see how a person can get confused and try to sign up with more than one company! I spent enough time carefully choosing my current plan.
@Julie808 I turn 65 in 2022. I'm getting a head start so I think I know what kind of coverage I need. One thing I learned is, that Medicare Advantage is not Medicare. It's private insurance. Most people I know went for it because of the zero premium. These procedures I'm having are costing me a lot out of pocket. I'm leaning on Medigap Plan G and separate Part D. It should be about $250/mo all together but I'll have no out of pocket. I still have time tho.
@barjoe I have been happy with my current plan (Highmark Blue Shield) so far and have not found any plan that gave me better coverage for less money. And my out of pocket costs have been coming down every year, benefits going up. I was paying $35 a month on top of regular Medicare Part B, next year it drops to $25 (of course regular Medicare is going up). My specialist network copay for office visit is dropping from $35 to $10, zero dollars for primary care doctor. This all is far less than I was paying when I had use of my workplace insurance paying $298 a month, $30 for office visits and $1,000 deductible each year.
@Barnie2years That's a part C plan? (Medicare Advantage) I'm considering going with traditional Part A, B Plan F and standalone Part D. It'll cost about $300/mo but no copays free office visits no out of pocket except Part B deductable. I'm paying that now for my Obamacare and I'm not happy with it.
@barjoe for my Medicare Advantage which includes dental, hearing and eye glasses, I pay around $178, that includes the regular monthly Medicare payment of $158. I checked out the Medigap plans and just thought the outlay (well over $200 on top of the $158) was more than I wanted to spend. Like I said, my work coverage was $298 and my payouts were way more for everything and no dental.
@barjoe Oh no, now I truly am confused. I did go for the Medicare Advantage. It just seemed easiest for me to stick with my current Health Insurance Company, and after all the comparisons, it seemed to offer me what I need, since I don't need much. I'll see how it goes for this year coming year and then I'll see if I need to make any changes. Just doing what I did was confusing enough.
@Julie808 So if you don't have a lot of health problems you can switch to Medigap next year. If you do They make you jump through hoops with underwriting. You kind of have a one time shot with Medigap. That's why I'm choosing it. It's more expensive. Medicare Advantage you only have to pay Parts A&B with no additional premium even your Medicare Part D. Medigap is "Cadillac' coverage but it's expensive and you have to also pay for a Part D plan. I'm choosing to spend an additional $3K/year for not having to deal with bullshit from insurance companies. You should look into it. You can probably still change before 12/7. It's particularly good for people who travel to other states and countries because it's portable for everywhere. You can go to any doctor or hospital who takes Medicare and that is most in US.
The majority of my scam calls right now are for class action lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies or companies who make medical mesh something. My snail mailbox is another story. It's all about Medicare. Perhaps my age makes them think I don't know how to use a cell phone.
They definitely know our age.