What is the best Medicare supplemantal program to get?

Question

I am turing 65 in Oct. I plan on getting plan B. What else do I need? Currently healthy on no medication.

Answer 1

Heres a short answer and some information to give you the tools you need to help you choose.

You will want to keep or get Medicare B which is $96 per month. And then you will have a choice of a Medicare supplement plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan.

For specific information visit this site

http://www.todaysmedicare.com

Answer 2

medicare covers 80% of doctor and hospital. i am 69 and i have blue cross and blue shield. check around in your erea and they will help you with a plan.

Answer 3

When you turn 65, you are automatically enrolled in Medicare Part A and there is no premium. Medicare A pays only for in-patient services and has a deductible that exceeds $1000 if you have to stay overnight in the hospital.

You must enroll in Medicare B and there is a small premium. You can elect to have the Medicare B premium automatically deducted from your Social Security check. Part B will generally pay 80% of your outpatient services although there are some preventative tests that are paid at 100%

Neither Medicare Part A or Part B pays for prescriptions. It is generally a good idea to have some prescription coverage. The prescription plans are called Medicare Part D. You need to go to Google or Yahoo search engine and type in the state where you live and Medicare Part D. A list of insurance companies that offer prescription coverage in your state will have websites. I researched all of the available prescriptions  plans for a number of senior citizens last year and AARP's had the lowest premium and the best coverage.

Now, to the actual question you ask! A Medicare supplemental will pay the Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible and the expenses that are not paid by Medicare part B. Because insurance is regulated by each state, you must purchase a supplement from an insurance company that offers it in your state. Again, you can go to Google or Yahoo search engine and type in the state you live and Medicare Supplement Policy. Most Medicare Supplement policies cost between $250 - $350 per month so determine if you are paying that much out of pocket after Medicare Part B pays 80% of your outpatient bills. Anthem offers a good a Medicare Supplement Policy but I don't know if it is offered in the state you live.

Answer 4

Be careful that you are not confusing part B of Medicare with a Supplement Plan B.  Medicare, from the government, has two parts.  A & B.  A covers hospitalization and B covers physicians.

Each has it's own deductibles, coinsurance payments (generally you paying 20% and Medicare paying 80%) after the deductible is paid, and other gaps it doesn't pay or only pays a portion of.  Supplements are designed to fill in those gaps and help pay or pay all of the remaining charges.  

There IS a supplement plan B, and it is probably pretty cheap compared to others, but it's a waste of money because it doesn't cover what you will want it to cover.  The most common plan is a plan F.  It covers virtually everything without covering things that arent really necessary.  A better plan, if you can find a company selling it, is a plan G.  They usually have a lower premium (amount you pay per month to be a member), and cover ALMOST as much as the F.  They dont pay your part B deductible ($135 per year) and pay 80% or remaining excess charges instead of 100%.  However, it gives you extra at home recovery options (nursing at home, etc.), most people never see excess charges (and when they do they are $10-15 of which you'd pay 20%, so $1-2), and the part B deductible is $135 in 2008.  If you save more than $145 or so per year in premiums comparing a plan f to a plan g, then go with the G!  Most people save $500+ with the g.

Even though you don't take drugs, get a part D drug plan.  Medicare doesnt pay for prescription drugs by itself.  They designed a drug plan structure called part D, but insurance companies sell it just like they do with supplements.  If you don't take one now, and need one later in the year because of an unexpected drug you WILL NOT be able to add it.  After your initial enrollment period into Medicare, you have to wait until Jan 1st of each year for added RX plans to take effect!  Also, if you add after your initial enrollment, Medicare WILL penalize you financially for waiting.  It isn't a huge amount, but it increases with each passing month that you aren't enrolled into a part D drug plan, but are eligble.  I suggest if you are on no drugs to find a the cheapest decent part D plan with any company that's a qualifying plan.  You'll be somewhat covered for unexpected prescriptions and have some catostrophic coverage for cheap.  If something comes up down the road you'll be able to upgrade for 1/1 of the next year and not be penalized!  You can have any companies part D plan and supplement plan.  They don't need to match.

You can also look at Medicare Advantage plans.  They are typically much cheaper per month and include the drugs and medical all together for one price that is cheaper than a supplement.  The down side is that you then have to pay copays each time you go to the hospital or doctor, but it's a lot better than Medicare by itself, and for most people even with the copays it's a lot cheaper than a part D plan and supplement combination.  Most also have networks of doctors to use.  Some require you use the network and some don't.  You would want to find one that doesnt OR has a network of doctors and hospitals you like.  I'd reccommend a company you know & trust, and has been around a while, and has an affordable price.  

Deciding which way to go can be tricky.  It depends on your health, what you expect your needs will be, and what you are comfortable with.  If you want to pay more but know you can go anywhere & not have to deal with copays when you use services, go with a supplement F or G or C and a part D plan. If you want to pay a lot less and pay as you go along when you actually use the services (instead of paying for what you might or might not use), then find a good Medicare Advantage plan.  

You will likely get a lot of mail and calls offerind different plans.  Talk to your friends and neighbors that are on medicare and see what they have. Ask what they do and dont like about it.  Maybe something they dont like might bother you or something they love would annoy you, so ask for both.  Use those reccomendations, and what you've experienced from the companies in the past to make a decision, not gimmicks, marketing or associations with clubs like AARP to decide for you.  Most towns also have senior advocates that would be happy to sit down with you, explain the different plans from each company and give you an honest, objective opinion of what to do.  This is usually free, too!  

I wouldn't count on any one plan someone explains on here as being the best or cheapest, though.  The same company can have drastically different prices or levels of coverage from one state to the next, and even from city to city.  You also may not need or want the same plan because each person's needs are different.  If you want to shop yourself, get all the literature and compare.  If you have questions, talk to the licensed agent for each company directly via phone and if need be have them set up a meeting with a field agent locally.  I wouldn't trust going to local brokers or independent agents because they sell for many companies, rely more heavliy on commission and can steer you to what helps them.  The direct agents have less invested on each sale, and are much more highly regulated and scrutinized, so it's important they give you honest and fair information without talking down the comptition.

If you told me what state you are in, I could give you some examples of what plans to look at & compare.

Answer 5

I believe you mean you are getting Medicare Part B. Don't confuse Medicare Part B with a Medicare Supplement Plan B.

There is no best supplemental program, you'll need to find the best for your situation and budget. Depending upon your location you'll have the choice of a Medicare Supplement plans A through L, Medicare Select plans, Medicare Advantage HMO, Medicare Advantage PPO, Medicare Advantage POS, Medicare Advantage PFFS, or Medicare Advantage MSA. Many of the Medicare Advantage plans will have Part D (prescription drug coverage) included. If you get on a program without Part D included you'll also need a stand-alone Part D plan (even if you're not currently taking any medication) or face time restrictions and penalties in the future. The time restrictions are if you don't get Part D when first eligible you can only get a plan January 1 of each year. The penalties are 1% of the national average costs for each month you were eligible for but did not have Part D. This penalty will be added to your premium each month forever.

It can get very confusing. Visit a local agent that works in the senior market and with all the major companies in your area. The agent can explain the differences in the plans.

Medicare Part A (hospital) has a $1024 per occurrence deductible. This means if you go into the hospital 5 times in one year you could have up to 5 deductibles. Medicare Part B (medical) has a $135 annual deductible and 20% coinsurance thereafter. In 2006, after the deductible and coinsurance, Medicare actually only paid 57% of the average seniors medical charges.