Change Medicare plans and or ask for better rates?

[twoplanekid]

I hate to hassle with salespeople and usually just stick with what I have. However, I do call XM radio every year to ask for a better price before they automatically enroll me for another year at a much higher price. This year, I rejected one and then listened to another person on the phone who advised me to apply for a better Medicare part D policy rate.

I was paying $78 per month for a premium part D drug plan. Per advice from the phone caller I called the firm that I use for the part D coverage to request a lesser plan as the two drugs that I take are covered under a lesser plan where I will pay $0 dollars per month. I should have adjusted/questioned my policy years ago.

As that sounded good, I decided to call my Medicare supplement firm to ask them for a better rate. I now have a new policy with G coverage, identical coverage using the same firm that I have had for 7 years. My new monthly rates will be reduced from $395 per month to paying $244 per month.

So, I will be saving $229 per month with the same coverages after spending a few hours on the phone. In the future as with XM radio rate increases, I may be proactive and ask for better rates rather than just excepting rate increases as inevitable.

[Stu from NYC]

I hate to hassle with salespeople and usually just stick with what I have. However, I do call XM radio every year to ask for a better price before they automatically enroll me for another year at a much higher price. This year, I rejected one and then listened to another person on the phone who advised me to apply for a better Medicare part D policy rate.

I was paying $78 per month for a premium part D drug plan. Per advice from the phone caller I called the firm that I use for the part D coverage to request a lesser plan as the two drugs that I take are covered under a lesser plan where I will pay $0 dollars per month. I should have adjusted/questioned my policy years ago.

As that sounded good, I decided to call my Medicare supplement firm to ask them for a better rate. I now have a new policy with G coverage, identical coverage using the same firm that I have had for 7 years. My new monthly rates will be reduced from $395 per month to paying $244 per month.

So, I will be saving $229 per month with the same coverages after spending a few hours on the phone. In the future as with XM radio rate increases, I may be proactive and ask for better rates rather than just excepting rate increases as inevitable.

We got a better rate from humana on our advantage plan without asking.

[Eg_cruz]

We got a better rate from humana on our advantage plan without asking.
Yes but that’s an advantage plan, Medicare part C and that’s not what he’s looking at he is on traditional Medicare.

OP did you look at the difference between Plan G and Plan N, if not you should.

[twoplanekid]

Yes but that’s an advantage plan, Medicare part C and that’s not what he’s looking at he is on traditional Medicare.

OP did you look at the difference between Plan G and Plan N, if not you should.

I did not look at the Plan N as G really worked well paying everything when I had open heart surgery 3 1/2 years ago. Again, I tend to stay with what I have as long as costs and coverages are working OK for me. I am happy to have basically the same coverage using the firms I am familiar with while spending less.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

I hate to hassle with salespeople and usually just stick with what I have. However, I do call XM radio every year to ask for a better price before they automatically enroll me for another year at a much higher price. This year, I rejected one and then listened to another person on the phone who advised me to apply for a better Medicare part D policy rate.

I was paying $78 per month for a premium part D drug plan. Per advice from the phone caller I called the firm that I use for the part D coverage to request a lesser plan as the two drugs that I take are covered under a lesser plan where I will pay $0 dollars per month. I should have adjusted/questioned my policy years ago.

As that sounded good, I decided to call my Medicare supplement firm to ask them for a better rate. I now have a new policy with G coverage, identical coverage using the same firm that I have had for 7 years. My new monthly rates will be reduced from $395 per month to paying $244 per month.

So, I will be saving $229 per month with the same coverages after spending a few hours on the phone. In the future as with XM radio rate increases, I may be proactive and ask for better rates rather than just excepting rate increases as inevitable. I also have to deal with XM every year they started out telling me it was $250 or something like that it took a couple of minutes but they came down to $75 , I think there ready to deal quicker then other years , so many just use there apple play ,but I’m not a big fan .I will say this though if they called my bluff I would have to give in , I can’t live with out the Mad Dog on sports and other sports guy favorites , also jazz and studio 54 which is all disco that I start blasting 10 minutes before I hit gym along with a small Red Bull , so that by the time I hit the gym this 85 year old guy is pumped and ready lol

[Eg_cruz]

I did not look at the Plan N as G really worked well paying everything when I had open heart surgery 3 1/2 years ago. Again, I tend to stay with what I have as long as costs and coverages are working OK for me. I am happy to have basically the same coverage using the firms I am familiar with while spending less.
Plan G and N are very similar, the difference is the $0 to $20 copay to doctors even if the dr is a specialist. Since G and N have the same coverage for Part A, when you had surgery G and N would have paid the same. If you go to emergency room and are not admitted it’s $50.
Plan N is anywhere from $30 to $50 a month less. Other then the doctor copay they are the same plan.

[shut the front door]

I also have to deal with XM every year they started out telling me it was $250 or something like that it took a couple of minutes but they came down to $75 , I think there ready to deal quicker then other years , so many just use there apple play ,but I’m not a big fan .I will say this though if they called my bluff I would have to give in , I can’t live with out the Mad Dog on sports and other sports guy favorites , also jazz and studio 54 which is all disco that I start blasting 10 minutes before I hit gym along with a small Red Bull , so that by the time I hit the gym this 85 year old guy is pumped and ready lol

I went back to XM about 18 months ago because I felt like all of the local stations were playing pre-recorded shows day after day. For instance, 105.9 I would hear the same songs every day at the same time.
Now, I'm getting the same from XM. Same songs, over and over. I'm sorry, if you have a whole decade to pick from, I shouldn't have to hear the same songs every day at the same time.

[bowlingal]

too bad you all did not get plan F when it was available. I pay no deductible, no co-pays, nothing for the
ER. My premium is $220/month. Just changed to Wellcare Value Script for my part D and the premium is ZERO. Talk to the people at SHINE before Dec 7 and switch to Wellcare!!

[RickyLee]

Plan G and N are very similar, the difference is the $0 to $20 copay to doctors even if the dr is a specialist. Since G and N have the same coverage for Part A, when you had surgery G and N would have paid the same. If you go to emergency room and are not admitted it’s $50.
Plan N is anywhere from $30 to $50 a month less. Other then the doctor copay they are the same plan.

Plan N is not available to those of us that are just now going on Medicare, I'm not quite there yet but I believe they said if you're not like 70 now it's no longer available

[biker1]

In many locations, Plan G is a better deal than Plan F. The only difference between Plan F and Plan G is Plan F includes the $240 Part B deductible and Plan G doesn't. However, the annual premium for Plan G is typically less than the annual premium for Plan F by more than $240. I also just switched to the Wellcare Part D drug plan.

too bad you all did not get plan F when it was available. I pay no deductible, no co-pays, nothing for the
ER. My premium is $220/month. Just changed to Wellcare Value Script for my part D and the premium is ZERO. Talk to the people at SHINE before Dec 7 and switch to Wellcare!!

[biker1]

You mean Plan F.

Plan N is not available to those of us that are just now going on Medicare, I'm not quite there yet but I believe they said if you're not like 70 now it's no longer available

[huge-pigeons]

Supplement plans do not cover drugs. I have a plan g supplement plan. They probably gave you one of the new plan g policies that are a high deductible so it might sound up front you are getting a deal until you use it, then it isn’t. Similar to comparing an advantage plan to a normal deductible plan g. Up front, the advantage plan looks great, $0 cost, drugs, eyes, on and on. But what they don’t tell you is that 99% of the time a dr recommends a medical service like an mri/catscan, or hundreds of other procedures, the advantage plan denies the service. This is a fact. This is so bad that congress is getting involved to create new laws that will eliminate or at least curtail these denial moved from advantage plans. Medicare does not require any pre-authorization of any dr work so if you use Medicare with any supplement, you will never be denied of medical work.
This just happened to me, I called my drug supplement people and they told me if I would go with the advantage plan, I would save money each year over what I paid last year with my plan g. They are correct because I went on a multiple fact finding mission to see if this was true. I found that 11 million people were denied medical service from advantage plans, that’s 1 way to save money, deny the work and both parties save. Also, most of these 11 million people did not fight the denial so they either didn’t do the service or they paid for it out of pocket.
Before going with any advantage plan, do your homework about this, or wait until Congress fixes this, but while you are waiting go with a plan g supplement

[MidWestIA]

you can reapply for plan D every year and get a new rate from the medicare site

PS Medicare supplementals HAVE to take you even with medical problems a couple months around 65 birthday BUT after that they can all refuse you. DON"T let your plan lapse if you have had problems

[maistocars]

As far as I know, Plan G has the same coverage no matter who you're with - are you getting something more? I pay $124/mo for AARP/UNH - Plan G.

[maistocars]

In many locations, Plan G is a better deal than Plan F. The only difference between Plan F and Plan G is Plan F includes the $240 Part B deductible and Plan G doesn't. However, the annual premium for Plan G is typically less than the annual premium for Plan F by more than $240. I also just switched to the Wellcare Part D drug plan.
Yes - I just switched to Wellcare for Part D also. Was paying $11/mo for Aetna Silverscript. I use the Part D plan or GoodRx depending on whose cost is less

[Blackbird45]

All these companies are offering whatever they can to sign you up, which is great for the public. But before you sign up with anyone of them do your homework and consider your heath before you choose. Make sure the fine print covers your situation or you believe what your situation will be in the near future. Both my wife and I were covered under United Heathcare, but we had different plans due to her medical condition. Just be careful before you sign on the dotted line.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

[QUOTE=shut the front door;2275897]I went back to XM about 18 months ago because I felt like all of the local stations were playing pre-recorded shows day after day. For instance, 105.9 I would hear the same songs every day at the same time.
Now, I'm getting the same from XM. Same songs, over and over. I'm sorry, if you have a whole decade to pick from, I shouldn't have to hear the same songs every day at the same time.[/QUOTEI buy it mostly for the sports channels so the music is secondary , and in my home I use pandora where I have created a lot of stations and keep adding or subtracting others and you can also mix ,so you never get bored .I never watch TV in the daytime EVER except for football so especially in the mornings its Pandora and newspapers.

[airstreamingypsy]

I have always been on plan G, originally with Mutual of Omaha.... then someone told me Aetna was cheaper so I called... it was cheaper. So I called Mutual of Omaha and told them Aetna had the same plan for less and asked if they would match it. They wouldn't, so now I have Aetna.

[Birdrm]

I always call XM Radio and get the $5 a month plan that ends up being like $75 a year with the taxes and fees. It is a great deal for me because my car uses XM Radio maps for directions and that is included.

[Boomer]

I have not yet done my homework to see if it would be worth giving up our Plan F for Plan G.

I know people who have Plan. G and are happy with it, but they did not have Plan F available to them.

I need to find out the of the percentage of the premium that can be saved by giving up Plan F. I am hesitant to change for a couple of reasons…..

Reason 1: I am way too good at procrastinating ………..

Well……….I guess that’s pretty much it ……..

And now, here I am, this morning, on TOTV, procrastinating, while transparently trying to glom onto someone else’s research by asking what the percentage of premium savings was that they found when comparing G and F. Anybody?? Please. :)

Boomer

PS: Btw, even if you have a Plan F and are so used to never getting a bill, pay very close attention to your statements.

Somebody took an ambulance ride on my dime in a city that I have not been in for years. I finally got it straightened out. Took forever because, first, Medicare said to go figure it out myself??? United Healthcare was not overly helpful at first either. I asked them to at least flag it, and then I went back to my own detective work.

Then the hospital that screwed up had outsourced their claims to a winding road of trying to find who knew what to do. Finally got it done after hours of hanging on the phone and taking copious notes.

I never thought this was actually Medicare fraud. I think what happened was due to the fact that both my first and last names are extremely common, and so……..

The ambulance rolled in, somebody on a desk got a name, scrolled, and Voila! I guess I was in the database. (Yes. I know they are supposed to ask for more than the name, but people do not always do their jobs.)

Anyway, there was never another charge. Just that ambulance ride. I will never know what actually happened. But I do pay close attention to statements. It is easier than changing my very common name — even though there are about 76 million other Boomers.

[Marine1974]

Supplement plans do not cover drugs. I have a plan g supplement plan. They probably gave you one of the new plan g policies that are a high deductible so it might sound up front you are getting a deal until you use it, then it isn’t. Similar to comparing an advantage plan to a normal deductible plan g. Up front, the advantage plan looks great, $0 cost, drugs, eyes, on and on. But what they don’t tell you is that 99% of the time a dr recommends a medical service like an mri/catscan, or hundreds of other procedures, the advantage plan denies the service. This is a fact. This is so bad that congress is getting involved to create new laws that will eliminate or at least curtail these denial moved from advantage plans. Medicare does not require any pre-authorization of any dr work so if you use Medicare with any supplement, you will never be denied of medical work.
This just happened to me, I called my drug supplement people and they told me if I would go with the advantage plan, I would save money each year over what I paid last year with my plan g. They are correct because I went on a multiple fact finding mission to see if this was true. I found that 11 million people were denied medical service from advantage plans, that’s 1 way to save money, deny the work and both parties save. Also, most of these 11 million people did not fight the denial so they either didn’t do the service or they paid for it out of pocket.
Before going with any advantage plan, do your homework about this, or wait until Congress fixes this, but while you are waiting go with a plan g supplement

The volume of prior authorization determinations varied across Medicare Advantage insurers, ranging from 0.3 requests per Kaiser Permanente enrollee to 2.9 requests per Anthem enrollee.
Over 2 million prior authorization requests were fully or partially denied by Medicare Advantage insurers.
Just 11 percent of prior authorization denials were appealed.
The vast majority (82%) of appeals resulted in fully or partially overturning the initial prior authorization denial.
just curious why the 82 % reversal rate on denials was not included in the fact finding mission ?
The report I found that of the 2 million claims denied , could be more than one denial per person , does not come close to 11 million people getting a denial . There are approximately 35 million people currently on Medicare advantage plans . In order for your fact finding mission to be accurate, 1/3rd of all claims would have to be denied which is not the case .

[biker1]

What is important is the absolute dollar amount difference between the Plan F and Plan G premiums. For 2024, as long as the premium difference is greater than $20 per month, Plan G is lower cost. The Part B annual deductible, the only difference between Plan F and Plan G, is $240 for 2024. Your age, sex, smoking history, location, and the actual insurance provider will dictate the actual premiums but I believe you will find that $30-45, or so, difference in the premiums per month is typical. Also, Plan G may have a lower percentage premium increase than Plan F in the future.

I have not yet done my homework to see if it would be worth giving up our Plan F for Plan G.

I know people who have Plan. G and are happy with it, but they did not have Plan F available to them.

I need to find out the of the percentage of the premium that can be saved by giving up Plan F. I am hesitant to change for a couple of reasons…..

Reason 1: I am way too good at procrastinating ………..

Well……….I guess that’s pretty much it ……..

And now, here I am, this morning, on TOTV, procrastinating, while transparently trying to glom onto someone else’s research by asking what the percentage of premium savings was that they found when comparing G and F. Anybody?? Please. :)

Boomer

PS: Btw, even if you have a Plan F and are so used to never getting a bill, pay very close attention to your statements.

Somebody took an ambulance ride on my dime in a city that I have not been in for years. I finally got it straightened out. Took forever because, first, Medicare said to go figure it out myself??? United Healthcare was not overly helpful at first either. I asked them to at least flag it, and then I went back to my own detective work.

Then the hospital that screwed up had outsourced their claims to a winding road of trying to find who knew what to do. Finally got it done after hours of hanging on the phone and taking copious notes.

I never thought this was actually Medicare fraud. I think what happened was due to the fact that both my first and last names are extremely common, and so……..

The ambulance rolled in, somebody on a desk got a name, scrolled, and Voila! I guess I was in the database. (Yes. I know they are supposed to ask for more than the name, but people do not always do their jobs.)

Anyway, there was never another charge. Just that ambulance ride. I will never know what actually happened. But I do pay close attention to statements. It is easier than changing my very common name — even though there are about 76 million other Boomers.

[Aces4]

The volume of prior authorization determinations varied across Medicare Advantage insurers, ranging from 0.3 requests per Kaiser Permanente enrollee to 2.9 requests per Anthem enrollee.
Over 2 million prior authorization requests were fully or partially denied by Medicare Advantage insurers.
Just 11 percent of prior authorization denials were appealed.
The vast majority (82%) of appeals resulted in fully or partially overturning the initial prior authorization denial.
just curious why the 82 % reversal rate on denials was not included in the fact finding mission ?
The report I found that of the 2 million claims denied , could be more than one denial per person , does not come close to 11 million people getting a denial . There are approximately 35 million people currently on Medicare advantage plans . In order for your fact finding mission to be accurate, 1/3rd of all claims would have to be denied which is not the case .



Out of curiosity, what does the patient with a medical issue do while all those appeals are being filed... twiddle their thumbs? No thank you!

We know some Medicare Advantage patients who have had what we consider less than ideal treatment for issues, including time in receiving treatment and providers. It's not what we expect when receiving medical care but finances put them in the Advantage situation.

[tophcfa]

I did not look at the Plan N as G really worked well paying everything when I had open heart surgery 3 1/2 years ago. Again, I tend to stay with what I have as long as costs and coverages are working OK for me. I am happy to have basically the same coverage using the firms I am familiar with while spending less.

I’m like you, I prefer to select a provider and stay with what I have for insurance, be it health, auto, or homeowners. Unfortunately, insurers don’t seem to reward loyalty and often jack up renewal premiums, making it necessary to go through the annual (semiannual for auto) competitive price shopping exercise.

[Boomer]

What is important is the absolute dollar amount difference between the Plan F and Plan G premiums. For 2024, as long as the premium difference is greater than $20 per month, Plan G is lower cost. The Part B annual deductible, the only difference between Plan F and Plan G, is $240 for 2024. Your age, sex, smoking history, location, and the actual insurance provider will dictate the actual premiums but I believe you will find that $30-45, or so, difference in the premiums per month is typical. Also, Plan G may have a lower percentage premium increase than Plan F in the future.


Thank you, biker1,

We both have been on Plan F since we started on Medicare so our increases in premium are multiplied by 2.

I cringe when I add up our annual costs, and when adding in our now, ever increasing LTC premiums, it’s some serious sticker shock.

I am aware that our Plan F has seemed to grease the skids in a couple of situations because it does not work like an HMO like the Plan C does. I realize G gives that freedom, too, so every year, I think about changing, but thinking is as far as I ever get.

I retired before our contract had HSAs — which those who retired after me are very happy to have to use to pay their premiums, etc.

Anyway, thanks for the info.

Boomer

[Carla B]

A couple years ago I went through the exercise of changing from Plan F to Plan G. For that year Plan G would save the two of us around $400, so I decided to change. Unfortunately, one of my husband's doctors apparently didn't understand Plan G. and couldn't wait for Medicare to do its bookkeeping on deductibles. His office insisted my husband pay cash at the first visit. It was many months before we got reimbursed from that doctor after leaving him. By then I regretted having changed. The next year Plan G has worked as it should.

As far as Medicare D drug plans are concerned, the tool that Medicare.gov offers is very helpful. Drug plans are composed of two parts, monthly premium and actual drug costs at the pharmacy. You input into their program the medication and dosage for all your prescriptions and it does the calculation for you on the estimated total cost of each program you wish to compare.

Our Humana WalMart premium has increased markedly each year, so I decided to investigate a change. However, after putting in the data for one of us, found out it was still overall the cheapest, even though the premium per month is $46.00 for Humana WalMart vs. SilverScript $13.30. The difference in the estimated total drug cost for next year for 2024 for one of us including premium: at Humana WalMart, is $783.60, vs. SilverScript at $945.78.

[MSGirl]

I hate to hassle with salespeople and usually just stick with what I have. However, I do call XM radio every year to ask for a better price before they automatically enroll me for another year at a much higher price. This year, I rejected one and then listened to another person on the phone who advised me to apply for a better Medicare part D policy rate.

I was paying $78 per month for a premium part D drug plan. Per advice from the phone caller I called the firm that I use for the part D coverage to request a lesser plan as the two drugs that I take are covered under a lesser plan where I will pay $0 dollars per month. I should have adjusted/questioned my policy years ago.

As that sounded good, I decided to call my Medicare supplement firm to ask them for a better rate. I now have a new policy with G coverage, identical coverage using the same firm that I have had for 7 years. My new monthly rates will be reduced from $395 per month to paying $244 per month.

So, I will be saving $229 per month with the same coverages after spending a few hours on the phone. In the future as with XM radio rate increases, I may be proactive and ask for better rates rather than just excepting rate increases as inevitable.
Did you have Plan F prior to getting G? If so, you didn’t get a better rate. Plan G has an annual deductible of $240 for 2024. Plan F has no deductible.

[MSGirl]

Supplement plans do not cover drugs. I have a plan g supplement plan. They probably gave you one of the new plan g policies that are a high deductible so it might sound up front you are getting a deal until you use it, then it isn’t. Similar to comparing an advantage plan to a normal deductible plan g. Up front, the advantage plan looks great, $0 cost, drugs, eyes, on and on. But what they don’t tell you is that 99% of the time a dr recommends a medical service like an mri/catscan, or hundreds of other procedures, the advantage plan denies the service. This is a fact. This is so bad that congress is getting involved to create new laws that will eliminate or at least curtail these denial moved from advantage plans. Medicare does not require any pre-authorization of any dr work so if you use Medicare with any supplement, you will never be denied of medical work.
This just happened to me, I called my drug supplement people and they told me if I would go with the advantage plan, I would save money each year over what I paid last year with my plan g. They are correct because I went on a multiple fact finding mission to see if this was true. I found that 11 million people were denied medical service from advantage plans, that’s 1 way to save money, deny the work and both parties save. Also, most of these 11 million people did not fight the denial so they either didn’t do the service or they paid for it out of pocket.
Before going with any advantage plan, do your homework about this, or wait until Congress fixes this, but while you are waiting go with a plan g supplement
Beginning in Jan 2024, Medicare Advantage plans cannot reject coverage for procedures that are covered by Traditional Medicare.

[biker1]

Read post #22.



Did you have Plan F prior to getting G? If so, you didn’t get a better rate. Plan G has an annual deductible of $240 for 2024. Plan F has no deductible.

[twoplanekid]

Did you have Plan F prior to getting G? If so, you didn’t get a better rate. Plan G has an annual deductible of $240 for 2024. Plan F has no deductible.

My prior plan ($395 per month)was also a Plan G so identical plans and coverage yet a large reduction in monthly costs (now $244) while staying with the same firm, Mutual of Omaha. In the future, I may keep asking for rate reductions instead of just accepting cost increases.:icon_wink:

[Nana2Teddy]

In many locations, Plan G is a better deal than Plan F. The only difference between Plan F and Plan G is Plan F includes the $240 Part B deductible and Plan G doesn't. However, the annual premium for Plan G is typically less than the annual premium for Plan F by more than $240. I also just switched to the Wellcare Part D drug plan.
Yes, exactly why we went with Plan G rather than F back when we first went on Medicare in 2021. The total annual cost for each of us was quite a bit lower than Plan F. Hubs has WellCare for Part D, but it wasn’t the best deal for me due to the meds I take.