[OCsun]

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

Many people are “tied” to the insurance company chosen by their employer. But for those that have a free choice, I can tell you all from first hand experience which insurance company NOT to use.

Florida Blue is the worst insurance company I have ever had the misfortune to use. You will have to get their pre-approval to go to any doctor or specialist other than your primary care doctor, as well as many procedures. And Florida Blue is slow, slow, slow in providing such approvals of your doctor’s referrals and ordered treatments.

Once, on a Friday afternoon Florida Blue simply went home for the weekend and told me to call back Monday morning. My primary care doctor was enraged and sent me to the ER because the condition he ordered be treated was life-threatening. Even though the ER was a long wait, at least he knew I would be treated Friday evening.

The kind of plan you are referring to had to be some kind of Advantage or HMO plan. True Medicare supplemental insurance or Medi-Gap, as most insurance companies refer to it, do not normally require referrals. Medicare would be considered primary and billed first, no matter Florida Blue, United Health or AARP.

[rrdsg]

Agree medicare G with gap coverage is way to go. If you are eligible for USAA, they are best. Also need drug plan but they are reasonably priced and you can change them every year. All drug plans vary the copays on the pharmacy you use. You can change pharmacies to match your plan if the difference is worth it. You can find all that out by going to medicare.gov and looking at drug plans. Most dental coverage is not worth what you pay for it. Check all the deductibles and copays. Vision is included with medicare with the exception of refractions or contact lens fittings which are not expensive. Be aware that all premiums increase as you get older so don't compare yourself to what others are paying unless you know all the details. Also be aware, your government medicare costs vary depending on your taxable income, including what you take out of IRAs. If you net a lot of money on the sale of a house, they may include that for the year you sell but I'm not sure. Might be an exemption for that.

[SusanStCatherine]

Under 65 here and we have Florida Blue from the Healthcare.gov exchange. There aren't many other choices for ACA plans. Most of the dermatologists I wanted to see in The Villages do not take Florida Blue. One had just dropped it recently. We have an extremely high deductible of $9,100 and we had very high premiums until our income went down. So with the high deductible, we just pay for most of our medical anyway. GoodRx almost always gets us a better price on our prescriptions than Florida Blue. Medicare premiums are affected by income, so if your income is high, you will pay more. Good luck!

[OCsun]

Originally Posted by arbud

Hello all.
I am 67 have been retired over a year. On social security.
I have been on my wifes Baltimore county public school health insurance.
She will be retiring July 1 but is not old enough to collect ss for another 6 months.
She will have to pay alot more for her health insurance and I will have to start using medicare.
Along with that I will have to get supplimental dental, vision and i guess prescription.
I am in perfect health as we speak and takwe no medication, but you never know what the future brings of course.
I suspect alot of the villagers are in the position I am entering.
Who do you use. I am in MD now but will be moving down there perminately Oct 3
Any help will be appreciated.

I know Baltimore County Public Schools have good health insurance options. They also to have Health Benefits Coordinators who can educate retiree's regarding COBRA options. That might be a good temporary option for your wife. The cost of Cobra will include both the employee and employer portions and a added on administration fee. She could then make a switch to supplemental insurance at age 65. Many supplemental plans are portable, which means you could just purchase it locally then carry it with you to Florida. Shop around! Call health insurance brokers, who are knowledgeable in the different supplemental plans. Don't forget to pick up drug insurance.
Vision and dental is a whole other ball game, especially if you had one of the good plans offered through Baltimore County Schools.

[Indy-Guy]

Below is a link to a good video on Medicare plans. Also if you go on youtube to this guys site there are many videos that are informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pWQ5vwt8nE

[Indy-Guy]

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[BrianL]

Florida has a very nice web site where the rates for the standard medicare policies are listed along with the rates. Keep in mind if you purchase a "G" policy or any other policy other than an HMO the coverage is exactly the same regardless of the company from which you purchase the policy.

Link to the Florida web site with the information.
Medicare Supplement Rates

[dougjb]

Go to SHINE...it is the singularly best place for accurate, unbiased information. They do not sell products. They merely are a source of information. They hold various meetings in The Villages and I highly recommend them. They did wonders in informing me. I saved a ton of money and got really good coverage.

[fsusix]

I used Yvonne Tepsick also - she lets you know all your options and leads you in the right direction- I will go see her every year - changed my husbands plan - saved me $$ and much better coverage.

[DDToto41]

Originally Posted by arbud

Hello all.
I am 67 have been retired over a year. On social security.
I have been on my wifes Baltimore county public school health insurance.
She will be retiring July 1 but is not old enough to collect ss for another 6 months.
She will have to pay alot more for her health insurance and I will have to start using medicare.
Along with that I will have to get supplimental dental, vision and i guess prescription.
I am in perfect health as we speak and takwe no medication, but you never know what the future brings of course.
I suspect alot of the villagers are in the position I am entering.
Who do you use. I am in MD now but will be moving down there perminately Oct 3
Any help will be appreciated.

I am 81and have been with AARP Supplement insurance since before I turned 62. When I arrived here in the Villages, at age 64, I got a job at Walmart to get insurance for my wife who was 6 years younger than me. In March of 06 I went to a cardiologist for a check up and he told me I had ventricular Tachycardia and needed an ablation. I had the operation and Walmart insurance would only pay $1,000 of the bill of $26,000 AARP/United Healthcare paid the rest. I haven't changed since and I won't. I don't have co-payments and I have never had to pay anything for Doctors or Hospital visits. I have a separate drug Insurance. I would suggest you get your insurances before your wife retires because you will be penalized for every month that you don't have insurance and have to pay a higher premium. I pay a higher premium for my drug insurance due to not knowing about it and getting it after a few months.