Medicare Classes
 

A friend and I are both turning 65 this year. I have seen where a group presents Medicare information classes. Does anyone know of this group and a contact or when the next class might be held?

I am not sure if this is what you are looking for, but SHINE offers information on healthcare. I believe Medicare is part of what they offer counseling on. SHINE - Home

Most of the "Medicare classes" are disguises for sales seminars. They have a list of people turning 65 in the next six months. Then the calls and letters go out.

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This is NOT TRUE for the SHINE classes and advisors in The Villages. You will receive excellent, unbiased advise from SHINE.

I agree with Chi-town, SHINE has multiple one on one meetings each month at various locations. They offer an unbiased review of the various plans available. If you search this site, you will find lots of info and misinfo. We found SHINE to be very helpful.
Also, if you are not aware, the villages health system only accepts their Medicare ADVANTAGE for the primary care doctors. Specialists still accept Medicare with supplement insurance. The local UHC offices will be glad to provide you with info on the (3 I think) ADVANTAGE plans available.
Be sure you understand the consequences if you decide to go with an ADVANTAGE plan and then want to change back to a SUPPLEMENT plan, there are potentials pitfalls.
Hope this helps.

Thanks all for the info. Shine has a program coming up in a few days. I will be signed up! Our current doctors are not part of The Villsges Health Care Network. This alone should give us a few more options!

what are the pitfalls you speak of????

Medicare website is very good. Just put in your info and they estimate what your estimated cost is with each insurer. They also direct you to insurer website for checking out which doctors are available.
Problem with getting any insurer's help is they are selling something.
Just use Medicare website. Don't be afraid of advantage plans, but check out all options

I was informed by a SHINE rep, the only pitfall if one is on an advantage plan and want to go to Medicare plus a supplemental plan, is the supplemental plan will not accept you, if you had a condition that still needs treatment as they will not want to pay the costs involved. If one has gotten over an illness and is still healthy and has no known medical problems, one can switch.

I personally would need to check this out further if I ever decide to switch over as the advantage plan works for me.

Everyone has to decide for themselves as this is a personal decision and it is a slippery slope. Most people who want peace of mind stay on Medicare with a supplemental plan even if it is more expensive.

The 'pitfalls' are that if you want to go back to a supplemental plan from an advantage plan you may be subjected to underwriting. This means as stated above additional cost for your current illness, the possibility that an illness may NOT be covered at all for a period of time (3 to 6 months I think). If you were off Medicare for an extended period of time, your will find there will be an additional monthly cost for Medicare, on top of the potential higher underwriting costs.
NOTE: there are some special circumstances that allow changing back, but these are few and very restrictive. I am NOT an expert in this area, this is a very quick synopsis of things we came across when we got involved with this situation. As I stated before, SHINE has very good information on this.
Hope this helps.

Did you ever get answers to your questions? I'm turning 65 this year and someone told me there was some kind of Medicaid office here in TV that can help you decide what you need to do. I need help!

We decided against Medicare Advantage because we moved around too much and did not want to have to be hassled each time we moved or snowbirded. We stayed with Medicare and BC/BS even though it is a bit expensive but we never paid a cent out of our pockets (except for the premiums of course) the past years in spite of several surgeries and hospitalizations so it is worth the peace of mind it gives us.

A year ago my husband was bugged by one insurance company who swore up and down that our supplemental policies through them would be one hundred less a month, so he did all the paperwork and signed releases of information and the whole works only to be rejected outright because he had a bypass a few years ago. As for myself, they refused to give my application any consideration until it was known for sure what my hip problem was.

I kept telling him, "why fix it if it ain't broken?"

To sum it up, my advice would be to go with Medicare and a supplemental because it will give you far more flexibility.

That is exactly what we did and for the same reasons -- Medicare with United Healthcare as a supplemental.