Change Medicare plans and or ask for better rates?
 

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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!!

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

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.

You mean Plan F.

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

reapply
 

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

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.

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