[delima2000]

Help. My husband is turning 65 this year and we need to find a supplemental insurance. We are bring bombarded with all kinds of mail on this subject. What do you have? Do you like it? How to pick the best one?

[jmvalcq]

If your husband is relatively healthy, he should check out Medicare Advantage/Complete. I know that there is a person who works for United Healoth Care wwho lies in the TV.

[Mudder]

Go to the Preferred care Partners office in LSL, their plan is excellent and doesn't cost you anything.

[delima2000]

I guess I should have posted where to go to get cost and kind of coverage is best for us. I would like to make a spread sheet with a few companies and compare. Is there someone we could talk to that deals with different companies and not pressure us to get theirs

[chuckinca]

I believe the main supplement is Plan F.

When I first got it I contacted three major insurers and got quotes that had identical coverage (plan F) and identical cost.

.

[delima2000]

Is plan f all I need along with a,b and d. What are advantage plans? So confused

[casita37]

Thre is an organization called SHINE. I'm sorry, I don't have any contact information, but perhaps you could just google it....anyway, they offer free consulting regarding medicare, supplemental policies, etc. They are not associated with any insurance company.

They held seminars in TV last year just before the deadline to add supplemental to your medicare. Maybe someone else has a contact number??

[delima2000]

I'll check with them. They meet at Chula Vista. Thanks.

[NotGolfer]

IF you go to The Villages Insurance office, they too can offer free advice on whatever insurance (supplemental) plan will work for you. That's what we did after we came down here. They have no "dibs" in the situation...it's just a service they offer.

Part D is where you get an insurance plan to go along with Medicare to cover your costs. Preferred Care Partners....is like an HMO where you have to go to doctors within the network. You pay no premium on it plus they pay you $75.00 each month and tier 3 medications have no co-pay. Hope this helps!

[aljetmet]

Originally Posted by delima2000

Is plan f all I need along with a,b and d. What are advantage plans? So confused

Advantage plans are generally zero cost and are HMOs.
Meaning you have Dr and hospital restrictions. You can check the DRs and hospitals on the plan before you enroll.

If you go to the hopital, you can pay $250/ day for say 7 days ( all plans are different)

If you have diagnostic testing you pay 20%. But don't sweat this because the 20% is based on what Medicare pays which is quite less than what was paid by your insurance company when you were working.

My wife has an advantage plan because she is on disabilty and she is under 65. She has almost all the key Docs she had under my group plan and as it turns out the same hospitals. She has AARP Advantage and if you go out of your local area this would be allowed.

Now if you need, there are Supplemental plans which can cost up to $400/ month. Gernerally most DRs and hospitals are on the plan, a stay in the hospital can be at low cost, rehab in a home could be low cost for up to 100 days and it pays the 20% medicare does not pay.

Lastly, regardless of plan there is good old medicare Part D. This is the drug plan and usually are included with Advantage plans but not so much on supplemental. (You have to get an individual part D plan)

If you have to take drugs, especially high cost ones, it does get very expensive...

This is very general because it's only Medicare 101!

Good luck!

[Avista]

Originally Posted by aljetmet

Advantage plans are generally zero cost and are HMOs.
Meaning you have Dr and hospital restrictions. You can check the DRs and hospitals on the plan before you enroll.

If you go to the hopital, you can pay $250/ day for say 7 days ( all plans are different)

If you have diagnostic testing you pay 20%. But don't sweat this because the 20% is based on what Medicare pays which is quite less than what was paid by your insurance company when you were working.

My wife has an advantage plan because she is on disabilty and she is under 65. She has almost all the key Docs she had under my group plan and as it turns out the same hospitals. She has AARP Advantage and if you go out of your local area this would be allowed.

Now if you need, there are Supplemental plans which can cost up to $400/ month. Gernerally most DRs and hospitals are on the plan, a stay in the hospital can be at low cost, rehab in a home could be low cost for up to 100 days and it pays the 20% medicare does not pay.

Lastly, regardless of plan there is good old medicare Part D. This is the drug plan and usually are included with Advantage plans but not so much on supplemental. (You have to get an individual part D plan)

If you have to take drugs, especially high cost ones, it does get very expensive...

This is very general because it's only Medicare 101!

Good luck!

In addition, Medicare Advantage Plans usually include drug coverage. With a supplement, you must purchase an additional drug plan at about $40/month per person.

We originally had a supplement but changed to Preferred Care Partners. Easy to talk,to,them at their office near AAA in Sumter Landing.

My husband did a spread sheet to figure all of this out.

[jimbo2012]

I'm not at that age yet but my friend living in Tampa uses AARP, pays $115 for part N with $20 copays and the AARP preferred med plan for $40 total $155 a month.

I have BlueCross in NY it's only $700 a month

I can pay a mortgage with the difference!

[delima2000]

Thank you for all the info. We will check out shine and the villages insurance company. I'm really glad that we have talk of the villages. This has been a life saver. I always check out the posts to see if it pertains to us. Thank you.

[aljetmet]

Oh yes I forgot to mention the copays.

On Advantage for example my wife pays only $10 to her internist but $35 to all her specialists.

I was paying well over $600/month for my wife at my place of employment and that's why we opted to go to AARP Advantage.

[Avista]

Originally Posted by aljetmet

Oh yes I forgot to mention the copays.

On Advantage for example my wife pays only $10 to her internist but $35 to all her specialists.

I was paying well over $600/month for my wife at my place of employment and that's why we opted to go to AARP Advantage.

With Preferred Care Partners, we pay zero co pay for intrnist and $10 copay for specialist.