Medicare and the various insurances.
Mrs. Cow has been in charge of handling all of this for the both of us. She turned 65 in November of last year and officially retired from her 40-year teaching career this Summer. Way back in 2018, when I turned 65, I signed up for Medicare Part A (Hospitization only) as it was free. As I haven't had a true employer since March, 1987, I have been carried on her employer's insurance plan ever since we married in 1998.
That is where much of the confusion begins. The SYSTEM apparently likes to assume that virtually everyone working has insurance coverage via THEIR employer. The forms that had to be filled out to get me signed up for Medicare Part B and the various other options asked me for MY employer and the insurance coverage provided by THAT EMPLOYER. What I should have done, apparently, was list my wife's employer as being MY employer and the insurance coverage as being that provided by HER employer.
That error on my part, that is not really an error but answering truthfully, has caused far too many hours of time on the telephone and numerous letters going back and forth. Corrections had to be made for each form of insurance coverage from Part B to prescriptions, dental, cancer, etc. It would really help tremdously if English happened to be the first language of the anonymous people that you must go through to resolve such matters. When you are told multiple times that what they think they heard is not what you told them and that is the primary reason for the call, it gets exasperating. One call Mrs. Cow made kept her on the phone for over four hours straight before she was finally transferred to someone who understood her and helped her finalize the issue correctly.
The prescription coverage is the latest and most expensive screw up. We thought we had this all straightened out. Then they sent back a rejection letter. They were claiming HER employer's insurance plan for prescriptions was not a viable plan. Somehow, though, when she did her application it all went through with no problem. Therefore, I was being denied, but could reapply. With this came the threat that I could be assesed a life-long monthly penalty for having not signed up for my own prescription plan when I signed up for Medicare Part A in 2018. This prolonged the whole process such that I had no prescription coverage of any kind during this month (September). They sent us another form to fill out last week. We put that in the mail today. However, in today's mail I received confirmation that there would not be a life-long monthly penalty applied as they had finally arrived at the conclusion that HER prescription plan was acceptable. It starts October 1. Last week Mrs. Cow picked up three prescriptions for me that needed to be refilled as they were running out and couldn't wait until October 1. That amounted to a bit over $600 out of our pocket that we will never see again.
Oh, and don't assume having Medicare Part B is free. They will subtract several hundred dollars out of your monthly Social Security payment to cover it for you. The prescription policies will cost us a few hundred dollars per month, each, as well. Of course, if we were to do our presciption shopping at Walmart and certain other firms, our out of pocket cost would be reduced. We support our small town pharmacy and will continue to do so until we die. By the way, you will get repeated information from Medicare and your other providers advertising for Walmart and those other firms, although it has no impact on your policy fees. Medicare also features certain insurance companies in their mailings to you attempting to steer you to those select few companies.
You have been warned. Take action now to save yourself from this BS.
Forgot to mention that the letter I received today from the prescription insurance company provided some part of the letter's information in a total of 16 languages, from Farsi to Tagalog. Why only 16?
Government is the only place where incompetency is regularly rewarded.
When my wife and I enrolled in Medicare we opted for the best supplemental insurance we could find. Quite expensive but turned out to be a bargain. With all of my wife's surgeries, including cancer treatments, and my prostate surgery, we have not paid one penny out of pocket.
ps Today we had four (4) "This is not a bill" statements, in multiple languages I generally don't speak.
Also, prepare yourself to be bombarded with phone calls from call centers in Southeast Asia representing every insurance company that deals in Medicare-related plans. They will find your cell phone number. Many times these calls appear to be somewhat local, but, they are passing through inactive numbers. Call that number back and you will normally get the message that number is no longer in service. There appears to be no way to stop them from calling.
Another annoying thing is that once signed up with an insurance company, they will provide you wth frequent tips and announce special deals for which you are eligible. For example, one company recommends you do business with (a specific meal delivery company) and you will get a ten percent discount because of your insurance company. There isn't any meal delivery company that would deliver to my rural residence at meal time. Now, if it was one of those beets, kumquats and celery type boxed delivery companies, they would get it to me via UPS or FedEx.
Based on what I have read from the SS web site, I was under the impression that you have to sign up for Medicare 10 months before turning 62 or face the penalty you were talking about. Is that not true?
When you sign up for Medicare is up to you. Signing up for Social Security is something else. The monthly Social Security payment increases, however, the longer you wait. In my case, I waited until the month I was turning 70 as the number maxes out there. I signed up for Medicare Part A (free) when I hit 65. My wife waited to do both until she was nearing 66 as she had coverage through her employer. Being self-employed, I was carried under her insurance. Hoping we both live long enough to actually get a net gain from Social Security payments relative to the money invested.
You really have to be careful with those dates and my local school system benefits office was the blessing. I signed up for Medicare Part A at age 65 because was was still employed and insured. I retired at age 70.
Our state employee plan offers free Medicare Advantage for retired employees, but I paid a modest monthly amount for coverage for my wife. Medicare Part B was mandatory for the Medicare Advantage plan, so both my wife and I signed up for that during the retirement process. Personnel guided the forms process in a group meeting and proof read and submitted all the forms.
Prescription coverage is part of the Medicare Advantagr plan.
Everything works just as it did under the group plan as far as I'm concerned. After my wife's passing, my health insurance is free except for the Part B premium.
HC is right. Do not do this on your own and don't take it lightly.
I still have more than a year to go until I am 65, but my wife is on medicare. As mentioned, Part A is free. Part B is $164.90 BUT they charge me IRMAA of $362.60 on top of that. So part B is $527.50. IRMAA is a "penalty" for making too much. I also pay for a supplement that is $141. She recently had back surgery, and went to a rehab hospital for 2 weeks. The only thing I had to pay for was the transport from the hospital where she had the surgery to the rehab hospital, $118 because it was "non-emergency". But they didn't tell us there was any other option. No other costs, no deductible, no copay.
As for Part D, I made a big mistake and didn't select a plan when she started two years ago. Just totally forgot about it. I can't add it until next enrollment period (next month, I think) so I do get to pay the "life long penalty" of 1% per month (i.e. 24 months) mentioned above.
"To actually get a net gain from Social Security payments relative to the money invested"
You realize that will never happen if you include interest?
The wait is well worth it in terms of $$$$
"For each year delayed past full retirement age to age 70, 8% is added to Social Security benefits.
By waiting up to age 70, retirees can lock in the biggest benefit checks available based on their work records.
Retirement benefits taken at age 70 are 76% higher, adjusted for inflation, than retirement benefits taken at 62"
Thx everyone for outlining your experience with this s*** show and the ramifications of messing up.
When do you need to have the application complete and can you send them in prior to 65?
Thx again,
LAS
wading through the options and fees for medicare is worse than setting the options in our cadd (Microstation/Inroads) program. Medicare Part A, B, D, F and then there are the multi-different Advantage programs. You know when you get bombarded with emails trying to get you to sign up for their programs that there is lots to profit.
There is no easy way to find the best insurance program for you. I know of no entity that independently (without pointing you to a select few companies) advises to include AARP.
Someone is making a whole lotta money off ill informed seniors, myself included
From what I can find, Medicare initial enrollment is between 3 months before and 3 months after you turn 65 but only takes effect the month your turn 65. I think there are exceptions but that's the easiest/safest rule to follow.
There is a volunteer organization called SHIIP that advises people on the insurance tradeoffs for their situation.
Choosing when to take SS is simple: 1. Make a spreadsheet showing total payout versus starting date.
2. Figure out how long you will live, and pick the starting date that gives the most by the time you expect to die.
3. If you run out of other money before that starting date, then start sooner.
