Medicare vs. private insurance

[musician2k]

Hey all. Well, I've gotten my official letter from Social Security that I qualify for Medicare starting in August of this year. When I was working, of course I had private insurance and then after I left teaching, I stayed on my wife's policy (same company.) They were pretty good about my surgery, paying nearly all of it. I can't imagine where we'd be without it. I know a lot of people are not as fortunate. Of couse it's very expensive. I could switch to Medicare and save some bucks throughout time, but my questions surround the quality and accessibility to care, co-pays, and of course I'll need prescription coverage. So my question is to those who've had Medicare experiences - should I make this change now? Switch to Medicare as my primary providor? Or keep me on my wife's employer's insurance and keep Medicare as a backup?

 

[Rich]

Im not quite sure what to tell you.
I am on Medicare and have BC/BS as secondary.
Medicare does pay for most things, although some tests are allowed only once a year.
Your deductible with Medicare may be a whole lot less than your current insurance. Currently it is somewhere around $130/yr.
Can you maintain your prescription coverage with your present insurance, even if that insurance became secondary ?
Also you might consider what may happen to both of you when she retires.
Will she maintain her insurance when retired?
So far I have been on Medicare for four years and have no real complaints.
I do not however use their prescription plans.
I have far better coverage thru my former employer.
Rich

 

[Ross]

There is a penalty if you do not sign up for Medicare when you become eligble. You'll have to check into that because I forget how it works. For me, I had to go with Medicare HMO. I can't afford regular medicare co pays and such.

 

[dick0236]

I have been on Medicare for over six years and have found no real difference between Medicare and private health insurance. If anything, medicare has provided a little better benefit. As was said in an earlier post, there is a penalty if you do not sign up for Part B medicare when you first become eligible. My current plan is one of the new medicare "Advantage" plans thru Anthem. It is an HMO that provides In-patient, Out-patient, Rx co-pay and even pays my YMCA fitness program membership. Believe it or not, my premium is zero(0). I only pay my Part B medicare premium of $93.50/mo.
Since it is HMO coverage, some people would not like it. I sold/serviced group health insurance for 25 years and find that this type of coverage suits me very well.

 

[csutherland]

Jerry turned 65 Feb 22, 2002. Medicare coverage began on the 1st day of Feb and his AVR was done on the 12th, I believe. This is one government program, combined with a supplement, that has worked flawlessly for us. No bills come--just explanation of benefits showing everything paid. The prescription plan even works (so far). I turned 65 Jan of this year and immediately had a mammogram, a yearly exam, and a visit with my oncologist. Again, flawless.

As a previous post mentions, I believe there is some risk of penalty if you don't sign up for Medicare at 65.

 

[Phyllis]

It has worked flawlessly for Dick as well and although I am not rushing it, I can't wait until I turn 65 next March and go on it as well. I now have private insurance with a large deductible that is prohibitive. Dick is a vet and gets his prescription drugs through the VA which is much cheaper than any supplementary medicare insurance plan and that works too, although it means that he must be yearly checked by the VA docs as well as his private cardio. His local VA doc is a cardio and once worked at Cleveland Clinic and actually was the one that picked up his heart murmur that led to the AVR, so that is a good thing. We had no problems using the Medicare at Brigham.