Hello there fellow Coursers! It was great to read your comments about how Thanksgiving went for you and your families. Hope you all are doing well as we continue in holiday mode and perhaps the most joyous New Year's Eve ever, ringing out 2020. Unfortunately it looks like we will still be dealing with the horrible pandemic, but perhaps we can see better days ahead in 2021.
I'm so late with a week starter that I almost skipped it. But thought I'd give you my excuse: I have been wrestling with the annual dilemma that Medicare Open Enrollment (which ends in just a few days) brings to my household. Most of you likely are younger than I so maybe you haven't faced this yet. Medicare doesn't cover everything, so it is important to buy a supplemental plan. During Open Enrollment, you can change plans --and wow is there ever hype this season for Medicare Advantage plans! Many come with $0 premiums or close to it -- plus prescriptions, dental, vision, hearings aid...even a gym membership. TV pitches sound almost like MA is something for nothing. So why then do my wife and I continue to have Medigap plans and pay premiums for the two almost equaling a home mortgage?
A basic reason is freedom of choice -- and in our situations, needing that choice. With Medigap, you can select from all doctors in the USA who accept Medicare. You pay a big premium but your plan covers virtually all your expenses. With MA, you are restricted to a network of providers; you can go outside for service, but then you shell out of pocket, often quite a bit. Within the past two years, I had aortic aneurysm surgery and for that was able to select an out-of-state surgeon who is nationally renowned as an aorta specialist. My wife had a terrible fall and was hospitalized for two weeks and then in a rehab center for another two. Our Medigap paid for everything she and I needed, even an interstate ambulance ride for me from the hospital two weeks after surgery to a rehab center near home. It has extensive coverage for skilled nursing, much more than the MA plans seem to have.
For many folks, Medicare Advantage plans are great. I have been on the verge several times during this Open Enrollment of switching to one. I mean a free gym plus free Silver Sneaker classes -- would love that! But if you are likely to need outstanding medical specialists and services from wherever they may be found, I find that Medigap gives you that freedom.
It all would be so much easier to navigate if you had a crystal ball. But while I gnash my teeth over our monthly premiums, I am somewhat reassured that we are pre-paying all our medical expenses for the year, thus sparing us from a batch of medical bills in the mail.
So most of this week is gone, and so is most of Open Enrollment. If you are soon to wrestle with this, please know that my thoughts above do not amount to all the pros and cons. Decide for yourself what best meets your needs as best you can predict them.
Cheers,
Superbob
✍
I'm so late with a week starter that I almost skipped it. But thought I'd give you my excuse: I have been wrestling with the annual dilemma that Medicare Open Enrollment (which ends in just a few days) brings to my household. Most of you likely are younger than I so maybe you haven't faced this yet. Medicare doesn't cover everything, so it is important to buy a supplemental plan. During Open Enrollment, you can change plans --and wow is there ever hype this season for Medicare Advantage plans! Many come with $0 premiums or close to it -- plus prescriptions, dental, vision, hearings aid...even a gym membership. TV pitches sound almost like MA is something for nothing. So why then do my wife and I continue to have Medigap plans and pay premiums for the two almost equaling a home mortgage?
A basic reason is freedom of choice -- and in our situations, needing that choice. With Medigap, you can select from all doctors in the USA who accept Medicare. You pay a big premium but your plan covers virtually all your expenses. With MA, you are restricted to a network of providers; you can go outside for service, but then you shell out of pocket, often quite a bit. Within the past two years, I had aortic aneurysm surgery and for that was able to select an out-of-state surgeon who is nationally renowned as an aorta specialist. My wife had a terrible fall and was hospitalized for two weeks and then in a rehab center for another two. Our Medigap paid for everything she and I needed, even an interstate ambulance ride for me from the hospital two weeks after surgery to a rehab center near home. It has extensive coverage for skilled nursing, much more than the MA plans seem to have.
For many folks, Medicare Advantage plans are great. I have been on the verge several times during this Open Enrollment of switching to one. I mean a free gym plus free Silver Sneaker classes -- would love that! But if you are likely to need outstanding medical specialists and services from wherever they may be found, I find that Medigap gives you that freedom.
It all would be so much easier to navigate if you had a crystal ball. But while I gnash my teeth over our monthly premiums, I am somewhat reassured that we are pre-paying all our medical expenses for the year, thus sparing us from a batch of medical bills in the mail.
So most of this week is gone, and so is most of Open Enrollment. If you are soon to wrestle with this, please know that my thoughts above do not amount to all the pros and cons. Decide for yourself what best meets your needs as best you can predict them.
Cheers,
Superbob
✍
