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I am back - the true cost of Medicare!!! Exterra thinks I have lied about Medicare, but he will never tell me which numbers he thinks are incorrect. My numbers are accurate and I pay most of them. Some come out of my social security check so I do not see the cost except once a year when I receive a Medicare statement. The traditional Medicare Part A plan does not cost the plan participant any additional premium. It starts at 65 and that may have change or will go up. If you end up in the hospital, Part A will charge you a deductible of $1,156 per stay. End up in the hospital after 91 days and there will be another $1,156 charge. Part B charges you $96 a month - that comes out of your social security also. Will be $102 a month in 2013 and may go $214 a month in 2014 - another benefit of Obamacare. In addition, Part B has a $140 deductible and that is going up. Part B is suppose to be an 80/20 split with medicare paying 80% and the patient paying 20%. Medicare has managed to fudge the formula so Medicare actually pays around 60% and the patient ends up paying 40%. I have never been able to figure out why someone has not challenged Medicare on the formula - the law is clear 80/20 split. Part D will cover some of your prescription cost and they will take another $50 a month from your social security check. There is a very high deductible that you must pay before Part D covers any of your prescription costs. There is an open enrollment period each year and you are allowed to switch plans each year. There are Advantage Plans - these operate much like an HMO and are designed much like an HMO. Medicare has set out ridge guidelines and do allow insurance carriers some freedom. Advantage plans range from the basic Medicare services to plans that include additional services. There are some Advantage plans that have no additional payments - they take what Medicare pays them. Some of the Advantage plans will cover prescriptions. Advantage plans may require you to use their physicians, use their hospitals, and use their pharmacies. There is a co-pay for doctor visits and co-pays for prescriptions - most of the plans will limit co-pays to around $20 per visit and $10 for prescriptions. There are several plans out there and you will need to spend some time and effort to find the ones in your area. You will also have to evaluate the ones that best fit your needs. Advantage plans may also charge you an additional monthly premium. This additional premium usually means that the plan is providing more coverage than required by Medicare. There are over 25 million Medicare folks enrolled in Advantage plans. If you need medium to a lot of medical attention and prescriptions, Advantage plans would make your life much easier and your out of pocket costs much less. Advantage plans only work when they offer better service, more services, and cost the same or less than the traditional medicare plan. I am telling you to consider an Advantage plan. I would be in an Advantage plan if I did not have medical coverage from my military retirement. Advantage plans are on Obamacare hit lists. Obamacare really only works if all insurance plans are run out of business and everyone ends up in a single payor system run by the government. The premiums will be out of sight and the services will be limited - rationing will be the word of the day. Medigap - again Medicare has set out ridge guidelines for Medigap insurance plans. Medigap plans will normally cover part A and part B deductibles and co-pays. AARP has a medigap plan without prescription and runs nearly $3,000 a year. There are medigap plans that include prescriptions and they will cost you more. It is easy to compare medigap plans as all plans have to meet certain guidelines to be included. Be aware, the more the plan offers, the higher the plan premiums will be. The only thing that keeps the price down on Medigap plans is the competition within your region. Only have one or two Medicap plans available, the monthly premium will be much higher than places that 4 or more plans available - it only stands to reason. To see if a Medigap plan makes sense for you, consider your healthcare needs. How many times on average am I going to end up in the hospital per year, how many times will I need to visit my doctor a year, how many prescriptions will I need each month and how much will they cost. Remember a medigap police bases their prices on averages and then adds a profit. If you require more healthcare services than the average, a medigap policy makes sense. A typical year of Medicare: Part B premiums for me and my wife $ 2,400 I ended up in the hospital three Times $ 3,568 Wife was in hospital once $ 1,156 Physician visits for both of us, our part $640 Prescriptions $10,000 Prescriptions - our part $ 1,000 Part B labs, medical tests- the 40% $ 3,000 And I believe we are in relative good health!! |
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9/3/2012 1:07 pm |
Thanks for posting this. GREETINGS EARTHLINGS! I COME IN PEACE! TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER. Klatu, baraba nicto.
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9/3/2012 3:03 pm |
Well stated. Teddy-ess and hairee, We need (An update on the situation here.) ROTFLMFAO
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9/3/2012 3:45 pm |
Rusty, Let's be clear about something. You are the one that posted this to my blog in which I posted information from CBS. In that blog CBS and Politifact checked the veracity of the claims and those claims were determined to be factual and true. You said the following in response. "Exterra - As usual your garbage stinks. Many seniors pay out over $6,000 a year under the current medicare system. If you have Medicare Part B that cost you $1,200 a year and may go as high as $2,400 a year. Part B is suppose to pay 80%, but the actual number is closer to 60%. Take out a medigap policy and it will cost you approx. $3,000 a year. Seniors are already over $6,000. Take out Part D and there is additional cost. Don't take out Part D and prescriptions can run $3,000 and up. Now current seniors are up to $10,000. Part B in addition to the supposed 80/20 split also have a deductible to meet before Medicare will pay a dime. More current cost to seniors. So there is actually a savings under Romney/Ryan plan. There are 25 nillion seniors using Advantage Plans. Some of the plans do not require a senior to pay any money out of pocket. Some plans have prescription drugs covered. Some plans have no co-pay or deductibles to meet. Romney/Ryan plan would give seniors the same or like Advantage Plans. It would be nice if you liberal left wingers could ever get your stories correct, but then folks would no longer make decisions based on your useless information. OMG - OBAMA MUST GO !! and so should left wing nuts." So, in your ignorant response you took issue with what others have said. You then continued your ill informed attack on me by trying to say something that my blog did not say. In the future pull your head out of your bottom side and start reading what actually was stated. My statments still stand. The Romney/Ryan plan for Medicare would change it to a voucher program that would limit the care that seniors would receive because there is no provision to targeting the voucher amount to escalations in health care costs. I never said anything about Advantage Plans or Medigap...those are constructs of your convoluted thought process. Romney/Ryan would forever change Medicare as we know it. It would change it immediately by restoring the donut hole in prescription drug coverage. It has been determined by the CBO that the Romney/Ryan plan for Medicare would increase costs to seniors by more than $6,000 per year. Those are my statements. Either quit playing with smoke and mirrors or disprove what I have said. Understand now?
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9/3/2012 7:23 pm |
Mrs. Joe - The rules changed a while back and some docs are only starting to have the forms. If Medicare denies a payment, the doc must have a form signed by you that if Medicare fails to pay that you will pay - In many cases, the doc can charge you his full charge and not just what Medicare says was the amount. The PSA test is a prime example. Medicare will only allow one test per year. Labs do not track the tests so a lot of labs make you sign the release just in case it is less than one year and medicare denies the claim. It is only the beginning.
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9/4/2012 6:17 am |
lol @ skippy. Teddy-ess and hairee, We need (An update on the situation here.) ROTFLMFAO
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9/4/2012 10:17 am |
I am not in an advantage plan. I can go to a doctor of choice without referral. This means I am allowed to get a second opinion without being overruled by an office worker. Last year the second opinion allowed me to select from three types of surgery rather than the one offered by the diagnosing physician. Advantage plans have severe disadvantages when compared by coverage rather than $ out of pocket. I had rather the doctor answer to me instead of to an insurance company he is aligned with. It makes for non prejudiced diagnosis. With all statements being written in response to this article why would anyone think that a voucher system would serve better? What percentage of insurance premiums which escalate every year would the voucher pay as compared to how much medicare premiums go up each year now? Republicans are telling people they will cut expenses. Vouchers are the way they intend to do it. They are telling people up front while leaving out the hard truth of how much (more) you will pay. I was self employed and insurance premiums were horrendous as I aged because I was NOT IN A GROUP POLICY. Would every person with a repub. voucher be considered NOT IN A GROUP POLICY. Perhaps a repub knows. the answer. OK you are on your own do the best you can. LOL I know what I have now and I am better off in everything than when Bush left office. The repub alternative is a hit against most things I rely on.
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9/4/2012 5:35 pm |
TXJW - Your response shows how little you have studied the differences. Obamacare will do away with all Medicare Advantage starting in 2014. Medicare will force all retired folks into a single payor system controlled by the government. The "death" commission will determine which procedures you can receive and at what age these services will be denied. The Romney/Ryan plan does not affect a single person before 2024 to 2026 at the earliest. You will not even be here by then. Folks will be allowed to choose between the traditional medicare system (keep the current plan) or take a voucher and choose a plan very similiar to the Medicare Advantage Plan. The democrats can only provide a WAG (Wild Ass Guess). No one can predeict with any accuracy what the plans may cost 12 to 15 years from now. Please quit drinking the rotten kool aid. It is not good for your health or your brain. One more pink slip needed on Nov 8, 2012. OMG - OBAMA MUST GO!!!!
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