Medicare with Open Eyes

[Chief Sapulpa]

Currently have Med A. Still working so don’t have to enroll in MedB until I retire next year. So, have to decide between Med AB & a supp vs MCR replacement plan. MedB is an 80% benefit so there will be a lot of copays per MD visit

If you're over 65 and still with an employer sponsored health insurance plan Medicare is secondary. Once you retire or become unemployed Medicare becomes primary. If for some reason you elect to go with COBRA, it too is secondary to Medicare. My recommendation is to apply for Medicare Part B 90 days prior to retirement.

 

[Snattlerake]

I'm just glad all of the has been tv actors are gone and off of my screen! It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure out where all their advertising money comes from. Those companies really hit it hard this year. I'll bet there were over a thousand commercials a day for advantage plans.

Wait until you get into the medicare donut hole.

What mental midget thought this one up? Had to be a senator in the company's pocket.

 

[chuter]

The video in the OP was recorded in 2013; some of the numbers might be different now, but I'm guessing the concepts are pretty much the same.

Here is a more recent video of his, giving an example case to support his argument.
His ideas seem sound, that billing charges are made up and Medicare only approves much less than that.
But: is there something in the fine print of the forms you sign at the doctor's office that says you are responsible for what insurance doesn't cover?
Is a doctor bound to accept only what Medicare approves?

Disclaimer; I have Medicare with a supplement for 2 years and I'm happy with it, even tho I haven't had a lot of medical expenses. I may be throwing money away by the numbers.

 

[Uncle TK]

Good. I hope we uncover some useful info in this thread. I need it also as I too am preretirement age and doing my research

Medicare
Part A Hospital Zero Cost
Part B 80% Doctors $170.10 in 2022
Part C Advantage Plan Very Risky
Part D RX Search Engine for RX you use



Shopping for a Supplements Plan A-B-C-D-E-F-G & ETC (Each plan has different Coverage)
(Some States do not have some plans) (Covers 20% not covered by Part B)
Pick a Plan that fits your lifestyle (Out of State Travel Out of USA Travel & Etc)

After you have decided what plan you want, A-B-C-D-E-F-G & ETC
Use the internet to find the Insurance company that sells that plan for the cheapest
Coverage for A-B-C-D-E-F-G & ETC, is the same for all Insurance Company’s

 

[chuter]

Here's the answer to my question, it's called accepting assignment.
Doctors that accept assignment agree to only charge what Medicare approves.
Doctors can charge excess, which the patient will be responsible for.

Do all doctors accept Medicare? Assignment, costs, and more

Most doctors accept Medicare, but some may have different rules around payment and billing. Read on for more information.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

 

[John6185]

Our advantage plan covers dental, vision, home health, gym membership, etc, etc and we do not pay any extra for it. It also lowers our copays. We fogured it up and for us, it is a great money saving plan.

Heck, Hunter Biden's plan covers faaaaar more than that. He gets escorts..to take him places where man has never gone usually.

 

[JD8]

I suspect that the people with the knowledge to best compare the value of supplemental Medicare coverage against Part A and Part B alone are people who work in medical billing. Beck asserts that amounts billed are "fictional" ....that is to say absurdly high and never paid by Medicare. Perhaps he is cherry picking his examples...I do know there is at least some truth in his assertion.

Human nature is to champion whatever decision/purchase we have already made or whatever has been earning us money (e.g. insurance sales).... no offence intended but confirmation bias is a powerful force.

Insurance companies work to have nice, good guy representatives .....and to scare you....

Yes - I agree that the decision very much depends on how much retirement income and savings you have. On the other hand, "insurance poor" is a real thing and insurance companies are milking the public with the complicity of our congress critters who are receiving "benefits" from them. It would be excellent to have an analysis of how much money is needed to bypass the additional high costs of supplemental coverage.

Re Westfall's rebuttal of Beck....Wow! is Westfall ever a marketer: American flag waving next to him............photo of happy victorious seniors punching their fists in the air to accentuate his point. He claims to be fighting for seniors and totally independent but the reality is he makes money selling supplimental plans and Beck is goring his ox.

I appreciate all of your points of view.

The following appears to be useful information pointing towards to benefits of passing on the supplemental coverage. If you have a rebuttal of this or alternate data please post it.

I make no money whatsoever by saying what I have said. I did at one time but that has long passed. I never once took a stack of bills into someone's home or business to scare them and the video I posted is just using them to refute the misinformation that Beck laid forth. Either way, I say what I say because I have a significant amount of experience placing insurance for those on Medicare and I say the exact same things to my family...... you can believe me or not. If y'all self insure, more power to you.... but don't do it because of this guy, he's an idiot.

No matter what I say or what Westfall says..... what Beck says is easily refuted by simply going to the medicare site and carefully watching his videos. Again.... his examples are false and disingenuous... the billing structure makes no sense and he puts it out there for all to see. Telling me, he has no idea what he's talking about.

 

[JD8]

I'm just glad all of the has been tv actors are gone and off of my screen! It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure out where all their advertising money comes from. Those companies really hit it hard this year. I'll bet there were over a thousand commercials a day for advantage plans.

Wait until you get into the medicare donut hole.

View attachment 239982
What mental midget thought this one up? Had to be a senator in the company's pocket.

This seems to be some sort of Part D (prescription drug plan) donut hole chart? Hard to tell without context.

 

[Dale00]

Thanks JD8...I'll scrutinize Beck's examples as you suggest.....or try to do so.....

 

[Duncandl]

Let’s see if I can explain, if you have an acute (requires hospitalization) or chronic (copd/diabetes,chf, hypertension,etc..) you will not get near the coverage, your available network shrinks considerably. An example, for home health there is probably a 100 agencies that cover the Okc metro but if you go to a Medicare advantage plan you are looking at only 10-15 home health cares and pre-authorization can take days and you are very limited on what the plan will allow.

If you are healthy you can gamble and take advantage but once you have an acute/chronic condition you will probably regret that plan.

Stick with Medicare is the bottom line. We have Tricare and it’s getting harder and harder to find doctors for a plan that used to be taken everywhere. Almost everyone takes Medicare and they pay 100% for home health and hospice.