oemtech
Elgin, Texas
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Joined: 06/22/2002
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Remember, ALL supplement plans MUST offer the same options as mandated by the Fed Gov. The only difference is the cost, where you can get coverage, doctor selection, hospital selection etc.
Dale
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texasrvr
Texas
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Joined: 02/04/2008
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My wife and myself are covered by Secure Horizons which is now offered by AARP also. You don't have to be a member to have the insurance. It is now owned by United Healthcare and is nationwide. If traveling and have to go to an emergency room you must call (or have someone call their 800 #) If the hospital is part of their PPO chain (Preferred Provider Org) then there is some co-pay that you have to cover. Doctors visit (your PPO provider) the co-pay is $5. A specialist will cost $25. There are additional dental and vision plans.
All services are covered and pretty well explained with a wide range of drugs covered.
My wife had cancer last year and had to have surgery and chemo. It was a real ordeal but we had a very good surgeon and a wonderful oncologist who took very good care of her. All told we spent approx $5,000 in expenses but the total costs probably were close to $70,000 with all the treatments and hospital time.
Pet scans will have a high co-pay but when you look at the total costs it's not too bad. Fourtunatly we can cover the additional costs but it could be a real hardship if you don't have a fair amount of money.
All PPO & HMO plans will have additional costs beyond the normal co-pays which you must be aware of. All these plans depend upon early detection and wellness care. Catastrophic illness is another matter and you have to understand that most of the cost will be covered by the insurance.
An example --- My wife had to be admitted to the hospital and isolated because her immune system had gone to almost no white blood cells and she was in danger of being infected by any passing infection. Part of chemo treatment. My co-pay was $100 but the total hospital bill for 4 or 5 days and meds was over $17,000.
Needless to say the total costs of all this treatment can ruin your savings and even with Medicare part A & B you will be in trouble if you don't have supplemental insurance.
The AARP plan is a PPO plan where your premiums are deducted from your Social Security payments and currently is $94 a month. This covers all part A & B and the supplemental part. We pay $94 each monthly.
Not a perfect deal but as good as you will get anywhere. All the other PPO plans have a few different wrinkles but generally the are pretty much all the same as required by the government.
She is pretty much back to normal but has to have a PET scan every 6 months.
Hope this covers this subject - but read the fine print.....
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rwmmdj
Georgia
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Joined: 12/10/2007
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Kaiser Senior Advantage is a Medicare Part B Alternative, not a supplement to Medicare Part B. In other words, you would not have Medicare Part B and Kaiser Senior Advantage. You would have the Senior Advantage INSTEAD of Medicare Part B.
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Retired05
Vancouver, Wa
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Joined: 06/12/2007
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Boy it is hell getting old. So much to think about. Insurance is so hard to understand and yet you can not be without it. Guess I had better read up a little more on it. Gosh, I hate these decisions.
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mojo41
parsonsburg,md
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Joined: 10/06/2006
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Sorry guys,I goofed. The Humana I use is for prescription coverage and it did go up but only about 20 bucks,not doubled and I am happy with it. The supplement we use to medicare is GTL (Guaranteed Trust Life) and this we are very happy with.
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bill h
el segundo
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Joined: 08/02/2001
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How does Medicare fit in with VA medical?
Bill and Susan
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Buffalobilly
Holiday Island, AR
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Joined: 07/15/2001
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bill h wrote:How does Medicare fit in with VA medical?
In short they don't mix. But if you want all the details talk to a veterans advisory organization.
Bill
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whisler6
Traveling
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Joined: 04/19/2006
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Hi,
I thought this post would be of great interest to a lot of veterans thinking about getting a VA Loan etc.
Now this is a link to another forum so moderators if you think it should be removed please by all means do so.
VA Loan Info
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427435
Rochester, Mn
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Joined: 11/12/2005
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Be very careful of any HMO if you do any traveling----check very closely how they handle medical situations when you're not near the HMO's home base. I've also heard some scare stories about Humana not "approving" doctor recommended medical procedures.
I ended up with Blue Cross/Blue Shield after some serious research.
Mark
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oemtech
Elgin, Texas
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Joined: 06/22/2002
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Mark,
HMO's offer a lower cost but, you are then restricted to there doctors and area of support. That's why I chose Humana PPO. I can use any doctor, hospital that accepts Humana in any area of the US. Plus at for $50 a month I feel it is almost a steal compared to my IBM premium of $399 a month I still pay until my wife reaches 65.
OBTW - I am getting my one prescription for FREE via Humana's Right Source mail order (90 day supply). It was only $5 co-pay... but I like FREE!
PS - I use to live in Rochester and Kasson.
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