Supplemental Medcare Insurance in South Dakota

Little One · November 17, 2015

Hi,I have heard lots of discussion about S.D. pre-medicare insurance,what are you all doing for post Medicare insurance in S.D.. Are there any companys that supply decent policy for us fulltimers that do lots of traveling,that will cover us anywhere? Thx, Terry and Janet.

Barbaraok · November 17, 2015

Look at one of the national supplementals like one through AARP. Good everywhere that takes Medicare

Kirk W · November 17, 2015

The best way to see what is available is to visit the Medicare website, plug in the zip code for your address there and then look at Medicare supplements. AARP is nothing more than a sales organization like any other insurance agency and will want to sell you something no matter what you actually need. We particularly like Medigap Policies of plans F or G.

LindaH · November 17, 2015

AARP is nothing more than a sales organization like any other insurance agency and will want to sell you something no matter what you actually need. We particularly like Medigap Policies of plans F or G.

Unless something has changed just recently, AARP's Supplemental Medicare Insurance uses United Healthcare as the insurance company. As far as I know, they offer all of the different supplemental medicare plans, including F and G (we're both using a Medicare Advantage plan with a zero monthly premium, so it's been awhile since I've looked at AARP's supplemental plans, but this was the case when I did look).

whj469 · November 17, 2015

LindaH: you are correct. AARP is not just a sales organization. If anyone is intertested

in what AARP is all you need to do is go to their website.

Ronbo · November 17, 2015

They are also a political organization that may or may not espouse views that you agree with.

Bill and Judy LeMosy · November 17, 2015

I've been looking into this recently and found that AARP does not off Plan G in SD.

docj · November 17, 2015

We have Plan F supplementals for South Dakota residents that are underwritten by Humana. The computerized analysis available through our broker showed these to be slightly less expensive for us than the other carriers.

Barbaraok · November 17, 2015

When I suggested looking at the AARP endorsed insurance it was because their plans are available to people all over the country. If you don't like AARP (which is not an insurance company, as a well known poster knows but continues, after all these years, to characterize as such) then look at other companies that offer nationwide coverage.

Kirk W · November 17, 2015

If you don't like AARP (which is not an insurance company, as a well known poster knows but continues, after all these years, to characterize as such) then look at other companies that offer nationwide coverage.

No such thing was posted by anyone. AARP is a for profit marketing organization, very much like AAA and several others. The people there who sell insurance are licensed insurance sales agents, and nobody said anything about them being an insurance company.

AARP is nothing more than a sales organization like any other insurance agency

JRP · November 17, 2015

I'm not aware of any SD issues for those over 65, Medicare or Supplements. Since these are all controlled Federally, they're the same benefits (depending on which Plan) and good anywhere. I have a plan F from United of Omaha (not United Healthcare) that has served me well wherever I travel. The F plan is one of the most expensive options, but it covers everything. A plan G priced right can be a better deal, if you don't mind paying the Medicare annual deductible yourself. There are at least a dozen different companies offering most of the standard Medicare Supplement Plans in SD.

Where you could run into trouble (in any state) is by going the Medicare Advantage option. Those plans are outside the Federal Medicare and completely controlled by the private companies offering them, and therefore they can set their own limitations & restrictions, including geographically limited HMO coverage.

Hi,I have heard lots of discussion about S.D. pre-medicare insurance,what are you all doing for post Medicare insurance in S.D.. Are there any companys that supply decent policy for us fulltimers that do lots of traveling,that will cover us anywhere? Thx, Terry and Janet.

D&J · November 18, 2015

If you want to get the best price contact a independent agent and let them do the shopping, that's why I did and he beat anything AARP or United Health Care had . All the policies are government controlled so the only difference is the price.

Denny

kb0zke · November 22, 2015

We turned 65 this year, so we've just done all of this switching to Medicare. We're full-timers from SD, so we just put in our ZIP code and chose our plan. We chose a Mutual of Omaha Plan G. Since we don't take any prescription medicines we went with a Wal-Mart plan for the drugs. We're chalking up the $35/month or so premiums that we're paying now as prepaying for the pills we'll need later. <grin>

phyllen · November 24, 2015

We both have Gerber Life Supplement. We switched from Plan F to Plan G last year. Premiums are a bit less with G as it does not pick up the Medicare deductible. However, there is a savings of us paying the deductible due to the lesser premium. We have been completely satisfied with Gerber Life. NEVER an issue and we've used it a lot the last few years. Me .... a minor stroke. Hubby.....DVT both legs, back surgery and knee replacement.

We also have the Humana Walmart prescription plan. No problem anywhere in the country except NY State. They have a law that the script must originate at the pharmacy where it is to be refilled. If not, they refill it once but remaining refills are wiped away. We refused refilling. I would really recommend getting your Part D when eligible. I did not. I now pay an additional upcharge % for every month I did not have it. Forever.....

R. Walter · November 24, 2015

No such thing was posted by anyone. AARP is a for profit marketing organization, very much like AAA and several others. The people there who sell insurance are licensed insurance sales agents, and nobody said anything about them being an insurance company.

As I understand its structure, the top-level AARP is a non-profit membership organization. AARP has a number of affiliates with AARP in their names, most of which are non-profits and several of which are for-profits. Examples of these affiliates are AARP Experience Corps, a non-profit, and AARP Services Inc, a for-profit.

tednruthy · December 18, 2015

We turned 65 this year, so we've just done all of this switching to Medicare. We're full-timers from SD, so we just put in our ZIP code and chose our plan. We chose a Mutual of Omaha Plan G. Since we don't take any prescription medicines we went with a Wal-Mart plan for the drugs. We're chalking up the $35/month or so premiums that we're paying now as prepaying for the pills we'll need later. <grin>

BUT..... If you use an address that is a mail fowarding service with a PMB of box number you will not be accepted in at least some supplements. We tried two years ago to move from our Michigan BCBS F supplement to a similar SD plan and could not do it. I think that is where the original poster was going with this.

PS. I will NOT be an AARP member if at all possible.

docj · December 18, 2015

BUT..... If you use an address that is a mail fowarding service with a PMB of box number you will not be accepted in at least some supplements. We tried two years ago to move from our Michigan BCBS F supplement to a similar SD plan and could not do it.

The broker who handles our policies for my former employer says that this problem is unique in SD to the BCBS provider. We were rejected by BCBS last year and were readily accepted by Humana without any questions.

richfaa · December 19, 2015

AARP health insurance provides coverage to many Americans over the age of 50. Many people that are looking for AARP health insurance do not realize that AARP does not actually provide insurance to anyone. They are not an insurance company at all, but an organization that makes recommendations and contracts with insurance providers. The AARP is the largest group in the United States and when it officially recommends something, it will bring in a lot of business for that product. So how does this form of insurance actually work?

The AARP Symbol

Since AARP does not actually sell insurance, you need to realize that you will be doing business with a separate company for your health insurance needs. This means that your coverage will be provided by someone else that is simply recommended by the AARP. They pay AARP a large fee in order to use their trademark on their policy. Therefore, it might actually be more expensive for you to use an AARP endorsed policy than a using a regular policy. Before you sign up for an AARP policy, shop around a little bit first. They are not always the cheapest option out there.

Read more: http://www.finweb.com/insurance/how-does-aarp-health-insurance-work.html#ixzz3uoDi3cEL

docj · December 19, 2015

Since AARP does not actually sell insurance, you need to realize that you will be doing business with a separate company for your health insurance needs. This means that your coverage will be provided by someone else that is simply recommended by the AARP. They pay AARP a large fee in order to use their trademark on their policy. Therefore, it might actually be more expensive for you to use an AARP endorsed policy than a using a regular policy. Before you sign up for an AARP policy, shop around a little bit first. They are not always the cheapest option out there.

We did shop around extensively for South Dakota Part D prescription drug insurance and, in our case, the AARP plans were the cheapest available. Our broker has a complex online system that allows us to compare projected annual costs for each plan using the specific drugs we take. Both of us found the AARP/United plan cheapest this year. One of us is on the less expensive version and one on the "premium" plan. A nice feature of having a broker with this sort of capability is that we can review the situation each year and jump from one carrier to another during open season to save a few dollars, if we wish. As long as you already have Part D coverage enrollment in a different plan is automatic. Furthermore, the broker actually files all the paperwork and we don't have to do anything.

But regardless of whether or not you use a broker, IMO you can't properly analyze something as complex as a Part D plan without knowing all your prescription drugs and using the actual costs. This year we're both paying more per month in premiums, but our annualized totals will be less than they were last year because of the differences in co-pays. Between that and the Coverage Gap implications it gets pretty complicated to plan out an entire year's worth of expenditures if you have more than just a couple of prescriptions.