full time RVer needs advice on choice of Medicare Insurance

[dragonfly]

I am a full-time RVer and I need to choose a Medicare Insurance plan that will cover my health care and prescription drugs anywhere in the US.

If you are covered by Medicare and traveling full time in the US, which Medicare Insurance plan would you recommend?

Thanks and I look forward to your replies.

Thad

[sandsys]

If you are looking for an Advantage plan, recommend a PPO rather than an HMO. An HMO limits who you can see--usually to a specific geographic area. A PPO lets you see anyone but you pay more to see someone outside their preferred list. It's my experience you can find some PPO providers your insurance covers all across the country.

Linda Sand

[Kirk W]

We have stayed with the standard Medicare plan and also have a suppliment(Medigap) coverage for the expenses not covered such as copays. We chose to have plan G which covers everything but the Medicare deductible and also has 80% coverage for forign travel. With what we have we also have a part D(prescription drug) plan. It is difficult for us to say what suppliment is best for you as it depends on where you are located and also your speific medical history. I suggest that you start by visiting the Medicare site comparing plans and then work from there. Another helpful area from Medicare is the one that explains the different choices. The standard Medicare plan with a part D policy does cover you anywhere you travel in the US, there are now PPO plans in the Advantage Plans(part C) that do that also but most have some restrictions that don't apply to the old standard coverage. If you wish to stay with your current doctors, make sure that they will accept whatever coverage you choose to get. 

There are private companies that will assist you that do not charge you for their services but are paid by the insurance companies. They usually give excellent assistance but may not have all of the possible insurance companies available to choose from. We have used AON/Hewitt service and VIA Benefits but there are numerous others out there. Using one of those can be very helpful if you find the vast array of different companies and services confusing but there is nothing that they do which you can't do for yourself via the Medicare website.

[JimK]

I strongly recommend avoiding any PPO/HMO type restrictions.  Find the broadest coverage with the least amount of restrictions.  That can be important later. 

First it helps to avoid restrictions when you travel to different areas.  You also want to avoid any need for PC referrals to a specialist.  These will make getting care easier and more convenient. 

There is another huge, huge difference.  Not all physicians are created equal.  Some of marginal and at the bottom.  If you have some complicated issues, you want to be able to find the best.  I can give you a good personal example.  Over a period of years I developed shortness of breath and my old cardiologist documented poor performance on a stress test.  He kept with drug, i.e, "medical" management.  A couple of years later my PC referred me to another cardiologist for follow up testing.  That cardiologist referred me to a cardiac interventionist who did a cardiac cath and found a totally blocked artery.  He had a rough time with the simple cardiac cath procedure and told me no way could that artery be unblocked without open heart surgery.  Again, that was not recommended.  My primary cardologist agreed.  Months later, I found an expert who knew what he was doing.  Last week he had no problem doing another cardiac cath, opening the occluded artery and putting in a couple of stents.  Again, it is hugely important to have the flexibility to find and the first rate physicians and specialists.  That can be hard enough without any insurance restrictions.

Sorry I cannot help with prescription drug plans.  My wife and I have been through several plans.  Costs for some drugs can still be very high with limitations and overall benefits are often marginal.  In addition even generic drug costs have been skyrocketing.  I have often found the lowest costs are not even through a plan but simply by going to the right pharmacy and using GoodRx.  Even then there is no consistency, and the next refill can be at an entirely different cost and cheaper elsewhere.  It is more than frustrating especially when the costs run into many thousands of dollars a year.   Also avoid drug deliveries by mail.  That works poorly when traveling and even at home it seems drugs often come a bit after the previous supply runs out.  

Edited October 20, 2022 by JimK

[Kirk W]

21 minutes ago, JimK said:

I strongly recommend avoiding any PPO/HMO type restrictions.  Find the broadest coverage with the least amount of restrictions.  That can be important later. 

This is the official Medicare guide infromation.

How Do You Switch from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare?

[docj]

1 hour ago, JimK said:

Sorry I cannot help with prescription drug plans.  My wife and I have been through several plans.  Costs for some drugs can still be very high with limitations and overall benefits are often marginal.  In addition even generic drug costs have been skyrocketing.  I have often found the lowest costs are not even through a plan but simply by going to the right pharmacy and using GoodRx.

This may be true for you but I would be cautious about generalizing your experience to others.  I, too, usually compare our Part D plan's prices on specific meds with those available through GoodRx.  Sometimes, GoodRX is, indeed, less expensive.  But more than half our meds are "name brand" and their prices on GoodRx are quite high.  Without a Part D plan we'd be paying a lot more.

As for comparing plans, there are a number of Part D comparison sites (one run by Medicare) where you can enter your Rx and let the system calculate the annualized total cost to you (premiums plus deductible, plus cost of Rx).  We often change carriers or subplans within a carrier each year, but doing so is a simple one-page form and acceptance is guaranteed during the annual open enrollment period.

When comparing Part D plans this year, it should be noted that a recent change in federal law will require all plans to price a month's worth of insulin at <$35 regardless of deductibles, etc.  Because this change occurred just a few weeks ago, the comparison data available online doesn't yet reflect the change.  So it's a bit more complex to compare plans this year.

[Blues]

16 hours ago, dragonfly said:

If you are covered by Medicare and traveling full time in the US, which Medicare Insurance plan would you recommend?

The easy answer is traditional Medicare with a supplement, because you can go to any provider that takes Medicare.

However, some people have a PPO Medicare Advantage plan that has a nationwide network and also has coverage for out-of-network providers (as opposed to the HMO Medicare Advantage plans that have limited networks and can require referrals to specialists).  In some cases a PPO Medicare Advantage plan can be as "good" as traditional Medicare and a supplement, and it will most likely be cheaper than traditional Medicare with a supplement, and many Medicare Advantage plans provide additional benefits like vision, hearing, or dental. 

In either case, you should have prescription drug coverage, either through a Medicare Advantage plan that includes it or through a Part D policy if you have traditional Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan that doesn't include drug coverage.

There's a current discussion here:

https://www.rvnetwork.com/topic/145649-my-medicare-supplement/

[2gypsies]

I'd highly suggest looking in the area you are now for FREE Medicare-choosing options.  This help is always given at this time all over the country.  There are agencies that supply this free help.  Just do a Google for "Medicare help in ......" add the city you're in now....  to talk to someone in person.  Many retirement areas offer this service, also.  It takes a lot of reading and studying the plans to suit only you.

Compare both regular Medicare with a Supplement and Medicare Advantage plans.  What is good for one person may not be good for another.  It's up to your medical history.  If you have anything serious going on you can't keep switching back and forth between the two plans every year.

[sandsys]

4 hours ago, Blues said:

many Medicare Advantage plans provide additional benefits like vision, hearing, or dental. 

With our PPO, our basic dental does not include crowns but we can pay an additional premium to get that coverage. I need a crown that won't be available before Jan 1st so I am currently deciding which level will be best for me next year.

Linda

[2gypsies]

Here's an excellent place to get free advice on all the plans - regular Medicare and Advantage.

https://www.shiphelp.org/

SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Programs) doesn't sell insurance. They're just there to help answer questions about the various plans.  They are federally funded and not affiliated with any insurance companies.  They provide free counseling and assistance in reviewing Medicare coverage and plans.  The counselors are trained and certified to help people understand Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug coverage and supplemental insurance options (Medigap).  They can also help those who already have a plan but want to investigate if another plan may be better for them.  Also, the National Council on Aging provides a free contact form on its website that pairs you with a vetted expert.  Click on their link and then click on "My Planner" to begin.

https://www.ncoa.org/

[folivier]

boomerbenefits is pretty good at recommending plans. Not sure they'll understand fulltime RV living but can guide you to a plan that should work anywhere.

[Blues]

58 minutes ago, folivier said:

boomerbenefits is pretty good at recommending plans. Not sure they'll understand fulltime RV living but can guide you to a plan that should work anywhere.

I've seen quite a few reports of boomerbenefits favoring Mutual of Omaha plans, which are discussed in the thread I linked to above. 

[dragonfly]

Thanks for all the very helpful replies. I have a couple related questions. We are former Minnesotans and we are using the Escapees service located in Livingston, Texas as we want to be way south to get away from winter, snow and ice. Escapees has provided us with an address we can use for signing up with new health insurance, new driver's licenses, new TX plates and TX drivers licenses. We use their mailing service as well.

So so my question is does any full-time traveler out there domicile in Texas, is of retiree age and is signed up with Medicare as a Texas resident? If there is, what Texas insurance carrier do you use for Medicare insurance?

My second question is related to hikes in insurance company rates. I had a difficult time back when I had Blue Cross of MN because they would jack their rates and deductibles every year to the point where I had to choose another BC/BS plan that had the same coverage for a lower rate. Do the insurance companies insuring Medicare members raise there rates every year like BC/BS did with my earlier non-Medicare plan I had with them?

 

Thad

[Kirk W]

We are TX residents and were using the Escapees mail address at the time that we went on Medicare and for first 7 years. We are no longer fulltime but remain TX residents. We have had supplemental plan G coverage for 15 years but have changed companies several times in order to keep the price down. Most recently we were with Mutual of Omaha for 5+ years but changed 2 years ago for lower premiums by about 25%. Most companies do slowly increase the premiums as we age because typically medical expanses do that. We changed from Mutual of Omaha to First Life & Health. We review our coverage & premiums each year during open enrollment period and recommend that you do the same. 

This year we kept our plan G but we changed our drug coverage, part D, from Aetna Silver Script to Well Care at a premium increase of $4/month each for better drug coverage. If you enter the drugs that you take into the website it will help you find the least total cost of premiums & copay. 
 

it is also important to note that you don’t have to both be on the same plan for either Medigap or part D so pick what is best for each person. 

[durangodon]

2 hours ago, dragonfly said:

Do the insurance companies insuring Medicare members raise there rates every year like BC/BS did with my earlier non-Medicare plan I had with them?

When you go to Medicare.gov and look at plans available to you, each one will be listed with premium costs.  Out to the right side of each plan it will say whether the premiums are set or if they might go up.  Those with lifetime set premiums are higher cost initially usually.

[Blues]

1 hour ago, dragonfly said:

So so my question is does any full-time traveler out there domicile in Texas, is of retiree age and is signed up with Medicare as a Texas resident? If there is, what Texas insurance carrier do you use for Medicare insurance?

Just to be sure, because you used the word "we" at one point:  Are you both Medicare age? 

1 hour ago, dragonfly said:

Do the insurance companies insuring Medicare members raise there rates every year like BC/BS did with my earlier non-Medicare plan I had with them?

If you're talking about Medicare supplements, it's likely, if only because premiums are based on how much the plan pays out in claims, and medical expenses don't have a reputation for decreasing over time.  Also, see the discussion in the other thread about Mutual of Omaha supplements, and how they play the premium game.

Also, one supplement company, AARP/United Healthcare, technically has community-based pricing, which is supposed to mean that everybody pays the same premium regardless of age.  But what AARP/UHC does is give a "discount" on the premium starting at age 65, making them act just like policies that base the premium on the member's age.  The way the discount works varies by state, but typically the discount for a 65-year-old stays the same for a couple of years, and then the discount goes down by a certain percentage each year until the member attains a certain age, at which point the member begins paying (and keeps paying) the full premium with no discount for age.

That should mean that the premium goes up every year that the discount goes down, but now that I think about it, the premium a given person pays might not actually go up if the underlying "full" premium goes down enough to counteract the effect of the decreased discount.  Argh.

And one more thing--be sure to notice if a supplement you're looking at is a "Medigap Select" plan.  Medigap Select plans are just like regular supplements, except they have a network of providers.  If you have a Medigap Select supplement and go to an out-of-network provider, Medicare will still pay its 80% of the charge, like normal, but the Medigap Select supplement won't cover your 20%.  And Medicare Select plans can require a referral to see a specialist.

I found that when I'm looking at a listing of various plans, it's easy to overlook the "select" in the name, and when I see it, my initial reaction is that it's better than one without "select" in its name. 

So even shopping for a supplement isn't a no-brainer, because all supplements just pick up the 20% Medicare doesn't pay...unless they're a "Select" supplement, which might not.  Argh.

What I tell my friends, whether they travel or not, is if they can afford it, just get the damn traditional Medicare Parts A & B, get a "non-select" Plan G supplement but avoid Mutual of Omaha, and if you're not taking any maintenance drugs, get the cheapest Part D prescription plan that is offered to you. 

I did tons and tons of research and that's what I did, with the only modification that I found a Plan G supplement that includes gym memberships, which I can use wherever I travel.  It also has vision and hearing and dental "benefits," but they're unspecified in the provider list, and several providers I contacted were like "Huh?"; it was no better than I could do just finding someone on my own to do my eye exam.  Same with the hearing aid benefit I briefly looked into, and don't get me started on dental discounts.

You know our healthcare situation is horrible when this is what people clamor for.

[Blues]

39 minutes ago, durangodon said:

When you go to Medicare.gov and look at plans available to you, each one will be listed with premium costs.  Out to the right side of each plan it will say whether the premiums are set or if they might go up.  Those with lifetime set premiums are higher cost initially usually.

I've tried to use the medicare.gov site to look at plans, and I'm not impressed.

Here's what I got using 77399, the Escapees' zip code in Texas, for a Plan G supplement:

https://www.medicare.gov/medigap-supplemental-insurance-plans/#/m/plan-policies/MEDIGAP_PLAN_TYPE_G?fips=48373&zip=77399&year=2023&lang=en

You're right that they identify the type of premium pricing the plan has, although as far as I can tell it's not as clear as stating that a premium is set or that it might go up.  Instead, they identify the type of premium pricing:  attained age, issue age, or community rated.  And of the 65 plans on the list, 58 are attained-age, 3 are community-rated, and 4 are issue-age.  You can sort by pricing type to group them together.

The three that are community-rated are all AARP/UHC, which I describe in my post just before this one.  The thing is, there are states where community-rated means exactly that:  everybody in the community pays the same premium regardless of age.  But much more common are the states where AARP/UHC offers these plans with age-related discounts that turn them into attained-age plans, albeit with a cap after a certain age.

Even if you go to the page of definitions of the pricing models, the example given for "community rated" doesn't match what you'll see if you price AARP/UHC plans.  The example says that with a community-rated plan, a 65-year-old and a 72-year-old will pay the same premium, but that is most certainly not true with the AARP/UHC community-rated plans.

Furthermore, each type of pricing is qualified by this statement:  "Premiums may go up because of inflation and other factors."  Inflation used to not matter but now it does, but what does "other factors" even mean?  What guidance does that give?

https://www.medicare.gov/supplements-other-insurance/whats-medicare-supplement-insurance-medigap/medigap-costs/costs-of-medigap-policies

And as for the website itself, it comes up with 65 policies for zip code 77399, but if I use a 65-year-old male nonsmoker to get specific premiums, I get only 63 policies.  One of the missing ones is from UHC/AARP.  Among the 65 policies it returns before filtering for a specific person, the site lists three flavors of AARP - UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company policies:  "Standard," "Level One," and "Level Two."  But when you ask for premiums for a 65-year-old male nonsmoker, it has only the ""Standard" and "Level Two." 

And it gets worse.  The premium for a Plan G policy from "Standard" AARP/UHC is $152, while the premium for a Plan G from "Level 2" AARP/UHC is $468.  For the exact same coverage (these are both Plan G policies) for the same person.  What gives? 

There's a link for "company website," which takes you to the main AARP/UHC site.  If you look for policies there, there's never a mention of "standard" or "level one" or "level two" at all, never mind specifically for Plan G.  If you use 77399 to search for policies for a male born on 11-11-1957 (they don't ask about smoking at all), Plan G is $154.42, which is close to the $152 for the "standard" policy on the medicare.gov website (yay!!), but there's nothing that even remotely corresponds to the $468 premium the medicare.gov site shows for a "Level 2" Plan G from AARP/UHC.

And get this--on the AARP/UHC site, the Plan G with wellness benefits (the gym membership and other discounts I described above) is $154.17.  Plan G without wellness benefits is actually more expensive than Plan G with wellness benefits, and the only difference between the two is the wellness benefits.  Sure, it's only 25 cents more expensive, but why is it more expensive at all, if it offers less than the Plan G with wellness benefits?  And in fact, a Plan G with wellness benefits IS more expensive than a regular Plan G in Austin--by about $5.  Which is what you'd expect.

I guess the takeaway is don't expect anything, especially logic.

And as for issue-age policies, the medicare.gov site shows four Plan G policies.  Two are from Physicians Life Assurance Company, and the premiums for a 65-year-old male nonsmoker in 77399 are $164 for an "Innovative/Issue Age" policy, and $203 for an "issue age" policy.  But on their website, the premiums for a male in 77399 born on 11-11-1957 (they don't ask about smoking) are $119.66 for an "Innovative Plan G" and $150.30 for a Plan G (presumably the same as the "issue age" policy on medicare.gov).  Where is Medicare.gov getting these numbers? 

But at least you can check these numbers.  For the other two issue-age policies, the link for Old Surety goes to a page where you can click around to find Medicare, but it says only that they offer Plans A, C, F, and G, but no way to get any information on premiums.  The link for Transamerica is even worse--there's nothing whatsoever about Medicare supplements on that page.  So all you have are the premiums listed on the Medicare.gov site, and who knows if they bear any relation to the actual premium price.

In short, looking at plans on medicare.gov is a fraught exercise.  At best.

 

[2gypsies]

This confusion is why you should be talking to someone in person about all the plans.  There are Medicare counselors all over the place during this period and their services are free.  Especially look into the SHIP program as I gave the link above in another post.  They don't sell insurance so no preferences to companies they would recommend.

To throw another curve, some folks are talking about plans increasing but for the past few years we have each gotten back a refund.  I just pulled out the letter attached to the refund.  It states "Each year, we review the overall claims experience in your state for Medicare Supplement policies similar to yours.  We compare the dollar amount of claims to the amount of premiums we received in order to determine if you're eligible for a premium refund.  As a result, you will receive a refund.  This amount represents the difference between the claims experience we expected and the actual claims incurred (plus interest)."   We have a Transamerica supplement - grandfathered in the 'J' plan which I believe is similar to the 'F'.  We've had surgeries and hospitalizations, many doctor appts., etc. and never get bills.  We never pay a co-pay.  We've been with them for30+ years and they've been extremely good for us.  Now with our medical histories I don't even want to think of changing for fear of having to pay bills.  We can go to any doctor we want without referrals.

Edited October 21, 2022 by 2gypsies

[Blues]

1 hour ago, 2gypsies said:

We have a Transamerica supplement - grandfathered in the 'J' plan which I believe is similar to the 'F'.  We've had surgeries and hospitalizations, many doctor appts., etc. and never get bills.  We never pay a co-pay.  We've been with them for30+ years and they've been extremely good for us.

They don't have any choice.  If Medicare pays, they pay.  That's how all supplements for traditional Medicare work regardless of the company.

If you've been with them for 30+ years, I'm assuming part of that was pre-Medicare?  But it appears Transamerica stopped offering Medicare supplements (Medigap) a couple of years ago, but the policies they sold in the past are still in effect for the people who bought them before that, and can still be renewed by them.  Maybe that's what you meant by "grandfathered"? 

But if they're not allowing new enrollees, you could face the situation where claims go up because the people on the plan are getting older, and premiums go up when claims go up, and it's even worse when there aren't any new young people joining the plan to balance out the old people by paying premiums but not having a lot of claims.

Just something to be aware of; in 8 years, the youngest person on any Transamerica supplement will be 75 years old, and it's never going to get better.

(And this could explain why I couldn't find anything about Medicare supplements on the Transamerica website, but it doesn't explain why they would still be listed on the Medicare.gov site when searching for a policy, since they no longer issue policies.  That portion of the Medicare website is a menace.)

2 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

To throw another curve, some folks are talking about plans increasing but for the past few years we have each gotten back a refund.  I just pulled out the letter attached to the refund.  It states "Each year, we review the overall claims experience in your state for Medicare Supplement policies similar to yours.  We compare the dollar amount of claims to the amount of premiums we received in order to determine if you're eligible for a premium refund.  As a result, you will receive a refund.  This amount represents the difference between the claims experience we expected and the actual claims incurred (plus interest)." 

This sounds like a Medical Loss Ratio refund, which is required when an insurance company doesn't spend enough on claims and spends too much on administrative costs or profits it's keeping.

Quote

The medical loss ratio (MLR) measures the extent to which an insurance company uses the premiums it receives to cover the claims of its beneficiaries. More precisely, the MLR is the percentage of the total premiums received that the insurance company spends on health care benefits. Thus, if a plan received $100 in premiums and spent $85 on medical claims, its MLR would be 85%. A relatively high MLR suggests that the policy holders are receiving value because they are receiving relatively more benefits, and the insurance company is retaining relatively less in administrative costs and profits. The required Medigap medical loss ratios are at least 75% for group plans and at least 65% for individual plans. Should a Medigap insurer fail to meet the required ratios, the insurer is required to reimburse the beneficiaries by offering refunds or credits in order to meet the Medigap plan MLR  requirement.

https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R42745.pdf  at page 20.

[2gypsies]

1 hour ago, Blues said:

If you've been with them for 30+ years, I'm assuming part of that was pre-Medicare?  Nope.

But it appears Transamerica stopped offering Medicare supplements (Medigap) a couple of years ago, but the policies they sold in the past are still in effect for the people who bought them before that, and can still be renewed by them.  Maybe that's what you meant by "grandfathered"? They're still being offered:  https://www.medicareplans.com/medicare-supplement-plans/transamerica-medicare-supplement-reviews/#pros_and_cons_of_transamerica_medicare_supplement_plans

But if they're not allowing new enrollees, you could face the situation where claims go up because the people on the plan are getting older, and premiums go up when claims go up, and it's even worse when there aren't any new young people joining the plan to balance out the old people by paying premiums but not having a lot of claims.  They're accepting new enrollees.

Just something to be aware of; in 8 years, the youngest person on any Transamerica supplement will be 75 years old, and it's never going to get better.  They're still accepting new enrollees.

 

 

[Blues]

On 10/22/2022 at 12:58 AM, 2gypsies said:

 They're still being offered:  https://www.medicareplans.com/medicare-supplement-plans/transamerica-medicare-supplement-reviews/#pros_and_cons_of_transamerica_medicare_supplement_plans

Thanks for posting that link.  I ran across multiple websites that said Transamerica stopped selling supplements on September 28, 2020 (but you never know if they're just feeding off each other), but also an insurance agents' discussion forum that said the same thing, along with posting the email Transamerica sent them.  And a poster on a financial discussion forum said Transamerica had stopped selling his plan and he was worried about the usual concerns with closing the book.  Transamerica supplements don't get discussed much, though.

To be sure, I went to Transamerica's website and didn't see any links for Medicare supplements, so I did a word search for "supplement" on their site and there's nothing whatsoever about Medicare supplements.  So I tried the word "medigap," and again, nothing.  It's hard to prove that something doesn't exist, but this sure seemed to support that.

However, now that I parse Transamerica's email carefully, they stopped selling the supplements they sold through agents.  Not all supplements, as these websites apparently interpreted the email.  And that comports with the website you linked to, which says, "You must contact a Transamerica agent to discuss Medigap plan details and rates which are not readily accessible on Transamerica’s website."  "Not readily accessible" is one way of saying you could look at Transamerica's website and would never dream they offer Medicare supplements at all. 

Anyway, it's an interesting approach:  don't let agents sell your policies, and don't let people even realize the policies exist if they look at your website.  Maybe they're trying to let only the most determined Medicare beneficiaries find out about their policies, because being determined correlates to good health.  Then again, stress is a major killer, and trying to get information about Transamerica's Medicare supplements was majorly stressful for me.

And as it turns out, whether Transamerica still sells policies or not doesn't even matter in your case, because your Plan J hasn't been sold since 2010.  I was warning that in 8 years, the youngest person on your plan was going to be 75.  But already, the youngest person on your plan is 77.

On 10/22/2022 at 12:58 AM, 2gypsies said:

If you've been with them for 30+ years, I'm assuming part of that was pre-Medicare?  Nope.

So y'all are in your 90s! 

This presents a great illustrative situation, because you've had an issue-age policy for 30 years now.  The premium can't go up due to age, but it can go up "because of inflation and other factors."  Among the "other factors" are healthcare costs and claims experience.

And in your case, it's possible that the relatively elderly pool of enrollees in your plan is resulting in increased claims, along with the usual rise in the cost of procedures.  Although if you're getting MLR checks, maybe their claims aren't going up much after all.

So if you don't mind, what is your premium now, and how does that compare to what it was 30 years ago?  Or if you don't remember that long ago, what's the oldest one you remember? 

Since issue-age policies aren't all that common, there isn't much information or discussion about them out there, and especially on how much premiums rise over time in the real world on a product that a lot of people (reasonably) has a premium that is set for life.

[RV_]

I can't speak to civilians using medicare as I am a Military retiree with Tricare For Life (TFL).

However if you served at least 18 months in the US military and were discharged honorably you earned some VA benefits. Including health care. We were covered by Tricare before we got old enough for medicare, but I also am registered with the VA and used VA hospitals several times during 7 years full time RVing when we were not near a base or had to find a doc or needed an ER fast.

If you served ask in our Military forum here and we can go in depth and help. Kirk served and uses the VA along with several others here on the forums and they served a hitch or three and did not retire but many are now fully covered.

[Ro and Joe]

Can't add to the information above except for this if you're on an expensive drug/s.....  Check to make sure they're on the Part D plan you end up with.

I was placed on an expensive medicine last week and my Humana Part D plan wouldn't cover it or the other 2nd choice product the Dr wanted me on.  Humana even refused the Prior Authorization of the 2nd product.  I called the company who produces the product, gave them my zip code of our domicile and they gave me 3 Part D plans to consider.  The Dr gave me a 30 day free supply coupon, will pay out of pocket for December and will then go on the new plan in January.   

Based on my experience, I wouldn't pick Humana.

[Blues]

2 hours ago, Ro and Joe said:

Based on my experience, I wouldn't pick Humana.

But the exact same thing could happen with any Part D plan, regardless of the insurance company.  There's no guarantee that the three Part D plans that cover this expensive drug will work any better for the next expensive drug you're unexpectedly prescribed.  You're just really lucky with your timing--it happened in November, right before the period during which you can change your Part D plan, so you're on the hook for paying out-of-pocket for one month.  If it  happened in February, you would be paying out of pocket for 11 months, or the entire course of the drug, whichever happened sooner.

That's a huge problem Part D.  Sure, you can use the calculator to see which plan will pay the best for the drugs you know you take, but that does nothing for drugs you don't know you'll be prescribed in the future. 

It's all ridiculous.

[sandsys]

2 hours ago, Ro and Joe said:

Based on my experience, I wouldn't pick Humana.

My Humana is an Advantage plan. It pays for my new, very expensive medicine.

Linda