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redstatebluegirl

(12,264 posts)
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 02:41 PM Feb 2020

After months of studying the different plans I finally signed up for Medicare supplement and Part D.

I have a two inch file of information that I have gone through I hope I made the right decision. I went with the mid level Part D plan and the AARP United Healthcare plan for supplemental. All together with the 149 for Medicare, 33.50 for Part D and 121 for the Supplemental part G it is 90 dollars cheaper than what I am paying for my insurance from work now that I am less than full time.

One of the drugs I take is not one any of them pay for it is a muscle relaxer called Metaxalone. I am going to talk to my doctor about an alternative.

I feel for people who have limited cognitive abilities, this is a mess to slog through.

14 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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After months of studying the different plans I finally signed up for Medicare supplement and Part D. (Original Post) redstatebluegirl Feb 2020 OP
That's what i have, and glad i had help deciding Rorey Feb 2020 #1
Thank you so much! redstatebluegirl Feb 2020 #5
It is! I had to have a lawyer friend help me figure it out, because he is used to tblue37 Feb 2020 #2
Yes, your last statement I agree with. There is NO reason otherwise to make this so GD CurtEastPoint Feb 2020 #4
well, remember .. even with Medicare we had to cut the private insurers stopdiggin Feb 2020 #8
Isn't it? I'm smart and computer savvy but what do people do who aren't? CurtEastPoint Feb 2020 #3
I felt like a mental midget. redstatebluegirl Feb 2020 #6
I felt the same. lynintenn Feb 2020 #7
It was unbelievably complicated Lulu KC Feb 2020 #9
What does it say Ohiogal Feb 2020 #10
For Meds that are not covered (or even those that are), try GoodRx.com JustABozoOnThisBus Feb 2020 #11
I had pretty much what you have lillypaddle Feb 2020 #12
Yes I hope I made the right choice. redstatebluegirl Feb 2020 #13
What is also nice is that every year you get a chance to change PoindexterOglethorpe Feb 2020 #14

Rorey

(8,445 posts)
1. That's what i have, and glad i had help deciding
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 02:45 PM
Feb 2020

A relative of a relative is an agent, and I think I can trust her.

tblue37

(64,979 posts)
2. It is! I had to have a lawyer friend help me figure it out, because he is used to
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 02:49 PM
Feb 2020

reading bureaucratese. And I was retiring from over 40 years of teaching college English, so I would have been able to understand the mess if it had been written in readable English.

Oh, and even my lawyer friend took hours to figure it out. (One problem, though not the only one, is the proliferation of obscure initialisms.)

I suspect that making it so difficult is at least partly on purpose, to prevent many people from accessing benefits.

stopdiggin

(11,092 posts)
8. well, remember .. even with Medicare we had to cut the private insurers
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 03:03 PM
Feb 2020

in someplace. And then the states all get a shot at regulating ...
Oh .. never mind.

But, you're so right ...
As my sister told me, "and here I have multiple degrees!" "What about the single mother of three? Dealing with two jobs and a sick kid! Like she has time to sort this out!"

CurtEastPoint

(18,549 posts)
3. Isn't it? I'm smart and computer savvy but what do people do who aren't?
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 02:50 PM
Feb 2020

The best thing is you can change yearly if you hate it.

lynintenn

(633 posts)
7. I felt the same.
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 03:02 PM
Feb 2020

Luckily the people I talked to at Medicare and my pharmacist helped me. I told them, I have a college degree and I can't comprehend all the stuff.

Lulu KC

(2,547 posts)
9. It was unbelievably complicated
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 03:39 PM
Feb 2020

A friend said, "They should have had us sign up for this in our 40s when we might have been able to understand it."

We used a company called EnlightenU, which was one of many that sent us what looked like sales pitches as we neared 65. They explained that all insurance companies that are allowed to sell Medicare supplemental plans have to offer a training. All of those envelopes actually had training sessions--all of those envelopes I kept throwing into a file called "Medicare" and never opened--because a friend of my husband's who is a couple of years older told us about EnlightenU. We went to their training--a pretty big room full of people who seemed much older than we are --that used excellent adult education techniques. Without it, we would never have figured it out.

Ohiogal

(31,659 posts)
10. What does it say
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 03:46 PM
Feb 2020

about how complicated this process is, that there are people whose sole job is a “healthcare navigator” who help you figure out your Medicare or an ACA plan? Why does it have to be so complicated? And, yes, what do people do who have no one to help them and limited cognitive ability?

But ....aren’t we lucky we have all this “CHOICE”?



An aside: in many states, Medicaid is just as complicated to apply for, too. I think they just hope poor people will give up and do without!

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,283 posts)
11. For Meds that are not covered (or even those that are), try GoodRx.com
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 04:26 PM
Feb 2020

I've gotten some good deals using that site (and there might be a phone app).

Congratulations on arriving at a choice. (and, a pretty good one).

lillypaddle

(9,580 posts)
12. I had pretty much what you have
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 04:26 PM
Feb 2020

until a year ago. I switched over to a Medicare Advantage plan through UHC,, which also covers prescriptions. I pay only $27 a month, but there is a little more out of pocket I have to pay for. They said that you can either pay more in premiums for a supplemental medical plan and less out of pocket, or pay more out of pocket in some instances. So far that has worked for me. There is a ceiling on what I have to pay, which is $4,500. OptumRX, the mail order pharmacy, is fantastic though - most meds are free for a 90 day supply mailed directly to you. They have always been very helpful when I've needed to call.

So good luck to you! And congrats on slogging through all of that. Feels good to get it done, though, right?

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,746 posts)
14. What is also nice is that every year you get a chance to change
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 11:19 PM
Feb 2020

your supplement or Advantage Plan.

That's how it is for federal employees, which is why many of them don't understand that people in private industry are stuck with the one and only health care plan the employer offers.

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