by Guest » Sun Mar 17, 2013 08:31 pm
I will be 65 in two months. I now have insurance through my husband but it is really not as good as medicare. When I turn 65 can I drop his insurance and just go with medicare,As it stands now, his would be primary and medicare secondary, which really is not beneficial to me.
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2013 09:51 pm Post Subject:
When I turn 65 can I drop his insurance and just go with medicare
Nothing prevents you from doing this. Medicare Advantage, until Obama and the Democrats destroy it, is even better than Medicare A & B for most people who have access to it.You should already have received your "Welcome to Medicare" packet in the mail. Enroll in Part B, then check out the available Medicare Advantage plans in your area. PPO is preferable to HMO, but would be more costly than an HMO if you have to pay a premium for it. In larger metropolitan areas with lots of younger people, Medicare Advantage plans are available at no additional cost beyond the Part B premium. Be sure you are enrolling in a MAPD plan (one with the Drug benefit included -- most, but not all, do).
If you enroll anytime in the month prior to the month you turn age 65, your MA coverage will be effective on the first day of that month you turn age 65, other wise it takes effect on the first day of the next month. You have three months AFTER you turn age 65 to make the same election, otherwise you have to wait until open enrollment from October 15.- December 7, with coverage beginning on January 1 of the coming year. If you screw up and miss that, you have until the end of March to enroll, but coverage will not begin until July 1, even if you enroll on January 2.
Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2013 08:05 pm Post Subject:
Thank you for your reply. I am already signed up for A, B and D. So all I needed to know is if I have to keep my husband's insurance. As for your hit at Obamacare, you should keep your opinions to yourself. I am much more concerned about Ryan and the Republicans destroying medicare completely. BTW I could not check out medicare advantage plans because I was told that I would then have three insurance coverages which is not allowed.
Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2013 08:39 pm Post Subject:
BTW I could not check out medicare advantage plans because I was told that I would then have three insurance coverages which is not allowed.
This is misinformation and it is harming you.Medicare Advantage is a substitute for Medicare Parts A & B. You still pay the Part B premium, plus any premium for the MA plan. MAPD plans include the Prescription Drug coverage, so you don't need a separate Part D plan. MAPD plans in most areas save Medicare beneficiaries thousands of dollars per year in out of pocket expenses for Medicare Supplement insurance and provide more benefits than Medicare Part A & B combined ("Original Medicare" -- even when you add a Medicare Supplement, the coverage is less than a MAPD plan).
As I stated, you can terminate your coverage under your husband's plan simultaneously with the start of your Medicare benefits on the first day of the month in which you turn age 65. You will not have three insurance plans, and if you choose Medicare Advantage, you will only have one plan. You can always revert to Original Medicare at any time if you don't like Medicare Advantage. But you can only enroll in (or change) a Medicare Advantage plan when your first eligibility occurs or at the annual open enrollment periods.
As for the Republicans and Medicare, there is nothing they can do that will harm the program any more than the 123 TRILLION DOLLARS of unfunded liability that currently exists. Every politician who utters the words "Strengthen Social Security and Medicare" (a) has no viable plan to do so, and (b) never mentions the unfunded liability as it currently exists.
The reality is that Social Security and Medicare and the Prescriprion Drug Plan are fast bankrupting America. And the only plan so far is to simply create more debt to keep it afloat. You and I are unlikely to see significant downward changes in Medicare in the next 10-20 years. The majority of changes, if any, will apply to people who are under age 40-45 today. And even if they terminated Social Security today, it would not be gone until the last person who is age 50-55 today is dead in another 50-80 years. That's the reality we're faced with.
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