by Guest » Fri May 10, 2013 01:56 am
I am 66 and have individual health insurance along with my wife(42Y0). I want to keep my insurance until I retire and then take medicare. Can i do this? I don't need Medicare right now.
Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 05:00 am Post Subject:
Though you can keep the individual health insurance plan (or private-market health plan), yet you can’t expect the premium on it to be uniform. Your health insurance company may ask you to increase the premium on your plan. However, there are some states that permit their local insurance companies to submit a proposal of premium-hike in writing and then start charging excess amount with immediate effect.
In this case, you need to find out your state’s insurance law in order to keep your insurance costs under control. If your insurer charges you exorbitant rate, then your state insurance regulator may intervene and revoke the proposed premium-hike.
As far as taking advantage of Medicare is concerned, then it is for you to decide when you want to apply for the federal health care aid, but then you are already eligible to apply for it.
Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 10:29 am Post Subject:
Which state are you residing in?
Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 02:25 pm Post Subject:
You need to give some more information before we can provide proper answer to your queries.
Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 09:42 pm Post Subject:
I want to keep my insurance until I retire and then take medicare. Can i do this?
Sorry to say that the three previous responses are either completely wrong or useless. It does not matter in what state you live, and there is plenty of information to give you an answer. As for adamsarthur . . . you cannot trust most things this non-insurance agent person has to say, and most of what he says is pure garbage. His response here is no less than that.
If you are covered by a qualified group health plan, you usually can reject coverage under Medicare Part B. Assuming you are "fully insured" under Social Security, Medicare Part A is provided to you at no cost, and becomes secondary coverage to a group health plan in most cases. However, in some plans, making the plan primary to Medicare will cause you to pay a higher premium. You have to weigh that against what you would pay for Medicare Part B and what your out-of-pocket expenses would be for your Medicare claims, and to what extent your group coverage would actually provide a benefit to you. Sometimes the money in exchange for almost no benefit is not worth the expense..
But you have to know how your wife's group plan works. It could require that you make Medicare your Primary coverage, in which case it will continue to cover claims that Medicare does not. And in that case, you would not be able to reject Part B.
The real problem with Part B coverage is that it requires a monthly premium (about $115 in 2013). If you fail to enroll in Part B when you should have, there is a 10% premium penalty for every 12 months you have not been enrolled since age 65, unless you have creditable coverage under a qualified group health plan.
The implementation of the ACA on 1-1-2014 may result in many employees actually losing group health insurance where they work and being forced to obtain health insurance on their own or through their state's exchange (an estimated 25% of employers eligible to do so are expected to terminate group health insurance). If your coverage is terminated, you have 8 months to apply to Medicare for your Part B coverage without penalty.
But you will not be eligible to obtain insurance through an exchange. You will have to enroll in Medicare Part B, and Part D.
In my opinion, the most favorable coverage for Medicare beneficiaries is provided by the Medicare Advantage plans. Generally better benefits than Medicare Parts A&B combined, and usually includes the Part D prescription drug coverage. In most major metropolitan areas, Medicare Advantage plans have no out-of-pocket premium cost beyond what a person pays for Part B. Total out of pocket expense in most Medicare Advantage plans is tens of thousands of dollars less than the financial exposure a person has under "Original" Medicare.
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