Hi all. I read a closed thread for Medicare and any info will be helpful. I had no immediate plans to retire from full time work before 70. Well here I am 64 & retired, I accepted an early retirement in February. Right now H & I are using COBRA for insurance. H is one year younger and retired, we switched to my old employer’s ins when he retired. We both plan to hold offf on SS for a few years. I have per diem job offers but will not work full time with benefits. Can I continue COBRA for husband until he’s 65. I’ll be eligible in September. Any advice, websites etc will be appreciated. I get about 1 mailer for Medicare daily, which I trash. All our recently retired friends we know well had insurance as part of retirement package. TY
Depending on where you live, there might be an agency akin to Wisconsin’s aging and disability resource centers. They offer free advice and information about many things, including Medicare.
Your state’s insurance commissioner might also have informationa about Medicare.
Medicare itself has information online. https://www.medicare.gov/
Here’s a pamphlet about COBRA: https://www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/publications/an-employees-guide-to-health-benefits-under-cobra.pdf.
If your income is low enough you may qualify for ACA subsidies that lower your health insurance premiums. I go on Medicare… tomorrow (thank you). Wife has been on Medicare for 5 months. We had ACA for 4 years prior to Medicare, and it worked out very well for us. I can’t help you (don’t remember the rules) with COBRA. That was 10 years ago. I used it for a year and was very surprised to find lower cost insurance when I moved to the private market. That would not happen today without a subsidy. Our son was on a subsidized ACA plan for a year while he got a “part time” job. He is classified as part time but regularly works 40 hours per week. After 1 year his firm offered him heath insurance (dental, and 401K also) so he has employer insurance now. Costs him more than the ACA policy did.
I would reach out to your state Office on Aging at your Dept of Health and ask them whom you can talk with about your Medicare range of options including Medicare advantage and medigap plans. They are the best non biased source of info as they aren’t paid by any insurers and know ALL the options, including special programs for low income folks.
Thanks. I’m in So CA. H looked into ACA when I retired and COBRA was surprisingly less @ )$1,100/month. An HMO
I start on Medicare today (will turn 65 tomorrow). I am quite excited to be going on it - it will only cost a little less than the plan I was on but I won’t have to meet a $3000 deductible before they’ll pay for an aspirin (not that they pay for aspirin).
i will be in the basic Medicare B, a supplementary plan (I went for plan F), and Medicare D for prescriptions.
My husband has been on Medicare for 11 years. With the the combination of Medicare B and the plan F supplement he rarely has to pay much out of pocket other than prescriptions. Even when he was going through cancer treatment at MD Anderson we rarely had any out of pocket expenses for treatment at the hospital. He has a lot of health problems so we decided on the plan F because it is pretty comprehensive.
Medicare D is one you really need to take time making decisions on and be sure to Check to see if you need to change every year. Different companies may or may not have certain drugs in their formulated and they may change from year to year. You can go online and compare the different Med D available in your state by selecting programs and entering the med you are on. I was lazy and let my husband do it for me (he helps people with up every year at the local votech).
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Check on the COBRA rules. I got 36 months from H’s plan when he turned 65 and now have 2 months of ACA (Obamacare) insurance. I went as cheap as I could, therefore an HMO. Be wary of which physicians are covered in any plan and deductibles. For me paying hundreds more to use my current physician was not worth the cost, especially since I probably won’t use one in the time covered. Plans depend on which state you live in.
We earn too much for any assistance and need to pay a lot for part D. Have found it cheaper to use Walmart’s $10 for 3 months drugs and GoodRx, Blink coupons instead of my health insurance in recent years. I checked on supposed drug costs for many generic, common drugs and found part D coverage costs so much more expensive than doing the previous. For us paying more for part D in the future because we delayed is cost effective. Likewise adding to parts A and B coverage.
You need to find time to talk to Medicare people at an office in your location. Expect frustrations in getting to talk with someone on the phone to make the appointment. You may want to talk to a private insurance agent for possible plans. We also have recycled numerous mailings
It is difficult to figure out which plan to use and you need to reevaluate every year. I hate playing this game of insurance companies ever changing formularies and costs.
Remember- you can apply within 3 months- before and after- of turning 65. You get coverage from the first day of the month you turn 65. I signed up for A and B as soon as I could online- have my card effective in 2 months. Can figure out other plans later. Found out from friends that in Canada and England their national health services would cover emergencies so not desired just for that travel.
Bottom line- it is a pain to figure out which plans are most cost effective for your income level and your current ongoing needs. At least we have computers to do the work. AARP has a nice comparison tool for benefits with various supplemental policy types as well. Most people will find their premiums more reasonable than our extras for being too rich. I can’t complain- so different than not going to the dentist or doctor times I should have as a kid because parents couldn’t afford it.
My biggest complaint about the online ACA and Medicare signup procedures is no feedback that I had done things correctly and was successful in the applications. Finally figured it out when I couldn’t proceed because apparently I had finished correctly. That’s when I discovered the horrendous phone waiting times to ask questions. I suspect living in a large city means fewer agents per population numbers (plus Florida?) and limited office hours as well.
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Addenda. I have spent so much more on insurance in recent years than services received. It is better than the risk of huge bills without any insurance. Mandated coverage means sharing the costs, if/when my turn comes for expenses it will be less of a sudden outlay of money. My insurance costs will go down with Medicare even if I elect supplements with extra costs for being wealthy. And much better coverage. Two more months- I can’t wait. btw- I would be uninsurable (ie rejected) for insurance now without the ACA- no coverage for things unrelated to my chronic health issues. btw- we’re physicians and savvy about some things but it didn’t make it any easier to navigate the system.
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I just met with the social security people yesterday about Medicare. I will be staying on DH’s insurance as long as he is working so just took Medicare A, but they explained that if he retires and goes on Cobra, it does NOT count as continued credible coverage for me and I will have to then go right into Medicare B or I will be subject to a lifetime penalty.
An employee can get COBRA for 18 months. But under some circumstances (and the employee switching to Medicare is one of them) a dependent can get COBRA for 36 months.
I’m not sure, though, what happens during the months between applying for Medicare and actually getting it.
My husband is 65 and working, so he currently only has Medicare A. He has been told that it can take months to get full Medicare after you apply for it. He’s planning to retire in 2019, and he may very well have to use COBRA to cover him for a few months while waiting for Medicare to kick in. This will not be a problem for him, but what if he were near the end of his COBRA eligibility? Then it might be.
I met with an agent, the wife of the man who helped me with LTC insurance 5years prior. In an hour, she helped me to figure out Part B (United American was less then UHC/AARP for females), and Silver Scripts was second cheapest for meds. I didn’t want to be restricted to Walmart’s, as it is a distance from me.
In my state, I met with financial counselors at the hospital financial counseling offices/ SHINE. I decided on Part C aka Advantage Plan through BC/BS, which is a PPO not an HMO, so I can see any doctor I want.
I was on Medicaid before 65 so it is a bit of a shock to be on Medicare. You have to have less than $13k in assets and very low income to qualify for help through Medicaid. My income qualifies- by far- very low- but assets are higher.
In California, Medi-cal has counselors at various insurance offices and community centers. There is a list online. I don’t know if there is a special system for Medicare counseling. In MA we have SHINE.
I would definitely talk to someone- these things are too complicated to go alone.
Medicare will provide info on COBRAS,
ps I take a brand name cancer med that affected my decision
DH goes on Medicare in 11 months, whoo hoo! We have a great plan in Maine, so I can’t wait for him to go on it. This year, our monthly premium is about the same as our mortgage payment. Maybe it will be lower next year??
To clarify, If my DH is NOT medicare eligible and goes on COBRA, that is one thing, But since I AM Medicare eligible, I cannot go on his COBRA as it will not count as credible coverage, and when I ultimately convert to go on Medicare part B, I will be subject to a 30% penalty for life. Um, not thanks.
I found this. It may help ex[plain- if you are medicare eligible you have to use Medicare first and can take cobra second https://www.medicareinteractive.org/get-answers/coordinating-medicare-with-other-types-of-insurance/cobra-and-medicare/cobra-and-medicare-coordination
H worked until he turned 70 and had employer-provided family coverage. He applied for Medicare A when he turned 65 but waited until he retired to apply for B. He never hear back about his application so we went in person to check at the SS/Medicare office.
After waiting some hours we finally talked to an employee who said H never received his card because his paperwork was NOT accepted all those months ago when he mailed it in. We asked why his application was not accepted but couldn’t get any answer as to anything wrong with the paperwork, so we took all the paperwork home with us—the agent happened to have H’s paperwork with him and was fine with returning all H’s paperwork to him. (The agent also claimed H had received an email that his B application had been denied—none was ever received.)
The next day, I was working so H went alone to the SS/Medicare office with the SAME paperwork and was approved for part B on the spot, just before he would have been penalized for not getting Part B within 8 months after retiring (or turning 65).
I guess my tip is if you have any doubts about whether your paperwork has been processed be sure to go in person and speak to a SS/Medicare agent face to face. The other tip is to go on a day that is a state holiday but not a federal holiday as the lines are MUCH shorter because most folks assume the office is closed.
Oh yes, learned from hearing presentations that if you do not get Medicare Supplementsl or Medigap when you first qualify you may not be able to get it later. Also there is no limit or cap to your copays in Medicare B, which is why many/most folks get some Medigap or supplemental policy to have an annual cap on their out-of-pocket.
When you first qualify for Medicare B, I believe the Medigap and Medicare Advantage plans HAVE to accept you. If you wait and want to buy it later they do not have to accept you.
We have retained H’s family plan medical insurance. It serves as my only insurance and as H’s prescription drug coverage and supplemental or Medigap policy, plus covering any eligible dependents. We pay our portion of the premiums and H’s former employer pays its portion of the premiums. When I am old enough got parts A and B I will sign up for Medicare.
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I’ll distill what jym626 says: If you don’t sign up for Medicare when you become eligible, and you don’t have “credible coverage,” when you do sign up later you will pay a large premium penalty for the rest of your life. So, be careful.
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I met with a rep at the SS office to be sure I was setting up my Medicare A correctly and would not be subject to any penalty when I apply for B. She gave me the form to have DH’S employer fill out when I do choose part B during what is called a special enrollment period. https://medicare.com/enrollment/medicare-special-enrollment-period-sep-for-part-a-or-part-b/. As long as the company has more than 20 employees and provides health insurance you can delay. But, if DH retires I have to take part B. There is an 8 month window but she suggested getting it started before the coverage ends. COBRA does NOT count as coverage https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/part-b-costs/penalty/part-b-late-enrollment-penalty.html
@jym626 we’re you required to take Part A Medicare at age 65?
DH will be 65, but HE is still working with benefits. He isn’t planning on taking A or B until he retires.