Plan F here. I've had it for the past 2 years, and the only co-pay I've had to pay is the annual medicare co-pay. Plan F paid every cent of the 20% after Medicare payments for hospital charges, doctors, infusions, tests - all of them are covered. All I pay is the monthly premium.

believe me get the best you can afford...if and when something goes wrong you can't trust medicare...if my mother hadn't had her plan, medicare would have shorten her stay in care, more than once...

Yes, get a plan F. You can't move "up" later if you get a lower plan, not without medical restrictions.

Wow, that is great information. Thank you all so much. I hesitated to spend the extra money each month for Plan F because I am unlikely to need nursing home care for a long time (hopefully ever), but I had a feeling there would be catch if I wanted to add it later.

I never thought that figuring this out would be so complicated. My dad was a doctor and I worked in a hospital so I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of this stuff. I don't know how some people with fewer resources ever do it.

Again, many thanks for sharing.

Check your community's area agency on aging to refer you to the agency that does a HICAP review. It may be called something else in your state, but it's a free program to review Medicare options for you.

I found choosing the Part D carrier took more time to sort. It turned out that one plan was slightly better for DH than the Part D company for me -- different drugs.

Adding up these insurance costs, and the 'reduced' cost we still have pay for the drugs --- it's more than we pay for food per year.

I switched carriers this year, and chose Plan C because I was told (by the United Healthcare rep) that the only difference between C and F is that F will cover any excessive charge--and since Pennsylvania doesn't permit those excessive charges, there was no point in getting Plan F unless I plan to go out of state for treatment. Nothing was mentioned about nursing home care.

But doesn't Medicare pay for a certain number of days of nursing home care anyway? And after that the patient has to pay privately until they can no longer afford it, at which time it becomes a Medicaid issue. I don't believe any of the Medicare supplement plans are a substitute for long-term care insurance.

Alisande, I think you are right. I just looked again at my material. I will call United (through AARP) to discuss it with them. Thanks for pointing that out!

Susipup, we do have a service like you mention. It's called Apprise in Pennsylvania. I called them once and wasn't too thrilled with their help, but I may try again.

Oh no, I was hoping the drug plan might be easier to figure out. I hardly take any maintenance drugs, but occasionally need a one or two time prescription.

At least I am signed up for standard Medicare beginning on May 1st. That part was easy.

You might want to double check with the Blue Cross/Blue Shield in your state. We went with the highest they had and I am glad. We moved from CA to ND and so far we have had no problemss. But his premiums are paid by the retirement company. With all the Chemo meds, and other problems we can go anywhere and get medical treatments.

Blue Cross Blue Shield is more expensive than AARP (United)in Pennsylvania. However, AARP offers a discount for the first year (30%) and goes up after that. What a big game this is!

Blue Cross/Blue Shield goes up every year, too. I used BC/BS for the first three years and then switched to the AARP plan to save some money. It has the very same coverage as BC/BS. (Medicare mandates the coverage.) Had I realized this earlier, I would have started out with AARP.

I started with BC's drug plan, too, but switched after only the first year to the AARP drug plan--again, because of the rising annual premium. Like you, I don't take any meds regularly.

I just got on Medicare last Dec. I went with United Healthcare (AARP)Plan F. Good friends have had it for yrs and have had no problems with it, they have made many claims, including major surgery. The 30% discount is reduced by 10% of the discounted amt every yr until you are paying the regular rate in 10 yrs (next yr the discount will be 27%, yr after that 24% etc). Here is a site I used to decide on which Part D plan to go with. It's a Medicare.gov site.

http://plancompare.medicare.gov/pfdn/PlanFinder/DrugSearch

Thanks for the additional info. I will call AARP/United and pin them down about the difference between Plan C and Plan F. Most people I know have Plan F, but that doesn't mean it's the best for me.

I had no idea this was going to cost so much. It's awful.

I meant to mention in the previous post that if you want coverage for long term care you will need to get a separate policy. I don't believe that there are any Medicare supplement plans that include long term nursing home coverage.

My Plan F premium is only $134/month.

Really, Monica? AARP quotes $168 a month and that is with their discount. I could not find it for less than that.

Who is your insurer? Does you former employer pay a part of it? My friend's employer will pay a portion of her Medicare supplement. Wish mine would.

Banker's Fidelity.
They don't waste money on telemarketing, or any advertising, and I heard of them from a fellow patient at my Dr's.
None paid by any former employer.

Thanks, Monica. I will be looking into them for sure. I think we live close to each other, so maybe they will cover me. I'm in Montgomery County.

I'm also in Montgomery county.

Rates must depend on where you live. I live in Luzerne Co, Pa and am paying $119/mo for my United Health Care Plan F with the discount.

Mare, I think you are right. Maybe I'll move!

I'm two counties north of Mare, and I'm paying $135 for my United Heathcare Plan C. Plan F was less than a dollar more. I wonder if other factors affect the price....?

A lot of plans price according to age and age when you first sign up with them. From what i've seen, when you go in at age 65 (as I did), you get the lower rates.
BTW - I made a mistake in my premium amount it's $124 for plan G. I signed up with my insurer at age 65.

Here are the prices I got from AARP / United:

Plan A: 103.07
Plan B: 137.90
Plan C: 168.00
Plan F: 168.70
Plan K: 70.52
Plan L: 103.95
Plan N: 113.57

They do not list a Plan G, although Aetna does, at $135.25. All these quotes are based on first enrollment at age 65.

It's odd that I should be paying less, since I'm three years older. Maybe the price is lower because I switched? That doesn't seem likely, though. Perhaps they just like my rural county. I saved $100/mo. by switching from BC/BS.

For what it's worth, both United Healthcare and BC/BS told me Plan C was their most popular.

I think the difference is according to where you live. In some ways that is odd to me because people in my zip code tend to be well educated and take care of their health. I'm sure there is some arcane formula used to come up with these numbers.

No savings except 70 cents between C and F for me. Sigh.

There are two ways of determining price, one is community-based, where everyone pays the same within an area, and the other is age-rated. The community is always best because age-related will rise as you age. Both are not always available in a given area..

Our supplement is with Aetna because DH's former employer offers us a group rate for it. It's $744/year and covers us both. We've had this for a couple of years. It pays 100% of our bills, including an MD who charges 15% over the Medicare-approved fee.

I can't complain about this charge, but Medicare itself, plus the Part D policy, plus our portion of the supposedly reduced charges for drugs... It's HUGE. My Advair is expensive, and DH has had two even more expensive prescriptions for two years now.

It's a racket we are all subjected to by the insurance and pharmaceutical companies who 'buy' Congress with their campaign contributions.

Just thought I would report back that I looked into Bankers Fidelity and for me it is $205 a month for Plan F and $141 for Plan G. Plan F is an "issue age plan" and G is an "obtained age plan". I called the company and a very annoying local insurance agent called me back. Actually she seemed to know her stuff but her manner was annoying.

I think AARP is going to be hard to beat. I downloaded and printed a booklet called Choosing a Medigap Policy and it is very helpful. It makes things clear and has great advice about what to ask an insurance agent if you choose to buy from one. It's on the medicare.gov site.

Maybe my research will help the next person and it certainly helps me to bounce these questions off all of you!