What should I know about Medicare?

If you have a senior center near you, contact them and ask if they have seminars about this. Your public library probably will know about this, as well. It can get confusing, and a professional can give you much more salient advice than we can.

^Agree. Though I’m not ready for retirement or Medicare yet, I have been to two seminars to get an idea of what is out there and what will be the best plan for me. I don’t want to wait until 3 months before I’m 65 to rush a decision.

Everyone’s choice is different but I was advised and went with the Medicare plan and a good supplemental from United Healthcare. I pay a hefty monthly fee but have not had any other charges between the two plans since I started, including when I broke my ankle.

There is a ton of detail, and no amount of Fultherized discussion can possibly give you all the ins and outs of it. If you haven’t already, call the Medicare office and have them send you t the introductory handbook – it’s about 100 pages long, full of detail, and well worth the read. (or you can download it and read it online(.

You get part A just by signing up.

You can (optionally) sign up for part B – depending on where you live, it will be $120—$150/month. However, Part B coverage is limited -> see the details in the Handbook I mentioned.

Supplemental coverage (there are many flavors, and again you need to read the details!) fills the coverage gaps. You pay more for it (in my case, additional $140/month) but it is as close to full coverage as you can get. Depending on where you live, coverage can be great or lousy.

Advantage plans have an advantage in that they roll part B, supplemental coverage, and Part D (drugs) into one premium. But – you are stuck with their network of doctors, which I didn’t want. Too limiting. Several Advantage plans are also under investigation for Medicare fraud.

Part D is drugs. Again, separate cost.

Read the handbook, seriously.

@SABOTEUR one additional point. When I turned 65, I was still working. (still am).

Even though I was covered by my employer’s benefit plan (I could have stayed on Blue Cross), my Medicare premiums (+ supplemental + drugs) were still considerably lower than my portion of the Blue Cross premium from where I worked.

So – do the math.

You can’t get Medicare Part “B” until you sign up for Social Security. When you sign up for Medicare Part “A” it doesn’t cost you anything and you will get it automatically.
Go ahead and wait until you reach 70 (if that is your goal) to sign up for Part “B.” Under normal conditions, Medicare will charge you 10% more per each year you don’t get Part “B” unless you tell them that you had a darn good reason for not doing so. (I can’t afford to take my SS at age 66 so that is my reason.)

When you do get to the age when you want Part “B,” you will have a choice of programs.
Regular Medicare, Parts “A” and “B,” that is paid for directly out of your SS. This is good if you have ongoing health issues.
You can also add Supplemental Coverage for Parts “C” and “D.” This is good if you travel a lot.
Medicare Advantage plans, like you see advertised on TV, are insurance plans by different companies that have to follow Medicare rules and may have NO COST premiums and the premium money Medicare takes out will be returned to you. These plans are good if you are in good health and don’t travel
If you don’t have one, get a copy of the latest MEDICARE & YOU book. It explains everything. Once you start getting Medicare Part “A,” this book should be sent to you by Medicare since it is “The official U.S. government Medicare handbook.”

@kritiper Some of your information is not correct. You don’t need to be taking Social Security to sign up for Part B; you just need to qualify and pay for it monthly. I did. Here’s the relevant information from the Social Security Administration site:

https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/medicare/

As an aside, I have found that dealing with a representative of the SSA is very useful and they try their best to help you. You can make an appointment to go in and sign up for Medicare or SS and they will answer your questions. Of course, in the pandemic it’s probably harder.

@kritiper Medicare Advantage plans, like you see advertised on TV, are insurance plans by different companies that have to follow Medicare rules and may have NO COST premiums and the premium money Medicare takes out will be returned to you.

Now I’m confused. I’ve had United Healthcare for a number of years, and no one has ever returned the premiums for Part B that is taken out. Is that a real thing?? Cuz if it is I’ve got some phone calls to be making.

In fact, not only do I not get it back, but every few years when we get a cost of living “raise”, I only get $10–15 more dollars a month because the premiums go up at the same time! What an effing joke!

@elbanditoroso‘s description is good.
I’d add that all of the “advantage” plans I saw look cheap but cover nothing out of network.
We ended up with the mundane and not cheap AARP/Medicare supplements.