[KEN CROCIE]

I need to sighn up for medicare 'cause the VA drives me CRAZEE !! Any advice, tips, or tricks from the graybeards out there?

[Jerry H.]

I've been disabled and on Medicare for a little over 5 years now. No problems with it that I can recall. From what I understand the VA coverage on prescription drugs is a lot better. If you need a lot of meds, the 'donut hole' in the medicare prescription drug benefit is a killer!

[tom s]

Ken when you are 65 you have to sign up for at least part A.You dont need anything else if you are working and have a medical plan.I turned 65 last year and went through the deal.Tom

[Ollie]

When you reach 65 you will automatically be switched to medicare. Tricare or VA will then become your backup part D. Plus your meds will come from Tricare or VA. If you have Tricare or VA, you do not have to worry about the doughnut hole.

[KEN CROCIE]

I turned 65 last nov. do I somehow get punished if I didn't sign up or does it happen automatically as ollie suggests. I'm thinking medicare because i believe o can choose my own docs and use the VA for meds. Tom S I'm officially retired and have no plan other than V.A.

[67 Lamnas]

Just an FYI....medicare does not provide any dental benefit...only medical....

[bastard]

There are Medicare Advantage Plans that include dental, vision, hearing but they are through a private insurer and will cost you more than plain Jane Medicare.
Research these plans thoroughly before you join.
Step 1 is to visit your local Social Security Office and apply on or before you turn 65.
As mentioned, you will be penalized if you don't carry a qualified insurance plan and then try to get on Medicare later. It keeps people paying into the system whether they think they need it or not.

Past 65 you will be covered or you will be penalized.

You can get the ball rolling at medicare.gov

[badlefthand]

Medicare itself only pays 80%, A and B cost is about $90.00 a month.Your ok if you have V.A. as a back up or primary but if not than my advise is back up health care for about $170.00 monthly to cover the final 20%. 20% of 10 days intensive care plus DR's. plus hospital , plus therapy, plus prescriptions, plus years of follow up,plus every thing else is a large chunk of money. Be smart, talk to some one that can tell you the ins and outs(not an insurance company)! Could have bought a couple of Pontiacs. Hard to buy insurance with a pre existing condition. Get it while your healthy. I was lucky and got in under the wire for back up on some things. I forget how many months there is to purchase after 65.

[Jack Gifford]

Originally Posted by badlefthand

Medicare itself only pays 80%...
... my advise[sic] is back up health care for about $170.00 monthly to cover the final 20%...

That's pretty common advice. If you know that the 20% will be a significant expense (lots of prescription meds, etc.), then certainly a Medicare-supplement plan is worthwhile. If not, then it depends on your philosophy about insurance in general- which, to some of us, means only insuring against catastrophic losses, which the Medicare 80% will do (that's all I've had since turning 65 five years ago).

[badlefthand]

I should add that the VA used to require pre-authorizzzzation[sic] before treatment for non service related emergency treatment. I am a vet and have been registered on The VA list for years but it is quite a hassle to get them to pay another facility unless the rules are followed to the letter. Finding out the rules would be a plus.

[Jerry H.]

The 20% that you are liable for is not that much money UNLESS you have a hospital stay. Say a doctor usually charges $150.00 per visit. Well, you would think that you would be liable for $30.00, right? WRONG! Medicare only pays on a set schedule of what they think the service is worth. For example, I go to two different doctors that there visit charge is $175.00. After Medicare pays them on their schedule, then I pay 20% of THAT. My liability is a little over $11.00. Unless you think you are going to have hospital stays, in most cases Medicare supplements are a waste of money.

[Jack Gifford]

Oops. I didn't word my above post correctly- the 20% of covered expenses has nothing to do with prescriptions. I should have said "... if the 20% plus your prescription costs is a significant amount..."