Sprockets

I've taken over my parent's affairs for the most part. They are 88 and 84, with a lot of health issues right now.

They have always had Plan F through United Healthcare/AARP. I took a look at the other plans and even though I'm in the financial field, it's a cluster. Why on earth do they subject elderly people to this crazy decision process. Unless you live and breath this stuff every day, there is no way to make an educated decision as to which plan is appropriate.

So, which plan do you old-timers or your parents have? I don't want to put the time into analyzing the plans, and will most likely stick with Plan F as it seems the most comprehensive.

Boataholic

I have the AARP United healthcare supplement. Pretty sure it's the F.
I'm happy as a clam. I rarely pay anything out of pocket.
Not a fan of AARP but joined just to get signed up then dropped my membership

gumpire

cheaper is not always better...

to start--make a list of their doctors and preffered hospital..

make sure they take the plan you are looking at, often the office can tell you what plans they don't take..

Pipo6007

I deal with this daily. Good advice from gumpire.
At their age they already have their preferred Dr's that have been seeing them for years and know their history. So make sure they are all on their plan.
Also to remember that if you can't find a plan that all their Dr's are on then Medicare by it's self covers 80% of the contracted rate. Medicare it widely accepted compared to those other plans.
So if the hopsital bill is 100K and the Medicare allowable is 20K then the patient will be responsible for about 4K of the bill. My dad just has plain Medicare as he is not frequently getting sick.
My mom has Blue cross and blue shield as a supplement to Medicare and it costs about $350 a month to cover that 20% that is the patients responsibility.
Then you also have to get a prescription plan to cover meds. That's another $65 a month.

croakerpoker

They are probably best off in F. To change to a different supplement they would have to pass medical underwriting which they will not. The only other options are Medicare Advantage plans which are OK in some areas and terrible in others. I would say at this point to leave them on Medicare+AARP Sup F and then just shop their Part D plan, which is easy to do on medicare.gov. You only have until Saturday to change the drug plan though so do it now.

Diverboy

Plan F is the bomb and if they got it long ago enough, their premiums are cheap compared to any other supplement (that will not be as comprehensive as F) they could change into as they would go in under their current age rating. Going to one of the PPO's or HMO's may cut out the premium they are currently paying for Plan F, but then would have copays or out of pocket cost that would negate the savings...and alot of restrictions. On Plan F they walk into whatever doctor they want and if that doctor takes medicare assignment (most doctors that accept insurance do medicare assignments), unlike one of the other plans where you have to see a doctor on their list, even if it's not the specialist you want.

Boataholic

Avoid Medicare advantage plans like the plague

gfretwell

I agree with the others, the older you are the more you want to be in Plan F. All you see is EOBs that say "this is not a bill". If they already paid for it this long, now is when that investment starts paying off. Most of your medical expenses come at the end of your life. This is the Cadillac plan and they are not even going to write it anymore but as of now, "If you like your plan (F), you can keep your plan".

Sprockets

Thanks everyone. They've been on F forever. I thought I remembered it was the most inclusive. My dad was admitted to the hospital yesterday and mom is 2.5 years into Alzheimer's and Dementia. Life isn't fun right now.

dave8311

Sorry to hear that.

Pez Vela

That was news to me. Thanks for the heads up, since I'm in Plan F. I searched for an explanation and found this: https://boomerbenefits.com/is-plan-f-going-away/ I'm glad to see I'll be grandfathered in.