Health insurance costs?

How much are guys over 65 paying for Medicare?

I'm 61. Paying for wife and 24yo son. Our Blue Cross (actually the crappy version - Blue CARE) Bronze plan with $16,000 deductible just when from $1487/mth to $1653/mth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus we put $200/mth in an HSA. I have to make $30,000/yr GROSS just to pay for insurance we never get to use. Basically a VERY EXPENSIVE catastrophic plan. How is this model sustainable?

A few year backs I told my buddy that owned the 50 person company I used to work at that I heard some of employees grumbling that they hadn't seen a raise in a while. He barked at me "HEALTH INSURANCE WENT UP 15%. TELL THATS THIER RAISE!". Most mortals don't relaize thier pay is affected by these REDICULOUS increases.

My new plan, goto ER and never pay. My daughter is a PA at an ER and said the vast majority of the people that come in "abuse" the system and aren't paying. Said she, "I rarely see someone like you or mom" meaning only going to ER for an EMERGENCY and paying our way. That mentality is stupid and old fashioned now.

I haven't retired yet .. my company insurance is free but, it kind sucks .. deduct is $3500

I'm on part A of Medicare , Part B is $175.00 a month

How can yiou be working AND getting Medicare?

Odd thing is a Remember my grandfather telling me about 8yrs he paid $900/mth for "some Medicare co-insurance" him and his new wife (both in thier 80's)?

I think mine is about $160-ish/month - all that paperwork is at my tax guy's at the oment.
I also have a Plan G through Mutual of Omaha that's around $150/month - no meds coverage as I don't need much of that.
Great company, BTW, for anyone shopping.

Plan G?!?! All Ive ever heard is Plan A and Plan B. Something about a "donut hole" between the plans is what you have to have other insurance for. Any of that make sense? Do they send you a How-To book when you're 64?

They send you a ton of stuff. I have a drawer full. You can also call them or go online if you have questions. It took me awhile sort it all out.

I retired back in April and have been on Medicare since then. Part A is free.....well, I paid for it my whole adult/working life. My Part B is $161 per month. Part D, which is prescription medicine, is $14 per month, as i only have 3 generics. I purchased a Part G thru an insurance agent and it's $173 per month. Part G is a supplement to cover whatever Parts A & B doesn't. So far, I am still paying Cobra coverage for dental and vision for my wife 7 I thru my former employer. I need to get that figured out before September, because I will no longer be eligible for Cobra at that time. My Part G is thru Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC. I'm pretty healthy for 66 and haven't had to pressure test the new to me insurance and Medicare yet, but I am confident that it will be just fine.
Study all that you can about it before you reach 65 and pick the supplement plans that work best for you. Pay attention to the dates for the enrollment period and be sure to meet the deadlines. There is no family plan with Medicare, so you and your wife will each have separate plans. Encourage your son to be thinking about his own insurance when you are both on Medicare. I always paid extra for the Mack Daddy health plan thru work. It paid off in the long run because like most people, I never used it when I was young, but then got some crazy Gastro stuff with a blood infection and clots in 2018. Spent 2 weeks in the hospital with them running a million tests before they figured out what was wrong with me. My part for all that was about $1600. I picked a Plan G supplement that mimics my insurance plan I had in 2018. Good luck to you Jim. I know you'll handle it just fine.

Ah, somebody’s signature handiwork in action. Hope he’s proud.

Used to be, you could get a catastrophic plan for cheap and save in the hsa or fsa and call it good. Those were too practical so they were outlawed. Now plans have a whole host of stuff that must be covered 100% for “free.” Yep, free lunch. Just like we were all told by our dads when we were about 12. Right.

EMTALA is a law requiring deadbeats to be seen, in recent years medical debts have been banned from appearing on credit reports. Appeal to the worst in people, and they vote for you.

Only recourse for a hospital when they are stiffed for care is something called enterprise collection. If they are tied into the state, like say a state university hospital, they can claw back money from any tax refund you are due from the state. Course that would require you working a legit job…sigh…

In 1986 I became concerned that yearly family health care at one mining area was twice as high as another area 120 miles away in the same state.

I had worked at both operations and felt the employees and their families were very similar.

For every medical bill the self insured company policy was the employee paid $20 and the company paid the rest of the bill.
Note this was not 20% of the bill,
but simply $20 of the bill,
even if the bill was $140,000 like I remember one child ATV accident total was.

What were the actual family yearly costs?
$800 per family per year at one operation
$1600 per family per year at the other.

Note these are NOT per month numbers - they were per YEAR.

My sister tells me that today it costs over $24,000 per family per year today with family paying first 20% rather than $20.

When you hear USA private industry medical costs are seriously out of control this 1986 to 2023 comparison shows it.

Where I live the county has volunteer guides that can help you. Plus my previous employer had classes you could take. You’ll need to invest some time to find out what works best for you. Don’t take what I say, get your own expert.

Medicare A is free if you have enough quarters of work. Medicare B is $ 170 per month or more depending on how much you made the previous year. Medicare B only pays 80% with no top limit. So if your bill for a procedure is $ 200 K you will owe $ 40 K, hence you probably should get a supplemental plus the drug coverage part D. Your daughter who makes so much and every other provider drive the costs up rapidly. If you don’t sign up and pay for Medicare part B in your initial enrollment period you pay a 10% penalty for each year you are not enrolled forever. Example, you want to enroll in Medicare part B 5 years after your initial enrollment period. They tack on a 50% penalty every month for the rest of your life. Plus if you don’t buy an excellent supplemental initially the supplemental providers don’t have to accept you and you’re SOL Look at how the drug coverage works if you want to change drug coverage plans before you sign on.

Medicare Advantage is a mine field. If you go that way, buyer be very aware. Up front it all seems rosey. You have to use the networks in network providers. If you have a major health issue, pity you. You will be using the networks providers only. If you want to get yourself into Medicare part B you can only do it at one specific time of year. Plus you wil pay the penalty on Medicare part B for the rest of your life and a supplemental and drug plan does not have to accept you. You will really be SOL. Do some easy research on how much executives at United Health care make. Their system is geared towards delaying care for patients and rewarding executive and shareholder rewards IMHO. Medicare Advantage touts preventative health care, great. Best to look at the downside if things go bad.

It is not hard to get a $ 200 K to $ 300 K bill. Good for your daughter. For you, to choose wisely as Indiana Jones part 3 showed us.

If you haven’t already figured out that you are about to.pay a lot, you are about to.

If you travel internationally you have a whole new set of rules to incorporate into your health coverage.

I'll second that Medicare Advantage warning. I have traditional Medicare plus a Plan G medigap and am not personally affected but the largest hospital system in my area will no longer be accepting two major health insurance companies and their Medicare Advantage plans, starting 7/1/24. Apparently, these big insurers are in financial trouble and are not paying the providers. I don't know how the holders of these Medicare Advantage plans will manage it. They have insurance but no hospitals in a radius of 75 miles will accept it.

My 76y old neighbor loves medicare. I am going have to ask her what plans she has.
She had stage 4 cancer a few years ago and was told less than a year but survived. She showed me a bill they accidentally
sent her for 1 chemo treatment $45k.

Working has nothing to do with being able to go on Medicare. It's quite easy, and very legal. I'm 70, still work full time for a small company, and have been on Medicare since I turned 65. When I turned 65, I had medical insurance through my company. They paid half and I paid half. My half was 600.00 a month, and going up 15% to 20% per year. Going on Medicare was a no-brainer. I have traditional Medicare, not an Advantage plan. Part A is free, covers 80% of hospital bills. Mind you, that's 80% of hospitalization, not the doctors inside the hospital that treat you. So you need to buy part B to cover 80% of the bills from said doctors. Now you're on the hook for 20% of the hospital bills and 20% of the doctor bills. That's why you need to buy a supplemental plan through an outside insurer to cover that 20% not covered in Parts A and B. I have a Part G supplement for that, and I also have a Part D drug plan. I looked into an Advantage plan. Yes, it offers many "advantages" but also many "disadvantages". On the surface it can be very tempting, and I was very tempted. But I chose to go with a traditional plan, not an Advantage plan, to be on the safe side.. As said elsewhere in this thread, the devil is in the details on the Advantage plan, and you are limited to which doctors and health networks you can use, and could have coverage problems when traveling, and especially when traveling abroad. And under some circumstances, you could be on the hook for some large bills. I'm not telling anyone to not get an Advantage plan, but research it carefully. Meet with a Medicare advisor, and make an informed decision, and choose what is best for you, and what you are comfortable with. And get a head start on researching and signing. You want to start this process 6 months before you turn 65, or whatever age you decide to do it. If you enroll in a traditional plan, as others here have advised, sign up immediately for Part B, the Part D drug plan, and the supplement of your choice. If you fail to do so at time of initial enrollment, you be penalized by having to pay more in the future when you do decide to enroll.
Hope this advise is helpful. Medicare can be a frustrating and confusing task to research, but you will need to do it. Good Luck!!!

Following closely.

I just retired in Dec.
But luckily, Wife still works so I just went on her work plan. Added about $300 per month to our costs.

I am 64 , and plan to look closer at Medicare at full retirement age in 2 years

Be careful & don't wait until you retire. My wife was reading up on everything a couple of years ago & you must sign up 6 months before you turn 65 or there is a penalty & the monthly insurance is more expensive.

What you are calling "full retirement age" has to do with social security, and is totally separate from Medicare.
At 64, according to the s/s chart online, based on your birth year, it's 67 for you. Mine was 66, since I was born in 1953.
It's a sliding scale between ages 66 and 67, based on birth year.
You are eligible for Medicare at 65. And yes, sign up 6 months in advance.

I may be totally misinformed, but I'm under the impression that you can take Medicare at any age of 65 or older with no penalty. But when you do decide to enroll, you need to get part B, D, and a supplement right then. Otherwise if you enroll and then come back later to add the supplements, you will be penalized. Again, it can be quite confusing, and you need a Medicare professional for advise.

I have an Advantage Plan through Humana and it costs no more than my $174.70 A&B which comes right out of my Social Security.

I have a Medicare professional through AMAC who did a great job explaining what the issues are and finding me my Humana plan with no further costs, Part C and D. I signed up for part A and B when I turned 65 and got the Advantage plan before the end of the year on advice from her.

This is what I was told, as long as Im on an employer sponsored plan. There is no penalty when I take Medicare.

Go to medicare.gov for info - and like all Gummint stuff, it's almost mind-boggling at first.
There is an enrollment period every year, and that period is also when you can make changes if needed.
There are people who know the system, but they're not likely to be the ones calling on your phone and speaking with an accent.
Some hospitals and providers may not accept some insurers, like Humana - check with them prior to adding non-Medicare supplements.

In my case, with Medicare & the Plan G from MoH, I paid nothing for detached retina surgeries, cataract surgery, or hip replacement, except for medications.
I didn't add coverage for meds but could at approx $150/year.
Being blessed with generally very good health, that's been basically a "wash" so far.

I was on an employer plan, and dropped it at 65 to go Medicare. I work for a very small company, so the size of the company may have something to do with it, I don't know. I would investigate further to see if you can go off the employer plan at 65. It get's complicated but talk to a Medicare expert for advise.

My parents also have an advantage plan. I don't remember which provider. Their plan covers the cost of part B, they pay nothing. Both are extremely happy with what they have. Knee replacement, back surgery (multiple) and my dads biggest bill was $800.

It is a bit of a scam.

Hard to plan for because they change it every other year is seems , Advantage is mostly useless for me , not enough population and not enough options due to that.

I'll be 65 in 3 1/2 years and it's going to help financially to get on medicare. Right now, just coverage for myself (ex-wife's insurance covers the kids) is $1,400 and it's sure to go up every year. I figure if I only have to supplement $300 a month it's still a whopping savings.

It depends on the number of employees on the plan. My wife is covered under my health insurance plan at work, it's a family plan. The factor for her having to start the Medicare was because we have less than 20 people on the plan at my company. I am pretty sure more than 20 would eliminate the penalty like you said.

My wife works for a very large company.

There are 10s of thousands of employees worldwide
I think there are over 10,000 employees here in Tucson alone.

IMO,
if one looks at the costs and coverages the choice should be easier to make.
The first year I was told in error that I was not eligible for the previously favored Plan F. I can't remember which plan I signed up for but there was an additional 200.00 + monthly deduction.
After looking at the options more closely, the following year I signed up for a no cost Advantage plan through Aetna with a max out of pocket cost of 4500.00 with a lot of items being covered at 100% including allowances for dental, hearing aids, glasses and a lot of tier 1 & 2 drugs.
Saving the 200.00 a month for 2 years would more than pay the max out of pocket cost plus the allowances for other things mentioned.
When one looks at the additional savings over the 2 year period factoring in the allowances it becomes even more enticing.
This year I have encountered a few issues with the allowances and am addressing those with Aetna. They have been 100% up to this point.
It can be mind numbing. The best advice is to start learning about the pro's and cons of each choice as far in advance as possible. DO NOT try to learn about them all at once but rather a little at a time, absorb the info, then move forward.
When you start narrowing down your choices check the google and online reviews for the plans you are considering.
One company I will not consider under any circumstance is Blue Cross Blue Shield. Why? they changed a contracted Obamacare plan mid stream due to a peeing contest with a large hospital / firm which left 1000's (myself included) not being able to see their normal Dr.s
Hope this helped a bit

Anybody under 65 could look at something called Medishare if they like living dangerously, but want to save some serious bucks on coverage. It’s religious based, and they can decide to not cover your bills if it’s a “sin” thing that is doing you in. Lots of people like them, but they got banned in Montana for not covering stuff. It’s not technically insurance. People vote on if they agree to “share” the cost of your care. Been around for a decade or more.

This is timely as I retired effective 1 July 2023; State of Alabama, Department of Labor. At the time I was covered completely through Blue Cross Blue Shield - Medical, Prescription, Dental, and Vision for less than $100 per month as I had over 28 years of service, which accounted for the low monthly cost.

Since I had turned 65 back in June of 2023, those two weeks that I worked past the age of 65 reduced my Insurance cost after retirement significantly, well, at least the Part C and Part D. Through Medicare, Part A has no charge as has been mentioned while Part B is automatically deducted from my SS Direct Deposit and since I can't have one without the other, I do essentially 'pay' for both. In my case $164.90; this now covered Part A and Part B. Here's the fortunate circumstance in my scenario - my BCBS immediately transformed into United Healthcare to cover Part C and Part D and since I worked two weeks past my 65th birthday, that cost dropped from what would have been slightly over $300 per month down to $23 per month and became my coverage for doctor visits, Dental, and Vision. That $23 is automatically deducted from State Retirement Direct Deposit.

A little background as 2023 became a long, strange trip of a year for me beyond simply retiring. Circa Christmas of 2022, I developed symptoms of what would be diagnosed as an enlarged prostate. Long story short, I wound up with a catheter (inserted where you never want one inserted ) for 7 weeks give or take before Thulium laser reduction of the prostate surgery basically rolled the clock back 40 years for me. To paraphrase George Carlin, I'm now able to drink all the beer I want and break up a Kent with a Micronite filter again. Regardless, that's what prompted me to call it an (I T career) effective July first. Then, on November 4, 2023, I got married to a wonderful lady who owns her own home along with 4 1/4 rural acres outside of town; we'd been engaged just shy of two years and met at work. She's more than happy to support my Mopar addiction, and even encouraged me to build any size garage I want on the site of an old, dilapidated barn just off the house proper. The only rule is no yard art.

The key, in a nutshell - at least for me - appears to be that I worked past the magical age of 65.

Hope this helps, and apologies if I got too wordy...