It's official. I'm an old fart.

neely

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I got my Medicare card in the mail. :paperbag: Rick thought it was hilarious. I was not amused.
Congrats! :bouquet: Enjoy the freedom from setting the alarm clock to having another cup of coffee at your leisure.
 
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Winchester

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Thanks! Although in our case, the girls are our alarm clock and they don't have a snooze button. So when they're ready for breakfast, they get breakfast! Rick usually hits the couch for a morning nap after he takes The Beast out for her first pee. With me, once I'm up, I'm usually up for the day. But still, having another cup of coffee instead of rushing around getting ready for work sounds wonderful!

This past summer I started getting inundated with Medicare texts, phone calls, mail, all kinds of stuff. The phone calls were so bad that I started blocking phone numbers. About a month ago, some guy showed up at the house; he wanted to talk to me about my Medicare "needs". That, BTW, is very much illegal; Medicare insurance people cannot come come to your house cold, just to talk. They have to call first and set up an appt. We didn't know that at the time. I was at work, so Rick sent him on his way.

But it's been an weird several months with all the Medicare stuff going around. And I guess we'll have to deal with it every year, once the Medicare window gets ready to open. All part of becoming an old fart, I guess.
 
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betsygee

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Thanks! Although in our case, the girls are our alarm clock and they don't have a snooze button. So when they're ready for breakfast, they get breakfast! Rick usually hits the couch for a morning nap after he takes The Beast out for her first pee. With me, once I'm up, I'm usually up for the day. But still, having another cup of coffee instead of rushing around getting ready for work sounds wonderful!

This past summer I started getting inundated with Medicare texts, phone calls, mail, all kinds of stuff. The phone calls were so bad that I started blocking phone numbers. About a month ago, some guy showed up at the house; he wanted to talk to me about my Medicare "needs". That, BTW, is very much illegal; Medicare insurance people cannot come come to your house cold, just to talk. They have to call first and set up an appt. We didn't know that at the time. I was at work, so Rick sent him on his way.

But it's been an weird several months with all the Medicare stuff going around. And I guess we'll have to deal with it every year, once the Medicare window gets ready to open. All part of becoming an old fart, I guess.
The phone calls, texts, and mail are overwhelming. :runaround: I spent a long time trying to figure out what to sign Duke up for during his birthday enrollment time this spring and now I'm researching again during open enrollment for his Rx plan. I even went to a seminar put on by our local old people's :rolleyes2: organization to try to get some help sorting through all the information.
 

Foundkitty

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~ I have been doing research. If you are interested in a supplement to Medicare look into Medicare Plan F.
I have had plan F for 4-5 yrs. This year I looked at The Advantage plans. These are heavily promoted, which makes me suspicious. What I found was they are cheap, limit where you can go and seems like everything has a deductible/copay. While my plan F is around $200/mo. I am never out of pocket a dime. I guess if you are in good health the Advantage plans might be for you.
 

mazie

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I turned 65 last year and still work full time. Next month I turn 67 years old. Every day since I turned 65, I receive phone calls from solicitors who are trying to sell me a back brace, hospital bed, canes, hearing aids, etc, you get where I am going with this, 4-6 times per day. Yes I am over 65, but working full time, am fully competent, don't wet myself, so don't need depends, etc, etc, etc. Medicare will call to "Remind" to ask me when I got my last mammogram, colonoscopy,and so on. I tell you. It makes me sick, a person reaches the age of 65 and they think we turn into "drooling, incompetent, mindless boobs!!" When home, I would take some of these calls and tell the person on the other end that I would appreciate taking my number off of their calling list. I would explain that even though I am of age, I still work a full time job, am very healthy and capable of making my own dr. appointments. . I kept getting these calls, they never stopped, so I had no choice, I picked up the phone and was quite nasty with the person on the other end. Did that stop the phone calls from coming? He.. no!! Now when I pick up one of their calls, they hang up on me when they hear my voice at "hello". Well, all I can say is at least they are scared of me now. And I guess I am going to have to be happy with that. ;) Thanks for letting me vent, I really needed to vent to someone who understands where I am coming from.
 

denice

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I have had plan F for 4-5 yrs. This year I looked at The Advantage plans. These are heavily promoted, which makes me suspicious. What I found was they are cheap, limit where you can go and seems like everything has a deductible/copay. While my plan F is around $200/mo. I am never out of pocket a dime. I guess if you are in good health the Advantage plans might be for you.
I do billing for ambulance service. One thing about the Advantage plans when it comes to an emergency expense like that, they leave people with a much higher copay. Traditional Medicare leaves people with a copay of under a hundred dollars, usually around $90. The Advantage plans leave people with a $200 to $250 copay.
 

Foundkitty

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I do billing for ambulance service. One thing about the Advantage plans when it comes to an emergency expense like that, they leave people with a much higher copay. Traditional Medicare leaves people with a copay of under a hundred dollars, usually around $90. The Advantage plans leave people with a $200 to $250 copay.
Fortunately I havent needed an ambulance. All the advantage plans I found to restrictive. Im fortunate I can afford plan F as I have Sleep Apnea & copd. A guy I know told me he was going to have an operation and he doesnt have a supplemental. He will be in for a big surprise. I told him he could at least get an Advantage plan for little or nothing. just dumb not to have anything. Sorry for getting off topic.
 

NY cat man

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I turned 65 last year and still work full time. Next month I turn 67 years old. Every day since I turned 65, I receive phone calls from solicitors who are trying to sell me a back brace, hospital bed, canes, hearing aids, etc, you get where I am going with this, 4-6 times per day. Yes I am over 65, but working full time, am fully competent, don't wet myself, so don't need depends, etc, etc, etc. Medicare will call to "Remind" to ask me when I got my last mammogram, colonoscopy,and so on. I tell you. It makes me sick, a person reaches the age of 65 and they think we turn into "drooling, incompetent, mindless boobs!!" When home, I would take some of these calls and tell the person on the other end that I would appreciate taking my number off of their calling list. I would explain that even though I am of age, I still work a full time job, am very healthy and capable of making my own dr. appointments. . I kept getting these calls, they never stopped, so I had no choice, I picked up the phone and was quite nasty with the person on the other end. Did that stop the phone calls from coming? He.. no!! Now when I pick up one of their calls, they hang up on me when they hear my voice at "hello". Well, all I can say is at least they are scared of me now. And I guess I am going to have to be happy with that. ;) Thanks for letting me vent, I really needed to vent to someone who understands where I am coming from.
Amen to that!
 

misty8723

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I have had mine for awhile ( I just turned 66). I didnā€™t feel old until I went to a burger place and the girl automaticity gave me the senior discount without asking! Being a dummy I argued that she wasnā€™t charging me correctly until my daughter told me why!
People have been giving me senior discount since I was in my 50s (I'm well past that now). It never bothered me a bit, you want to give me a discount I don't care what age you think I am. I was once behind some woman in line who was indignant that the girl thought she qualified for the senior discount. I thought she was pretty stupid.

I just got my medicare part A card. I didn't really want it, because now I can't contribute to the HSA at work. But I had to get it because I filed for spousal benefits Social Security benefits.

I can't afford to retire. As long as I'm working I can get hubby on my insurance as a dependent. If we were to file for Medicare, we each have to get our own plan, and Part B alone will be $144.60 a month in 2020. And that's not even counting Part D, Part F, etc. (Which makes me wonder why politicians are pushing medicare for all, and why I should think it's a good idea).
 
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Winchester

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~ I have been doing research. If you are interested in a supplement to Medicare look into Medicare Plan F.
I was considering plan F or plan G. The woman who helped Rick and me suggested plan G as we were able to get it cheaper than F and it had mostly the same stuff.

misty8723 misty8723 My GF at work was going to retire at the same time I do. But she's only 62 and her husband is younger than that. He doesn't have his own insurance plan because he is self-employed. When she realized she would have to start COBRA for her and her husband until they turned 65, she changed her mind quickly and decided to continue working. I've had people tell me, "Oh, now you're gonna be on the government dole. Must be nice!" But holy crap! I'm paying for that Medicare; it's not free and it's not cheap either.
 

denice

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I hate it when people talk about Social Security as 'being on the dole'. People have paid into that for their entire working life. That is why it is called an entitlement, people are vested in it by virtue of paying into it over a long period of time.
 

di and bob

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I can't wait to turn 65 and receive Medicare, I am so tired of paying 700.00+ health insurance with a 6500.00 deductible. I will be 64 on March 18th, so not long now! THEN, I don't ever want to rush a birthday again! I don't EVEN want to think of how many years I might have left, sigh..... it seems like just a few years ago I didn't think of things like that at all......
 

Foundkitty

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I hate it when people talk about Social Security as 'being on the dole'. People have paid into that for their entire working life. That is why it is called an entitlement, people are vested in it by virtue of paying into it over a long period of time.
You are so right, same thing with Medicare! Sad some ā€œpoliticiansā€ are pushing ā€Medicare for allā€ and Iā€™m quite sure supporters think it is a free give away from Uncle Sam. People donā€™t realize that they pay taxes into Medicare and then we you get on it you pay. There is nothing free.
 

VinceL

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~ I have been doing research. If you are interested in a supplement to Medicare look into Medicare Plan F.
The key difference between Plan F and Plan G is that Plan F has no deductible for Part B expenses. For 2019, the Plan G deductible is $185. And naturally, Plan F premiums are higher than Plan G.

Be forewarned, Plan F is probably going away. According to congress.gov, starting in 2020, Medicare Supplement plans that pay the Medicare Part B deductible (which is Plan F) will no longer be sold to those newly eligible. This change is part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).
  • If you already have Medicare Supplement Plan F (or Plan C, which also covers the Part B deductible), you can generally keep it.
  • If you were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020, you may be able to buy Medicare Supplement Plan F or Plan C.
  • If you qualify for Medicare on January 1, 2020 or later, you may not be able to buy Medicare Supplement Plan F or Plan C.
 

denice

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It is a maze to figure out. One thing I have seen quite a bit in billing is people who have Medicare and Medicaid then they have a supplement plan, usually AARP. I am completely baffled by that. It is nice for providers because the supplement will pay the copay where Medicaid in most states pay nothing, we write the copay off. It makes no sense for them to be paying for a Medicare supplement, with Medicaid in addition to their Medicare they don't pay anything anyway.
 
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