Relief.
This morning I set up an appointment for the Husband and me with an insurance agent to help us enroll in a new Medicare Advantage (MA) plan. Hurrah!
The insurance company that handles our plan decided to quit serving our county as of January 1, 2024, which means a lot of old folks in town are scrambling to figure out what to do for Medicare. The insurance agent, who we’ll be meeting, said that nearly all she has been doing the past week or so is help people figure out what kind of Medicare plan is best.
We have three options. One, get on another MA plan, which is through a private insurance company. Two, go back to Original Medicare under the federal government, along with purchasing both a Medigap and a Medicare Part D (drug coverage) policy from an insurance company. Or, three, the same as number two option but without a Medicap policy to cover what Medicare doesn’t or won’t.
The third option is a high risk move, so I think, with the cost of healthcare. Thank goodness for Medicare. Thank you, President LBJ, for signing it into law in 1965. Medicare came in time for Daddy who enrolled in the program five years later. I don’t know how my parents would’ve been able to afford the medical bills. Mama had health insurance through her employer so Daddy may have been able to be added to her plan. When did health insurance become a thing anyway?
So grateful am I to end this week knowing that the Husband and I are on our way to getting our Medicare coverage for next year resolved. Knock on wood (knock knock) we won’t have to go through this process again.
My roommate went to an Advantage plan at the beginning of this year (off of just a Medicare plan) and she had the worst time with it. Of course, she has a supplemental through her late husband's pension plan. I think that was the main problem, the Advantage plan wouldn't let the supplemental work, and... It was a mess. Good luck with navigating it all. Good that you'll have help.
ReplyDeleteOur problem is that I think it was Nixon signed into law something that made it not illegal to turn a profit in the healthcare field. I think if we got rid of the profiteering off of healthcare, that would help a lot.
I got curious about what law Nixon signed. It was the one that established HMOs run by private corporations. According to what I read, turning a profit was a thing before 1973. I agree with you, Liz. It’s gruesome to make money off people’s health.
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