Medicare Premiums

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have never heard of people having completely free sky is the limit health care and RX coverage from their employer. Wow.

OP here. Yes it is an unusually robust plan for high level executives. I guess I shouldn't mention the coverage we had non medically necessary things like botox injections. There was a $ limit on that. Sadly that goes away with retirement. Sigh.

Are you trolling? If your husband was a high level executive why do you care so much about $15k?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you find out about the tax hit generated by your RMDs.

I'm sure that will be a surprise to OP, just like IRMAA.

OP here. Luckily we converted to Roth long ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The OP sounds like her doctors are in a concierge practice. It is baffling to me that you did not know Medicare coverage cost money. In the event you are unaware, do not forget to sign up for prescription coverage. Failure to do so will result in a lifetime penalty.

OP here. I have full coverage for prescriptions from free private insurance from previous employer. But thanks for the tip.

that will come to an end.

Um it's part of the retirement package. I know you hate that we have such robust coverage. Oh and our dependents will continue to enjoy the same coverage they had while DH was employed.

So, the employee has reached medicare age (62+), but still has dependent children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The OP sounds like her doctors are in a concierge practice. It is baffling to me that you did not know Medicare coverage cost money. In the event you are unaware, do not forget to sign up for prescription coverage. Failure to do so will result in a lifetime penalty.

Do: I don't understand why there are penalties for not signing up. If you don't want/need it we shouldn't be forced to pay for it at 65+.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never heard of people having completely free sky is the limit health care and RX coverage from their employer. Wow.

We pay $300 per month for a PPo coverage. That includes medical dental and vision. Deductibles are only $1k/$2k and max OOp is $5000. And we have $5k oon coverage as well.
Going to miss that whe. We retire

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, OP, this could be easily fixed by switching providers. The overwhelming majority of providers accept Medicare (unlike Medicaid). So I don't give a shit.

Clearly you don't understand. Because my supplemental insurance is so robust (full coverage for out of network providers), I prefer providers who opt out. This enables me to submit my claim directly to my supplemental insurance and cutting Medicare out of the who process. It is a much simpler system and much better care as these providers are that good. Paying the Medicare premiums, to me, is just gaining access to my free supplemental coverage.

You seem to be missing the point that your "free" supplemental coverage is only free because it's secondary to Medicare. If everyone who uses the supplemental coverage did what you're doing, it wouldn't be free. Because they require Medicare coverage, I would also read the fine print and make sure that the supplemental coverage doesn't deduct the Medicare reimbursement amount from their payment amount, even if you don't receive it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of starting full retirement. Silly me to think Medicare Part B is free.

Today I received a letter telling us that our monthly premium for medicare will be over $629 a month for both myself and my spouse (an annual expense of over $15,000). This is extremely hard to swallow because for the past 15 years of my husband's employment, we paid no premiums, and our coverage pretty much ensured no out of pocket expenses at all with no deductible.

We generally use out of network providers who do not take Medicare, so it is really infuriating that we have to pay this money for insurance we will rarely use. The regular premium for most people is $185, but we get slapped with an adjustment based on our income. I feel like we are paying everyone else's insurance premiums while we won't even be tapping into medicare providers.

We have supplemental insurance provided by my husband's previous employer which will cost us nothing and provides the same coverage as before. So we will be paying nothing for the insurance we use most. It is crazy.

I know, first world problems.

What is this employer-paid supplemental plan that requires you to be in Medicare, but that is accepted by physicians that are not in Medicare?

It's an Aetna plan. The employer requires that the retiree enroll in Medicare and use that is primary coverage. The Aetna plan kicks in the remaining outstanding balance of what Medicare doesn't cover, including all non Medicare providers and all out of network providers for the Aetna plan. Is this unusual?

It sounds like your “free” medical insurance requires you to pay for Medicare because the employer/Aetna wants you to have that coverage before their coverage kicks in. Not sure why you’re complaining about Medicare instead of the private plan.

THIS exactly. OP isn't nearly as special as she thinks she is.

[Anonymous]

Whiners gonna whine. What a shock that you have to pay for health insurance like the rest of us slobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The OP sounds like her doctors are in a concierge practice. It is baffling to me that you did not know Medicare coverage cost money. In the event you are unaware, do not forget to sign up for prescription coverage. Failure to do so will result in a lifetime penalty.

Do: I don't understand why there are penalties for not signing up. If you don't want/need it we shouldn't be forced to pay for it at 65+.

For the same reason you have to sign up for all insurance before you need it--pooled risk. If you could choose to just sign up for car insurance after you got in an accident, car insurance companies would go out of business. If the only people enrolled in Medicare were those who needed expensive medical treatment, it would be in an even worse financial position than it currently is.

Also, you aren't *forced* to pay for Medicare at 65. You can wait as long as you want, or never take it. But if you try to sign up only when you need expensive care, there is a penalty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of starting full retirement. Silly me to think Medicare Part B is free.

Today I received a letter telling us that our monthly premium for medicare will be over $629 a month for both myself and my spouse (an annual expense of over $15,000). This is extremely hard to swallow because for the past 15 years of my husband's employment, we paid no premiums, and our coverage pretty much ensured no out of pocket expenses at all with no deductible.

We generally use out of network providers who do not take Medicare, so it is really infuriating that we have to pay this money for insurance we will rarely use. The regular premium for most people is $185, but we get slapped with an adjustment based on our income. I feel like we are paying everyone else's insurance premiums while we won't even be tapping into medicare providers.

We have supplemental insurance provided by my husband's previous employer which will cost us nothing and provides the same coverage as before. So we will be paying nothing for the insurance we use most. It is crazy.

I know, first world problems.

What is this employer-paid supplemental plan that requires you to be in Medicare, but that is accepted by physicians that are not in Medicare?

It's an Aetna plan. The employer requires that the retiree enroll in Medicare and use that is primary coverage. The Aetna plan kicks in the remaining outstanding balance of what Medicare doesn't cover, including all non Medicare providers and all out of network providers for the Aetna plan. Is this unusual?

Sounds like a retiree group plan. So you are benefiting from Medicare then, just indirectly. The premiums that Aetna charges your employer for the retiree group plan reflect that Medicare is the primary payer for most services. The employer might not offer the plan, or offer it under different terms, if Aetna charged full freight.

Also, you must have retiree MAGI of over $750k to have a Part B premium of $629. I think you can afford it.

OP here. Yes this is the best explanation of the situation. The high income last year was due to exercising a large number of stock options. The income will go down next year once all options exercised, but deferred comp will kick in. So we will still be at a high level...but not that high. But honestly, I had no clue that the premium would be so high. I've adjusted to the idea and of course appreciate that we will continue to have very good coverage at a relatively low price.

You are paying 1% or less of your MAGI for amazing health coverage. Don't expect sympathy. And when your income goes down, you can ask for your IRMAA to be recalculated too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, OP, this could be easily fixed by switching providers. The overwhelming majority of providers accept Medicare (unlike Medicaid). So I don't give a shit.

Clearly you don't understand. Because my supplemental insurance is so robust (full coverage for out of network providers), I prefer providers who opt out. This enables me to submit my claim directly to my supplemental insurance and cutting Medicare out of the who process. It is a much simpler system and much better care as these providers are that good. Paying the Medicare premiums, to me, is just gaining access to my free supplemental coverage.

You seem to be missing the point that your "free" supplemental coverage is only free because it's secondary to Medicare. If everyone who uses the supplemental coverage did what you're doing, it wouldn't be free. Because they require Medicare coverage, I would also read the fine print and make sure that the supplemental coverage doesn't deduct the Medicare reimbursement amount from their payment amount, even if you don't receive it.

It's free. Yes, I have to pay for Medicare, which is annoying. I said it in my original post that I am essentially paying for the supplemental insurance by having the exorbitant Medicare premium. Other execs have not had a problem with reimbursements. I know you want me to suffer some how lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The OP sounds like her doctors are in a concierge practice. It is baffling to me that you did not know Medicare coverage cost money. In the event you are unaware, do not forget to sign up for prescription coverage. Failure to do so will result in a lifetime penalty.

OP here. I have full coverage for prescriptions from free private insurance from previous employer. But thanks for the tip.

that will come to an end.

Um it's part of the retirement package. I know you hate that we have such robust coverage. Oh and our dependents will continue to enjoy the same coverage they had while DH was employed.

So, the employee has reached medicare age (62+), but still has dependent children?

Yes, absolutely. A kid in high school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of starting full retirement. Silly me to think Medicare Part B is free.

Today I received a letter telling us that our monthly premium for medicare will be over $629 a month for both myself and my spouse (an annual expense of over $15,000). This is extremely hard to swallow because for the past 15 years of my husband's employment, we paid no premiums, and our coverage pretty much ensured no out of pocket expenses at all with no deductible.

We generally use out of network providers who do not take Medicare, so it is really infuriating that we have to pay this money for insurance we will rarely use. The regular premium for most people is $185, but we get slapped with an adjustment based on our income. I feel like we are paying everyone else's insurance premiums while we won't even be tapping into medicare providers.

We have supplemental insurance provided by my husband's previous employer which will cost us nothing and provides the same coverage as before. So we will be paying nothing for the insurance we use most. It is crazy.

I know, first world problems.

What is this employer-paid supplemental plan that requires you to be in Medicare, but that is accepted by physicians that are not in Medicare?

It's an Aetna plan. The employer requires that the retiree enroll in Medicare and use that is primary coverage. The Aetna plan kicks in the remaining outstanding balance of what Medicare doesn't cover, including all non Medicare providers and all out of network providers for the Aetna plan. Is this unusual?

It sounds like your “free” medical insurance requires you to pay for Medicare because the employer/Aetna wants you to have that coverage before their coverage kicks in. Not sure why you’re complaining about Medicare instead of the private plan.

THIS exactly. OP isn't nearly as special as she thinks she is.

You would think so if you met me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, OP, this could be easily fixed by switching providers. The overwhelming majority of providers accept Medicare (unlike Medicaid). So I don't give a shit.

Clearly you don't understand. Because my supplemental insurance is so robust (full coverage for out of network providers), I prefer providers who opt out. This enables me to submit my claim directly to my supplemental insurance and cutting Medicare out of the who process. It is a much simpler system and much better care as these providers are that good. Paying the Medicare premiums, to me, is just gaining access to my free supplemental coverage.

You seem to be missing the point that your "free" supplemental coverage is only free because it's secondary to Medicare. If everyone who uses the supplemental coverage did what you're doing, it wouldn't be free. Because they require Medicare coverage, I would also read the fine print and make sure that the supplemental coverage doesn't deduct the Medicare reimbursement amount from their payment amount, even if you don't receive it.

Also, don't forget that I said earlier that most of our providers opt out of Medicare, so I really won't be dealing with them much. Thanks for your concern though!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The vast majority of providers take Medicare. You have to work to put together a collection of providers who don’t.
Also, Part B is voluntary. You can always choose not to sign up. Only Part A is automatic and sort of mandatory, and also has no premium.

OP here. My internist, gynecologist, and physiatrist all opt out of Medicare. So I won’t be tapping into that coverage for the most part. I have to enroll in Medicare to take advantage of the free supplemental coverage from the previous employer. I kind of view it as paying for the supplemental insurance, not the Medicare. I won’t be using Medicare much at all.

Not sure how you managed to find the 1% of providers who don’t take it, but you can easily fix this problem by switching to one of the 99% who do.

Perhaps I am not making myself clear. I prefer these providers because they give me the time and attention that typical providers just don't have time for. My internist and gynecologist both cap the number of patients they will accept. When I have my yearly exam, my internist spends at least an hour with me and is extremely thorough. And not going through medicare simplifies the whole process and enables me to not even deal with them.

Your choice so shut up about it.