BizWrangler
12-05-2008, 12:52 PM
If you are a Medicare beneficiary or have a friend/family member who is, HEADS UP! The Annual Enrollment Deadline is December 31 if you (they) wish to change plans.
It is time to do a plan check to be sure you (they) have the right plan. If you are on basic Medicare, you may want to enroll in a Supplemental and Drug plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan. If you have a Supplemental plan (with or without a separate Drug plan) you may want to look into the Advantage Plans. In fact, I suggest you do check them out and make a comparison. You might be pleasantly surprised that you can get great coverage with drugs for less money.
You have until December 31 to switch plans, so now is the time to compare your existing plan to your other options.
You may also switch plans until March 31, but you are limited in that you may NOT change in our out of a drug plan January through March. NOW is when you have the most options available to you.
Let me know if I can be of any help.
Judith L. Neeley
(707) 887-8696
License #0496855
[email protected]Sciguy
12-22-2008, 01:45 PM
If you use the government comparison website for different advantage plans, you will see that Wellcare's Concert Plan is at the top for least costly.
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I have been on Wellcare's plan for a year and I can tell you it is phenomenal. Zero cost for most drugs. Free medical supplies once a month. Free subscription to 24 HR Fitness. Much better low charges for medical work. My wife had 10,000 dollars worth of surgery for $30. Why anyone would have any other plan is beyond me, though maybe someone else has a very different mix of medical services needed. I used to be one of the poor victims of Blue Cross. Boy, am I glad to be quit of them! Charges, charges and more charges! No help with prevention. No competition at all.
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Paul Palmer
If you are a Medicare beneficiary or have a friend/family member who is, HEADS UP! The Annual Enrollment Deadline is December 31 if you (they) wish to change plans.
It is time to do a plan check to be sure you (they) have the right plan. If you are on basic Medicare, you may want to enroll in a Supplemental and Drug plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan. If you have a Supplemental plan (with or without a separate Drug plan) you may want to look into the Advantage Plans. In fact, I suggest you do check them out and make a comparison. You might be pleasantly surprised that you can get great coverage with drugs for less money.
You have until December 31 to switch plans, so now is the time to compare your existing plan to your other options.
You may also switch plans until March 31, but you are limited in that you may NOT change in our out of a drug plan January through March. NOW is when you have the most options available to you.
Let me know if I can be of any help.
Judith L. Neeley
(707) 887-8696
License #0496855
[email protected]BizWrangler
12-26-2008, 02:55 PM
That is fantastic you found a plan that works best for you and your wife! Keep in mind, there is no one-size-fits-all plan out there. There are a number of zero premium Advantage plans available. There are so many variables, and people's needs also are equally varied. There are also Advantage plans with a premium, and one must weigh the options to the benefits. By the way, each Medicare beneficiary must have their own plan. There are no 'family' or 'husband and wife' plans.
For example, one person may have a doctor they want to stay with that does not take one plan but does take another. Your hospital deductible is $275 a day for 5 days where another plan has a flat $400 regardless of the number of days. Some plans, like yours, include drugs, others do not. Some are HMOs, some are Private Fee for Service.
I am curious how your wife managed to get that surgery without at least paying the out-patient hospital deductible? It is $100, not $30.
You also said you used to be the victim of Blue Cross, however this Wellcare Concert plan you mention is a Blue Cross plan! Am I missing something here?
As a private fee for service plan, if your doctor is not deemed, you could be hit with additional fees, which is what is sounds like has happened to you.
With all due respect, considering the conflicting data you posted, I have to wonder about the validity of your post.
Indeed, everyone can and should to to www.Medicare.gov (https://www.Medicare.gov) and do a plan search for their zip code.
This is important: If you wish to speak with someone such as myself, an independent insurance broker who specializes in these plans, you MUST sign off on a 'permission slip' 48 hours before meeting with them. Since the 12/31 deadline is fast upon us, that means you will need to do so by the 29th in order to meet with them and enroll by the 31st - at the latest. There will be a big rush at the end of the year throughout the country for folks enrolling, so you are wise to do so NOW.
There are a number of comparisons you want to make when choosing how you wish to receive your Medicare benefits. The premium (or lack of one) is only one concern. Where you do not pay in one place you will pay more in another - as evidenced in my comment about your hospital deductible. Other concerns are, does your Doctor take the plan, is there coverage if you are out of your geographic region, what are the other deductibles, are your specific medications included in the plan forumulary, how large is the provider network, and do you have international emergency room coverage if you travel? These are some of the things to know. A person who does not travel, who has a doctor who takes one plan, and is on many drugs and has different needs than someone mobile, healthy, not attached to a particular doctor, and has different medical needs. As I said, there is no one-plan-fits-all plan out there. There are many other considerations when choosing plans. Some folks may also prefer to obtain a supplement and separate Rx plans. To each their own.
To clarify this 12/31 deadline: If you are an existing Medicare beneficiary and you wish to either add or drop a drug plan or go into or change to an Advantage plan, you need to do so by the 31st of December. This is the Annual Enrollment period. You may also do so January through March, however you may not switch from a plan that has drugs to one that does not, and visa versa, or add or drop a drug plan after 12/31.
If anyone wants more specific information, please look me up in the Services offered section of WACCO.
Best wishes,
Judith Neeley
Biz Wrangler
If you use the government comparison website for different advantage plans, you will see that Wellcare's Concert Plan is at the top for least costly.
I have been on Wellcare's plan for a year and I can tell you it is phenomenal. Zero cost for most drugs. Free medical supplies once a month. Free subscription to 24 HR Fitness. Much better low charges for medical work. My wife had 10,000 dollars worth of surgery for $30. Why anyone would have any other plan is beyond me, though maybe someone else has a very different mix of medical services needed. I used to be one of the poor victims of Blue Cross. Boy, am I glad to be quit of them! Charges, charges and more charges! No help with prevention. No competition at all.
Paul Palmer
BizWrangler
12-26-2008, 04:03 PM
I GOOFED! My apologies, Paul. I clicked on the plan directly below the Concert, so I was reading the wrong data. Your plan is a good plan for many people. It is not the Blue Cross plan I thought. I'm sorry!
Judith
nicofrog
12-30-2008, 10:17 AM
my plan is to get taken care of by other human beings!
is that so strange?I do what I am good at, they do what they are good at, they take care of me, and others. I am no good at filling out forms and
making lots of money , I do what I am good at , a lot.
they take care of me, I'm grateful for that.
If you are a Medicare beneficiary or have a friend/family member who is, HEADS UP! The Annual Enrollment Deadline is December 31 if you (they) wish to change plans.
It is time to do a plan check to be sure you (they) have the right plan. If you are on basic Medicare, you may want to enroll in a Supplemental and Drug plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan. If you have a Supplemental plan (with or without a separate Drug plan) you may want to look into the Advantage Plans. In fact, I suggest you do check them out and make a comparison. You might be pleasantly surprised that you can get great coverage with drugs for less money.
You have until December 31 to switch plans, so now is the time to compare your existing plan to your other options.
You may also switch plans until March 31, but you are limited in that you may NOT change in our out of a drug plan January through March. NOW is when you have the most options available to you.
Let me know if I can be of any help.
Judith L. Neeley
(707) 887-8696
License #0496855
[email protected]