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Vic, valuable info for everyone over 65. Having experience in "benefits administration" I also learned this stuff; so we chose Original Medicare and the AARP recommended UnitedHealthCare supplement and have had nothing but good experiences. Also, at the time we weren't taking any drugs so thought maybe we didn't need Medicare D, but were advised by an RN that if we were diagnosed with an illness requiring an expensive drug, we might find ourself without decent (or any) coverage for it, so got D. Through two bouts of cancer and a hip replacement and more, have never received a bill. Medicare Advantage is being pushed hard right now by some folks who stand to gain $ from your decision. People need to be forewarned as this decision has long-term expensive implications.
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Agreed. And if one does not sign up immediately there may be an additional cost after.
My Medigap policy is an "F' designation, not offered anymore, and I have no intention of changing it.
But for Part D (drug) coverage, I check every year on the Medicare site - there is a good tool to compare costs between different drug plans. Every year one should use the Medicare tool to compare pricing on drug plans. One year I was distracted and ended up paying $900 more than I would have with another plan - all because that plan had Tier 1, 2 drugs subject to deductible before lower pricing. All the other plans did not do that! I had to pay full retail until I reached a deductible of $480. So people with original Medicare and a Medigap plan, that can stay the same, but you do need to check Part D coverage each year. But it is easy to do and easy to switch Part D plans. You input the drugs and it tells you how much each plan will cost you for the year. All these insurance plans do not give one choice but confusion. We all need good coverage at reasonable cost, and not a whole bunch of plans we have to spend time figuring out.