On Medicare? If you have made changes to your coverage, check it out.

[Paper Roses]

In December, I signed up for Medicare part D. I have had Medicare A & B for 6 years. When I got the quote for this coverage, I called to cancel it. I know I am playing with fire but, since I live on SS alone, the 80.00 a month was too much for me to pay out of my meager monthly SS check.

On December 16th, I received the January bill for part B with new part D. I immediately called the provider to cancel part D(drug coverage). They were OK with it, told me I would get confirmation of the change back to my original coverage.
Today I got notice of the change but the strange wording caused me to call and inquire as to what they did.

They had canceled the whole HMO coverage, Part B and D. As of today, I would have had no part B coverage. I was told that there was an error and that I am reinstated.

This scares the heck out of me. From now on, anything I do or change will be followed through by a phone call or letter.

I am disturbed that my provider for part B does not have a confirmation number to give me, they do not use them. They assure me that all our conversations are recorded and documented and that I am covered. Guess how this makes me feel?

It is bad enough not to able to afford to pay for something I know I need, worse to know that they screwed up. I have enough to worry about, now this. I will not rest easy until a corrected bill comes my way.

Please check if you have any questions or to confirm any changes. Better prepared than surprised.

[grasswire]

1. PR, yes, you must be careful.

I wonder where the call center is for Medicare. I had a horrific experience calling Social Security in the fall. When I pressed the customer service person for an answer, she insulted me and then hung up. Then I learned that the call center is in India.

[Zen Democrat]

2. I called Social Security in December and talked to a local person. Not sure about that India thing.

[enough]

4. We have never run into any foreign call center when dealing with Social Security.

It's always been local people, and they try to be helpful.

[DURHAM D]

8. Me neither.

[grasswire]

9. yes, you can talk to local people

But if you call the toll-free number on SS website (which I did that day), you don't get your local office. You get a call center. I won't make that mistake again.

[enough]

3. I'm not clear if the $80.00/month was for part D only?

Looking through the Medicare info for this year, I saw that there are several Part D plans that charge much less than that, and some than have NO premium. I guess it's too late for this year, but I would think you could find something more affordable.

It drives me crazy that they make it so hard to compare plans or understand all the choices. Sometimes I think it's on purpose.

You are very right that any time you make a change, you really have to double-tripple check to make sure of all the details.

[DURHAM D]

6. OP would have to pay a cumulative penalty for each year

she failed to sign up for Part D.

[Paper Roses]

12. Hi, I'm afraid I was not clear in posting totals for Part D.

The figure includes Part B, $33.00. The rest is:
Part D, and
Penalty incurred by waiting and not signing up when I turned 65.

This does not include the deduction for part A.

This might not sound like much but the total comes to a little under $100.00 from my monthly SS check.

[WhiteTara]

5. Part D shouldn't be costing

$80 a month! I pay 33. Are you sure that wasn't for both B&D? ANd the way * set that plan up is that if you don't sign up you will be penalized 10% a year. So check it out carefully. You might check out medicaid to see if you qualify.

[DURHAM D]

7. I am just curious -

Who is your insurance carrier for your Part B supplemental?

[Paper Roses]

13. I believe the fault lies with me for not signing up for Part D initially.

The error in dropping my Part B was made by the HMO. They deleted me completely, not just removed the part D that I signed up for.

The company is one of the biggest HMO's in my state.

[freshwest]

10. I replied to a previous post, but you didn't answer, so I guess it sank off the page. I never could

afford Part D. So I got Part C. There is no premium, but there is a huge discount on RX, prices for all kinds range from $2 to $10 as I said in my previous response to you.

I am not eligible for Medicaid, only Medicare. The company took over my Part A and Part B from Social Security with no increase and gave me Part C which is not the expensive Part D but includes both A and B and gives full drug coverage.

[Paper Roses]

11. Good Morning freshwest,

Thank you for giving me insight into part C of Medicare. I read your detailed information in my initial post about drug coverage. I should have replied but let time pass without doing so and I apologize.

I will admit that I may have made some errors in choosing Medicare coverage when I turned 65. I went to seminars given by two of my states largest health insurance providers(HMO's) and made a choice as to which one I felt offered the best coverage to me at the time. I was healthy and really gave no thought to drug coverage. The premiums were affordable and for these past few years, I just paid the bill without much question. Also, my financial situation was much different almost 7 years ago.

For the last year or so, I have given thought to picking up drug coverage. I knew there was a penalty but not how much and certainly not enough to made the cost of my coverage so high.

I never gave much thought to part C, and I don't remember why. I am now going to ride the year out but will do all I can to figure out what to do about my coverage. Your detailed information was a great help to me to see the options.

As I get older, I find that coping with these major issues a big chore. I know that I am responsible to myself to figure out these things but somehow, action on my part was lost is time and, perhaps laziness.

My search into options will start ASAP. I will have to find out all I can about PPO's and HMO's,
Perhaps I will decide to pick up drug coverage with my current provider. During the coming year, I will be selling my house, downsizing to a small condo or apartment and trying to find a way to keep the wolf from the door. I am a widow and trying to cope as best I can. My husband died shortly before I was eligible for Medicare. Perhaps I was too lost in my attempt to cope with everything at the time to do proper research.

Through these past few years, I should have taken better charge of my medical affairs and tended to this sooner. Hindsight is great.I find myself hiding from these decisions, perhaps because I don't know where to go to get the best information. Being alone does alter the way I think and cope.

I thank you again and have bookmarked your reply to my post for reference.

[freshwest]

14. You're welcome. I've had a lot of topsy turvy in the last decade and had to make hard choices.

I understand you are busy and still grieving over your spouse. And that your health is still good, while mine is not so this year is one for me working on getting back to health as much as possible. Wish you success this year.