I feel somewhat qualified, since I retired in 2016, and have had several different supplementals.
When you turn 65, you must by law enroll in Medicare Part A. You don’t have to use it until you retire.
When you retire you must enroll in Medicare Part B. Parts A & B do not cover much, if that’s all you have and you have a catastrophic health problem you will go bankrupt.
This is where the various supplemental plans come in. You need to be careful about what the different plans offer in terms of prescriptions, vision, dental, co-pays and out of pocket.
The cheaper the plan the less you get.
Your Part B is deducted straight from your SS check. It used to be $134 when I started, now it’s $205 per month.
The cheapest supplemental will not cost any thing more than what SS already deducts. BUT, the co-pays, out of pocket, etc will be high.
I had a Humana plan like that. It was discovered I had been slowly bleeding to death from a huge stomach ulcer. Three days in the hospital plus four units of blood plus everything else was well over $20,000. The hospital wrote $16,000 off, praise God. I ended up paying about $1,000. Then there was the separate bill from the internist who had to scope me from both ends to find the bleeding. That was thousands upon thousands more. I paid $100/month for well over a year.
I learned my lesson, in the last open enrollment I switched to USAA Plan F. This covers everything with no co pays no out of pocket, nothing. Covers vision, dental, and my prescriptions are $5 each for a 90 day supply.
Of course, this costs more. I now pay $224 per month on top of the $205.
But when I get my total knee replacement later this year it will be well worth it.
My first one was $48,000 just for the parts and surgeons. That did not include any of the hospital bill.
Remember when Biden made such a big deal about a 5.9 % SS increase? Medicare went up almost 15%.
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