Medical costs

[Tyme2fish]

Medical Costs:
Mind you, I'm not complaining because these procedures have and will prolong my life. Medicare Part A covers hospital costs of which I have just started to utilize. As have all of you working slobs I've paid into this plan through payroll deduction since it's inception.
Part B is deducted from my Social Security check and covers the doctor bills.
Part F covers what parts A and B don't cover and is an additional expense to me along with Part D which helps to cover some but not all of my prescription costs.
I looked on line and discovered that my Cat Scan was billed at over $3,000.00. WOW!! Sure glad I have insurance.
These next bills are something else I know will be costly, but again, I'm paying for insurance and will be covered.
To all those approaching Medicare, sign up for everything you can afford. One short hospital stay will far exceed any savings you might think you'll get from not getting a supplemental plan.

I'll estimate that my upcoming procedures and hospital stay will approach and maybe exceed 30K

 

[gm280]

Tyme, yes between hospital costs and prescription costs, staying alive longer gets costly for sure. And there are two very good reason for such high cost. First the huge insurance premiums the hospitals AND doctors have to pay because of so many frivolous lawsuits these days. And secondly the number of folks that use ER's for their colds and minor aches and pains because they don't pay for such visits. So either way, it does cost to live a bit longer. If you don't have insurance, you're in for a real shocker for sure. And if you do have insurance you're in for a real shocker when you see the monthly premiums for sure. Without getting into touchy issues, we really don't need anymore freeloaders...I can't afford it!

 

[Tyme2fish]

Mrs.Tyme is younger and I (we) pay for her private health insurance. That cost is 70% of her Social Security check and going up. This insurance is not Obama Care and the yearly rate now is $7200.00/yearly with a $6,000 deductible. She'll be 65 in 19 months.

 

[Volphin]

After my divorce I had to go without insurance for a while. I discovered that if you pay cash to the hospital and the docs, the cost is 25% of list price with insurance. It's a billing game they play to get proper reimbursement. The real cost of that MRI is $750. FYI

 

[garbageguy]

Tyme2, thanks for the heads up. Thoughts and prayers heading your way for your upcoming procedures.

 

[southkogs]

I spent three weeks in the hospital about 10 years ago while with an HMO ... my portion of the split was in that $30k vein. It is absolutely unreal what a shell game medical billing and medical insurance is, and I really can't blame the docs because some of those guys are actually having a hard time squeezing a living outta' the whole affair.

It is nice to live long enough to pay it all off though, eh?

 

[aspeck]

My mom is/was VERY healthy, so Part D was not an issue. She hardly ever took an aspirin or Tylenol. Now that she is 80 with dementia, she has 2 medicines she is to take, at the out of pocket cost of about $150 per month. Hmmm, what about Part D now to help out ... OUCH! 1% additional premium cost per month she did not have Part D ... that would be about 100 months .... okay, current meds are cheaper than premium. Makes for a very difficult situation. It is a touch decision as to the correct way to go about things ....

 

[Tyme2fish]

My mom is/was VERY healthy, so Part D was not an issue. She hardly ever took an aspirin or Tylenol. Now that she is 80 with dementia, she has 2 medicines she is to take, at the out of pocket cost of about $150 per month. Hmmm, what about Part D now to help out ... OUCH! 1% additional premium cost per month she did not have Part D ... that would be about 100 months .... okay, current meds are cheaper than premium. Makes for a very difficult situation. It is a touch decision as to the correct way to go about things ....

Yes,it's a tough decision on the Part D. What you also should consider is her future RX costs. I'd still say get her the Part D with penalty and all.

 

[bassman284]

Yeah, I'm trying to pick my Part D plan for next year on the Medicare.gov site. Very helpful site. Definitely not going to be my current provider. Every year it amazes me how premiums and copays are all over the map. I take Celebrex occasionally and this year the copay was $90 per month. Now it's gone generic and next year the price will be anywhere from $10 to $14.

I guess a lot of folks never change their Part D. I started on Medicare in 2011 and I've had 3 different plans so far and will be going to a 4th for 2016. There can be some pretty big differences from year to year.

 

[Tyme2fish]

I have an insurance agent that supposedly offers me the "best" plans. Is that true or is she trying to steer me to plans where she gets a percentage? At least I'm offered several options and she has educated me as to the different coverage's. She's coming to our house on Nov 3rd to discuss my options and also my wife's. Wife's is a crap shoot because she's not yet 65. Unfortunately, I think we'll have to bite the bullet and enroll in one of the "Obama Plans" strictly for the monthly premiums. Yeah, I know the coverage is crap and the deductible is high but in the long run I'm thinking it will save us a few dollars, as long as the wife stays healthy and doesn't actually need any care! Talk about a racket.