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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Ok, I’m in my 7 month window, and I have a question I hope someone can answer. I am going to do Medicare A & B with a supplemental. Does anyone know if I can sign up for A&B online now, and in a few weeks when I’ve figured out what supplemental to get sign up for that then (still in my 7 month window). Or do I have to have it all figured out before I start the online signup? I know I’m overly worried about this because we’ve already had one online mishap - Steve retired early, so we had to get medical insurance before we were eligible for Medicare, and when he was going through the online form - the prompt was “income in a specific month”, he typed in 0 and immediately got rerouted to Medicaid, and he couldn’t back out of it and we ended up with Medicaid cards, (even though we don’t qualify) and it took multiple phone calls to clear it up. (We kept getting letters about it even after we thought we had cancelled). So I really dont want to mess this up! This all feels a little more complicated than it should be. 
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Jodi| Has Achieved Nirvana |
Lol. I just answered my own question.  “Sign up for Medicare when you're first eligible. Answer a few questions to find out when you can sign up for Medicare. The best time to buy a Medigap policy is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period. This is the 6-month period that starts the first day of the month you're 65 or older and signed up for Part B. After this period, your options to buy a Medigap policy may be limited and the policy may cost more.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
I really hate having to figure stuff like this out.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
In the immortal words of Bill Clinton, “Ah feel your pain.”  The agent you use for your supplement (and you want an agent for this, IMHO) will be able to help you through the process. Its not real hard but its easy to mess up.
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Minor Deity |
Yep, Steve speaks sooth. I have an agent we've been very happy with. This year he determined that MFR in fact did not need a part D plan and signed her up for a zero premium plan. I can send you his contact info if you like. he's excellent at explaining the costs vs benefits of the supplementals and Part D plans. We chose traditional Medicare plus supplement too. Advantage plans can make you jump through more hoops to get the treatments you want.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
I likely need a Montana agent. We had issues finding medical insurance, there just aren’t that many choices here.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
We found the tool on Medicare.gov a good place to start to see what's available. https://www.medicare.gov/plan-...#/?year=2024&lang=en We haven't used an agent. Mr wtg has Plan F for his supplement, but I had to go with Plan G because F was no longer available. Same coverage, but I have to pay my annual Medicare deductible. Neither of us takes any prescription meds, so picking a Part D plan is a carp shoot. There are zero premium plans available around here, but we didn't go with one.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
You can find some interesting discussion and insights on this forum for insurance agents. Sample (it's an old thread, I picked it at random): https://www.insurance-forums.c...-on-med-supps.26622/
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
Passing along FWIW for anyone who might be considering a move... You're guaranteed acceptance during that initial 6 month period after you become eligible for Medicare. A friend went on Medicare just before she planned a move to a different state. She looked at plans that were available in both states before deciding which company to go with. She was going to be in Illinois for a while but was building a house in Washington so she and her mom could be closer to other family. She wanted to avoid having to apply for Medigap insurance with a different insurer in Washington; she would have been outside the 6 month guaranteed acceptance window. Not something I would ever think of, but there it is...
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| Minor Deity |
I'm not sure you need someone from Montana. Traditional Medicare is the same everywhere. That would not be true with commercial insurance.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
The agent is to help with the supplemental insurance choices. I owe you all a huge THANK YOU for suggesting an agent. I called a local independent agent, she told me I needed to sign up for A & B first, then to make an appointment with her to figure out the supplemental. She suggested I go down to the local SS office, that it *might* be quicker than signing up online. Nice thing about living in a small city of 34K - We went this morning (nothing in this town is more than about 10 minutes from our house) there was no one else there, the security guard was super friendly, it took less than 15 minutes for the guy behind the window to send off my application. So when I get it back in the mail (2-3 weeks) I’ll go get help from the agent. Yay.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
jodi, the site I linked to, https://www.medicare.gov/plan-...#/?year=2024&lang=en is not about Medicare A and B. After you put in your zip code, it asks you whether you want to see the Medicare Advantage plans (Part C), Medicare drug plans (Part D), or Medigap (aka supplemental) policies that are available in your zip code. You put in your age and whether you smoke. For the Medigap plans, it asks if you want to see plans with spousal discounts; not all insurers offer them. Even if you're want to work with an agent, you can see what is available to you and what it will cost so you can check things out before you meet with them, and before you've actually gotten your confirmation letter re Medicare A and B enrollment. The premium will be the same whether you use an agent or not. eta: I think agents use the same site to do their analysis. This article is geared toward them, and tells them how to use the redesigned (2020) medicare.gov Plan Finder site. It does a much better job of explaining it than I did... https://blog.newhorizonsmktg.c...plan-finder-tool6520
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| czarina Has Achieved Nirvana  |
jodi, you and steve really should talk to our medicare insurance agency in helena. they handled this brilliantly for us and it doesn't cost you a dime. very trustworthy, they know all the medicare ins and outs, and they make the whole process painless. message me and i'll give you our agent's contact info.
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| czarina Has Achieved Nirvana |
oops, i see you found one. well, i can't recommend ours highly enough. you can do the whole thing by phone or email, i'm pretty sure.
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| czarina Has Achieved Nirvana |
btw, we ended up going with plan G. lots of good reasons for this, mostly having to do with no surprises down the road--you always know how much your medical expenses will be. mr pique just looked up our agent for you: grace waggoner at jacoby insurance in helena.
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