Welcome to the Boomer Benefits channel, where we guide you through Medicare so you can make confident healthcare decisions. We are a Medicare brokerage that has helped tens of thousands of baby boomers with their Medicare plan enrollment across the country! When you work with our team, we stand by you and will provide free claims support for the life of your policy.
Subscribe now to learn: • How Medicare works and what it costs • Which parts of Medicare you need • When to enroll in Medicare to avoid penalties • What Medicare covers and what it doesn't • How to get free claims support for life
And so much more! Watch now, and don't hesitate to ask questions. Enjoy!
Seems there was no mention of MOOP for Plan N vs Plan G. So G only has the annual B deductible and zero MOOP, but I have heard others say Plan N has the same B deductible PLUS around $7800 MOOP. Seems her point about the premium $20 difference is a touch understated vs the reality of several thousand dollars possible difference when including Plan N's MOOP. Seems to me the $20per month savings could become a $700 per month MOOP.😮
Hi, Leaning towards Plan G. I have a bigger question. My wife will be turning 65 in 2025. During 2029, the last of the Boomers will be turning 65. Any plans to rename “Boomer Benefits” to “Generation X Benefits”? Thank you, Gordon
I have a question about Medicare claim denials. I'm new to Medicare had a lab test performed and had to sign a ABN because there is a chance Medicare won't cover it. If they don't will I be charged the Medicare approved amount or the full amount as if I didn't even have Medicare? This is original Medicare.
I think what people also have to consider is that in the beginning, when you're healthy, plan n might be good, but when you get older and you possibly get some health conditions and you want to go to g, you won't be able to, because you won't be able to pass underwriting.
One of the biggest things you can do to save money on a Medicare supplement is to avoid purchasing from a carrier that routinely "closes the book" on a block of business. Mutual of Omaha does this every few years through their multiple subsidiaries. The result is soaring annual rate increases. And if you have health issues, you will be stuck in a plan that will soon become unaffordable. Be sure to verify this with your broker.
I wanted peace of mind that being said, I selected plan G. It was worth paying a few dollars more. I made this decision with the help of Boomer Benefits, which I truly appreciate and want to thank you so much.
Networks don't have to be a deal breaker? What does that even mean? Networks are a BIG problem for advantage plans. Original Medicare has no network. Go to any doctors hospital you want.
One of the costliest Medicare mistakes someone can make is signing up for a Medicare supplement with an insurance company that routinely “closes the book” on their customers. Companies like Mutual of Omaha use this deceptive tactic to lock unwitting victims into plans with massive annual rate increases. Boomer Benefits needs to be more vocal in warning their customers about this trickery.
It would be helpful to distinctly address the situation of self-employed applicants who have an HSA-qualified individual insurance policy from the Healthcare Marketplace (ACA/"ObamaCare"). Although I believe the same rules apply to these folks as those on a small-employer insurance plan (MUST enroll in Medicare for age 65 and can no longer contribute to an HSA once Medicare coverage begins), it would be great to specifically address this segment of the population as well.
Hi, no one has helped me yet? I guess there is no answer. I am a youthful looking 66-year-old Italian man I keep in shape and keep up on my appearance. I am on Medicare. I have not been to a dentist in 10 years all the work I previously had done! a three or four tooth bridge as they also grinded good teeth to make the bridge fit properly? Or so I was told? I also had crowns and whitening. They told me the bridge they would last 8 to 10 years and they were correct. They fell out and I could do nothing. Now I also have a slight gap in the middle of my teeth. I had a beaming smile, but I no longer smile, because I do not like the gap, and put a little piece of white napkin or white bubblegum behind the gap and it looks great in pictures. There has to be some simpler way for them to fill the gap in also. Anyway, I love Medicare, but I can’t deal with these years of having no dental care😔 I also would like eyecare and hearing. Dental prices are outrageous. I don’t understand why? I’m a 66-year-old man. On SSD, which is about to change to regular social security soon. I had a great marriage for 35 years, and we had a heartbreaking loss of our daughter and she knew our marriage was on the rocks one of the last things she said to me was dad if you and mom can’t make it work! go out there and you can find someone nice you will have no problem! losing her and those words of encouragement that once made me smile. are now breaking my heart. and I would like to go out and possibly meet someone nice but my teeth are bothering me basically the back teeth and the gap. My teeth shifted the only thing keeping my teeth going I believe is the mouthwash act. Because of the Act a dentist recommended it to me.thank God. I’m looking through dental plans and it’s hopeless. What I’m reading is they don’t help much at all? Could someone please help me? someone told me Delta Dental another friend told me Ameritas and Sprint. But I read reviews and none of them had any good client reviews except one review with sprint. Please help me. I’m in my golden years now and I need help with my teeth and I just do not have thousands of dollars. If anyone could help with any Ideas or Dental Plans please let me know. thank you ❤. And God Bless you all!
Hi Anthony - we hate to hear this! It's true that it can be hard to find a dental plan. We have many seniors discuss this in our Facebook group - i encourage you to join and see if you can look through the options others have found for coverage. You can join here - facebook.com/groups/BoomerBenefits
I have had Aetna medicare advantage for 18 months . So far so good. It pays for my gym membership. My wife had emergency gall bladder operation and we paid out 0 for it. We also received free meals for 2 weeks. We will go year to year with it. It looks like next year 2025 might not be as good. We also save about $ 75 bucks each a month
I'm curious if this is an option. I have Tricare and am required to obtain Medicare to keep Tricare, however I will be an expat when I begin Medicare and Medicare does not cover expats, therefore Medicare is useless to me and the monthly premium is a waste. I maintain an address in the states but do not live at that address. Since Medicare does not cover expats can I get MA plan that includes a giveback as I do see that option for my zip code? Both traditional Medicare and MA are useless as an expat, I don't think I would even be able process a claim refund with either of them and I would still need to go through Tricare to get reimbursed.
Yes, you can have a plan with the part b giveback! You will just want to make sure the SS office has the address you are enrolling at as your address on file.
Aa a postal retiree, I'm using the SEP to enroll in Medicare's part B, PENALTY FREE. Then will SUSPEND my fehb & join a 0 premium medicare advantage plan this fall during open season. There's NO WAY any plans in the new PSHBP will offer any 0 premium plans. So in essence, medicare becomes primary payers & your pshb is second & pays very little after medicare pays its share. So they pocket most of your premium & you end up paying twice the premiums for the same coverage, and unless you have a catastrophic year they benefit & you loose. I don't trust the pshb plans & since MANY carriers are NOT participating, you are left with little to choose from. That certainly relates to higher premiums, less coverage and no real benefits.
Thank you for posting. I, too, am a postal retiree. I am 67. When I was eligible for Medicare, I only took Medicare Part A because it was free and I stayed with FEHB Independent Health. I understood that by not signing up for Part B, I would be subject to a penalty, but did not care because it appeared to me that my FEHB offered better plans than Medicare. Granted for $174/month more, but if I ever had to use something like an ambulance, I would pay more than my current health plan and so any savings would be eaten up. Now with this SEP thing and not knowing what the PSHB plans look like (I was told that we will know in August what the plans will be), I need to revisit my decision about signing up for Medicare. Not happy about this because I am sure at the end of the day, I will get less coverage than I have now. Maybe save a little money, but that money will be eaten up if I ever have to use the Medicare health coverage. I will be sitting down tomorrow with a Medicare advisor to help me figure out what to do. My current plan with FEHB costs $286.87 a month and the Federal government picks up the remaining $588.10/month cost of the premium. Medicare currently costs $174.70/month. Who knows what it will cost in 2024. I already spoke with a representative from my current insurance plan and that person said that Independent Health is not participating in PSHB in 2025. The great health insurance benefit we earned from working for the Postal Service is going to be taken away from us and we will be left with junk. Hopefully tomorrow, I can figure out what is the best Medicare plan, but because that is so complicated, no doubt, I will choose the wrong plan. Plus who knows what the plans for 2025 are going to look like and so this will make my decision harder. I am definitely going to go with just suspending health insurance with the postal service in case down the road Medicare proves to be horrible insurance and I want to reinstate my health insurance with FEHB/PSHB.
@lynnm.9243 Smart move. I already have an agent and we have settled on 2 different plans that are currently available for me. Now to see if the are again offered this fall. Already signed up & have my new medicare card effective 1/2/25. Also, I have my suspension form from OPM. Now to choose a medicare advantage plan, suspend my fehb, send info to OPM and hope they don't screw it up !! Best if luck to you. I'm sure working with an agent you will be able to find a suitable medicare advantage plan that fits your needs. Get that suspension form from OPM , & you will be ready to go. Too bad the postal system pulled the rug out from under us & took away promised benefits they gave us when we started our career. But, just like the government to be Indian givers and not care how it impacts us now. They could care less, so I want NOTHING to do with any plans they offer as they will certainly be higher premiums plus paying medicare part B = way more than I can afford. Good luck
@@JanetVaughn-cm3et reading what you are doing has helped me figure this out. Thanks again for posting. Lol, yes, OPM can mess this up and good luck trying to get in touch with anyone there. It is sad what the postal service is doing to its retirees. Promises made and promises broken, but what else is new. That is what concerns me, switching to Medicare might be the same switcheroo. Oh, well, I have been retired for over 15 years, so at least I was able to have nice health insurance for a while. I feel for those who are approaching retirement and what they thought they were getting is not what they were promised and they do not even get to use it for a little while.
We had FEHB and Medicare when we retired.Since Medicare premiums are linked to your income in retirement, it is not beneficial to have both BCBS. If your premium is more than the catastrophic limit of FEHB, it is not financially better to subscribe to both FEHB and Medicare. I cancelled our medicare.
Regarding Medicare and FEHB, I have both Medicare A and B, and Federal Blue Cross Blue Shield. During last year’s FEHB Open Season, many federal retirees were automatically enrolled in a Medicare Part D Prescription plan, overriding their plan’s prescription drug benefit. I was one of those retirees. We did have the option to opt out, but since it was at no extra cost to me, I opted to be in it. However, I should add that your Part D cost is income driven. Meaning, it’s no cost if your modified adjusted income is $103,000 or less for singles, $206,000 or less for marrieds. If I was to go over the $103,000 income limit, I could opt out and my FEHB Prescription Plan would take over. My question is: Since prior to being enrolled in Part D, my BC/BS monthly premium included prescription drugs. However, now being in Medicare Part D, if it overrides my prior BC/BS prescription plan, why is my monthly BC/BS plan the same amount? It doesn’t reflect a reduction to my plan that is now not covering prescription drugs. So why am I paying a monthly BC/BS premium as if it still included a prescription drug plan?
I really wish there was some way Boomer Benefits could be involved with FEHB recipients, their help navigating through the morass of health insurance, claims and benefits would be invaluable.
HI there - here is a breakdown from Medicare.gov "Of the total cost of the drug, the manufacturer pays 70% to discount the price for you. Then your plan pays 5% of the cost. Together, the manufacturer and plan cover 75% of the cost. You pay 25% of the cost of the drug."
@@BoomerBenefits I’ve been through that page 10 times already lol. Whoever wrote it didn’t do a great job… 😂 Here’s my issue: How can the manufacturer “pay” for its own discount? It doesn’t make any sense. Drug manufacturers are SELLERS, and sellers don’t pay $, they receive $. If I put my car up for sale asking $10,000 and mark it down to $3000 for the buyer, I’m not “paying” $7000 to myself for a 70% discount. A discount is a discount, not a payment to yourself. It’s idiotic language designed to make Pharma look good. Giving a discount on an INSANE markup isn’t “paying” for anything.
Thanks for this video. It’s actually been really hard to find people covering this on RU-vid and when they do they don’t cover whether it might be preferable to go straight Medicare and not use the FEHB option. If you’re in the postal service you will have to sign up for Medicare A&B so the question after that is which route to take. I think people should be sure and read the policy of the FEHB plan they’re likely to take in detail and make sure they’re okay with the benefits and cost vs Medicare and a supplement. ( You have to drop FEHB completely if you want a supplement) Blue Cross Standard for example doesn’t coordinate with Medicare on part B drugs and only partially on skilled nursing. It does offer other coverage though such as hearing aid coverage. Its drug formulary is also a lot better than any part D plan in our area for 2024. It’s kind of a cross between a supplement and Medicare Advantage. Of course there are a lot of plans to choose from so you really want to do your research.
I'm already at a point where I can't get some tier 3 meds without paying something and I would love to go and Wegovy or Emgality, Trulicity etc... But the price is prohibitive for me especially when they demand that you get a 90-day supply. 2000 I'll have to do without.
We aren’t on Medicare yet so this won’t affect us right now but it is disappointing to hear. We have virtually appointments all the time. I have one doctor I see twice a year virtually and it’s worked out great. Fortunately our current insurance covers them with no problem but I foresee trouble when we switch to Medicare.
Mayo Clinic will have nothing to do with any medicare advantage plan. I personally have worked in the medical billing areas of hospitals and Dr offices. Medicare advantage plans are in a word nightmares, for the patients, the facilities, and the doctors. Go with traditional Medicare and obtain plan G in a medigap plan and pick up plan D for your scripts. That's the headache free way to go.
Yes concerned. That’s like charging me double at the grocery to cover the cost of people who buy more. Government needs to stop making everyone pay for everyone else. Another bite at the socialism apple.
I am disabled and very ill I have about 7 to 8 major hospital stays a year and 2 or 3 doctor appointments a week with about 12 specialist. With just Medicare I owed 20 % of everything. I have a Humana gold choice plus. I pay 12o a month more than standard medicare. My doctor visits to any in or out of network specialist or family doctor is free. No co pay. My meds teir 1 &2 are free, teir 3.. 4 bucks, teir 4 ..is 10 or 12 bucks, teir 5 is 20%. In hospital coverage cost me 0 per day in or out of net work, out paitent surgery $0, ER vist cost $95, Most test procedure cost 0 to 20 bucks to a few at 20 %. I just came out the hospital for a 5 day stay with a bad kidney infection on vancomycin 2 times a day one of the most expensive antibiotics made. My bill is zero except for the ER bill of 95bucks. I got a $7,200 set of hearing aids last year free of charge 100 % no cost to me. Rechargeable and will bluetooth with my phone stream music all that. I ger 2500 a year to spend on dental, I getabout $300 to spend on my eye glasses. Plus I get a $500 a year flex card to spend on any extra drugs hearing dental or vision.. Because of how sick I have been my insurance sends me 14 free never frozen moms meals a month to my house and they are great. I have gastroparesis and always in the hospital. My gastric doctor at the time wanted to do a feeding tube and just let me die a slow painful desk. I read about gastric pacemakers and talked to a human rep and we found a doctor 6hr from home that said it would help and could do. So I took a train to texas Humana approved it all fast I had it put in. I think I owed $250 humana paid $13000 and the hospital billed...... and thi make me laugh..... $455,000 and they wrote the rest off. I can and have physical therapy I did last year at zero cost following a hip replacement that only cost me a a couple hundred out of pocket. It is no doubt the best insurance I have ever had. I have central sleep apnea it has paid for 3 lab studies one auto cpap $1200 and now one ASV machine that cost over $4000. I have one script that is $1600 a month and only cost me a$12 a month. Several things take prior auths but they are fast often back with in the same day or 3 to 4 at max. I can not say enough good about my Humana Gold plus plan in oklahoma. I have had it going on 3 years and had another humana plan before that that had free monthly cost but it had more co pays but not outrageous. So yes there are some shit advantage plans and then them our some damn good and far better than standard medicare and a supplement plan. SO you can imagine when people just tear advantage plans a new one saying they are all full of hidden cost and blah blah. Just not True I love my plan it has out of network doctors and hospitals as well as great in plan ones. Like I said I have about 12 doctors. Sob far this year alone I have had about 5 weeks in the hospital and almost all of it was covered 100%. So please stop telling lies!
The main thing I spend a few hours a evening for a month or two during open enrollment and research. Don't look at the cheapest plan a month unless you are pretty healthy. Go for one with zero copays on all doctors
