Alternative To Company Med Insurance After 65?

[rkruz]

Im being kicked out of retire plan as I turn 65 and the insurance choices offered through the company dont make financial sense. Im hoping there is some advise here.
Here is the situtation:
Option A. Continue Retire Medical
- Im on retire medical now with my wife (the Boeing company) for $210/Month to cover both of us.
- I turn 65 in August (my wife is 5 years younger) and Boeing kicks me out plan and requires me to buy a Bluecross Medicare Supplemental (only 1 choice) through them for $371/month+ $105/month (to maintain BlueCross coverage for wife). This is in addtion to Medicare of $150/month for a total of $626/month. No eyecare, dental or gym membership
- With this Boeing plan I work through Medicare as primary and the Boeing/Bluecross supplemental only covers 80% of the approved 20% that Medicare does not cover.

How does that make sense to pay so much for so little in return from Boeing Bluecross?

Option B Get individual Med Insurance.
When I look at the 65+ Bluecross plan as an individual I only pay the Medicare $150/moth and get HMO type coverage with good copays, prescription coverage and also include eyecare and for dental and a gym membership. The kicker is that since Im not under Boeing insurance my wife will have get her own plan for $593/month. This then becomes a total of $743/month.

Do I have less expensive alternative then option A above?

Seems like Boeing/Bluecross med insurance is really screwing us to get so little when comparing to the Bluecross 65+ HMO.

Advise appreciated.

 

[MBSC]

Option B sounds like a Medicare Advantage plan instead of a Medicare supplement (Medigap). An HMO will use a provider network which is something to consider if you plan to travel during retirement. The individual plan for the wife probably has a smaller provider network than the group plan and is probably age-rated, meaning the premiums will increase significantly each year for both age and inflation until she is Medicare eligible.

With the instability in the under 65 individual market at this time, there is no guarantee individual plans will still be available in your area in 2019, 2020, etc. until she is age 65.

Under option 'A' you are getting the group rate so there are no increases for age. I would choose option 'A' for these reasons and re-visit the situation once she is Medicare eligible. Think of it as paying $476/month for the wife to have good coverage.

The alternative is to keep your income low (below $60k for a couple) to qualify for premium subsidies on her option B individual plan. But, there is also no guarantee the subsidies will continue.

 

[InsuranceGal32]

Depending on what state you live you may or may not have other options. Its hard to say without knowing all of the details of your situation. You can shop around with different providers as far as Medicare advantage and Medicare supplement plans.

As far as your wife; there are alternative non-traditional options she can take advantage of until she reaches age 65.

I don't know if you still need help but if you do I will be glad to see what I can do for you and your family.

 

[JC]

Im being kicked out of retire plan as I turn 65 and the insurance choices offered through the company dont make financial sense. Im hoping there is some advise here.
Here is the situtation:
Option A. Continue Retire Medical
- Im on retire medical now with my wife (the Boeing company) for $210/Month to cover both of us.
- I turn 65 in August (my wife is 5 years younger) and Boeing kicks me out plan and requires me to buy a Bluecross Medicare Supplemental (only 1 choice) through them for $371/month+ $105/month (to maintain BlueCross coverage for wife). This is in addtion to Medicare of $150/month for a total of $626/month. No eyecare, dental or gym membership
- With this Boeing plan I work through Medicare as primary and the Boeing/Bluecross supplemental only covers 80% of the approved 20% that Medicare does not cover.

How does that make sense to pay so much for so little in return from Boeing Bluecross?

Option B Get individual Med Insurance.
When I look at the 65+ Bluecross plan as an individual I only pay the Medicare $150/moth and get HMO type coverage with good copays, prescription coverage and also include eyecare and for dental and a gym membership. The kicker is that since Im not under Boeing insurance my wife will have get her own plan for $593/month. This then becomes a total of $743/month.

Do I have less expensive alternative then option A above?

Seems like Boeing/Bluecross med insurance is really screwing us to get so little when comparing to the Bluecross 65+ HMO.

Advise appreciated.

First of all I wouldn't buy a supp plan through the retirement at that price as you can get the same coverage for about half that amount through a medicare supp program. The #1 thing I would consider in making this decision is the prescription drugs. While you can most definately get a lower cost plan dropping their coverage all together, if you have high cost medications you could be putting all that savings back in the cost of meds because of Medicares covers gap. If you want some help reviewing these options and seeing what your other choices are let me know. I am more then happy to assist.

 

[vap]

First of all I wouldn't buy a supp plan through the retirement at that price as you can get the same coverage for about half that amount through a medicare supp program. The #1 thing I would consider in making this decision is the prescription drugs. While you can most definately get a lower cost plan dropping their coverage all together, if you have high cost medications you could be putting all that savings back in the cost of meds because of Medicares covers gap. If you want some help reviewing these options and seeing what your other choices are let me know. I am more then happy to assist.

 

[vap]

Also interested in figuring out whether (expensive-$371/mo) Boeing plan makes financial sense. Once you give it up, it's gone forever. One never knows what prescriptions one will be on from year to year. It appears that the cost of the premium alone is some $3000 more per year. However, if I'm not mistaken, the donut hole is about that much. Can anyone give the pros and cons.

 

[JC]

Also interested in figuring out whether (expensive-$371/mo) Boeing plan makes financial sense. Once you give it up, it's gone forever. One never knows what prescriptions one will be on from year to year. It appears that the cost of the premium alone is some $3000 more per year. However, if I'm not mistaken, the donut hole is about that much. Can anyone give the pros and cons.

Because every situation is different it's very difficult to give you pros and cons as to how it relates to you.
You should call and get a more in depth analysis. But as far as the doughnut hole the cost that you pay once you reach it has been decreasing and will be completely eliminated by 2020