I have Medicare, and Medicaid as secondary but any decent doctors do not take either of those in my area. I've also searched other areas as well that are 300 miles south of me. What I need to do is find an affordable plan that I can afford. I'm waiting to hear from my sister that has blue cross, blue shield for 48 a month. I don't know much about hers but it covers a lot. I know there will be some damn deductible with anything I can afford but I simply have to spend up to my last dime so I can even see a decent doctor. They all want to big bucks and who can blame them. I don't even know if "paying" for insurance will help me with dental and vision as well, or even get me better care. It's all sounding as if it's going to hell. My sis lives in a larger city and had to go into the hospital for pneumonia. she said they didn't give her a gown even, and she waited a long time for a bed. Coos Bay, North Bend up in Oregon. She said it was awful, the lack of nurses and care. Maybe paying more won't get me more at all, but if anyone has a good plan, maybe through AARP, something big-shot doctors will accept, please let me know, Thanks much, Denise BTW if you have great doctors, and hospitals near you please don't tell me. I don't need to be reminded that I live in the a-hole of the USA.
@Denise Evans - I so do hear you. We had excellent advantage plan in Texas. No monthly premium. Moved to Kansas , guess we will die early. Damn hospital here can not keep a doctor. Then the ones they do have are visiting only - most from Colorado. Plus there is virtually no insurance choices and what is offered the doctors and hospital do not want to accept. So since moving here we only have Medicare and a RX insurance thru Cigna. Coigna is leaving Kansas in 2024. The plan we had in Texas of course you cant get here. You can forget dental and hearing unless you pay, and even at that most dental is not worth a flip. I need periodontal have not been in almost 3 years. My teeth look okay but they are not. So search and I hope you find something.
We have Humana and are really happy with it @Denise Evans . What we have is for low income people and you would probably also qualify, it is a Humana Advantage SNP (special needs plan), and since it is an advantage plan, it also covers eye exams, dental, and hearing benefits. There are extra benefits like free Silver Sneakers membership, which works with many fitness centers nationwide. We have been using that member ship ever since we started with our advantage plan. Humana also has an OTC (over the counter) allowance that you can use for things like vitamins and other medical items, as well as spend it for groceries at Walmart. They have an exercise program called Go365, and when you have medical tests you get points, and when you exercise you get points, and those points can be used for gift cards. Your medicaid will pay for this program, you just need to sign up for the advantage plan.
I'm so sorry Hedi, I'm almost in tears over this thing today. I wanted to have a CAC scan to make sure my arteries are ok around my heart, but they don't even do them in my area, so I got on this subject of finding insurance. We can't keep doctors or nurses, no one wants to live in this place! But how are we supposed to move, when we don't even know if it's better anywhere else. I'd love to stay in a small town, but I feel I'll have to move if I get the chance.
I read something awful about the Medicare Advantage, can't remember now but I'll see if I can find it again. It sounds good, all you said, but I'm not sure doctors here would take it either. I'll check though ok Denise
Humana has a list of doctors in their plan for each area, and you can also look at a doctor’s website and see if they take Humana Insurance. United Health Care is another good insurance carrier, and they have a SNP plan almost like Humana has; so you can also see if your doctors accept UHC when you look at their website and the list of providers they accept. All that both Bobby and I have ever had is either a Humana or UHC Advantage plan, Denise, and it has covered every single thing I have had to have done for my heart failure, pacemaker, and all of the accompanying tests that go with heart problems. We found an insurance agent who can provide insurance for all of the companies, and he goes over the new plans each year and give us recommendations; but we are so satisfied with the Humana benefits, we have stayed with the Advantage plan we have. Here is the website and it shows the different plans they have. https://www.humana.com/medicare/medicare-advantage-plans/humana-special-needs
I just remembered I had Humana @Yvonne Smith and they switched me over, without me hearing or knowing, to Wellcare? Not sure if I had the choice now come to think about it. I didn't even fully understand what the whole Medicare Advantage program was about. I knew a little, enough to know it was just added automatically to my Medicare.
I kid you not Humana has 2 plans here. and that is the one no doctor or hospital wants to take. We had the Caren Care advantage plan and saved us thousands of dollars
I'm afraid I will find out the same thing, but I'll look at it, hope to find an insurance agent that will help me figure it out. I'm not doing anything until I know there are doctor near enough to me where I can change from this dirt-water clinic I go to now.
This is why it is good to find an insurance agent who will take care of these things for you. When I first had medicare, they put me on some Cigna plan that was from Medicaid, but it did virtually NOTHING except cover doctor and hospital, none of the extra plans that our Humana plan has. When Bobby was signing up for medicare, we accidentally found our insurance agent, and he was explaining all of the benefits that Bobby could have, and I asked if there was some way that I could change and have all of those benefits, too. Jassen changed my plan from the Cigna worthless one over to United Health Care, and we both had that for a while, and then we moved to Humana when Jassen recommended their advantage plan. Because we get the free gift cards just for walking steps or exercising each month, we have stayed with Humana, but UHC is a good company , too. Denise, when you look up any doctor near you (or call their office), you can see what insurance companies they accept. Just ask if they take Humana insurance, and if they say yes, then you are okay with that doctor. A few calls or internet searches should tell you which doctors accept which companies in your area of California.
Our agent is only licensed for Alabama, and maybe other states near here. It does not cost to find an agent, and if you ask your car insurance agent, it is possible that he also sells health insurance. If not, he can probably recommend an agent who does medicare insurance.
I called her first, my State Farm Agent. I don't know how to get as lucky as you guys did. It's a crap-shoot.
Hey Yvonne, Can you or bobbie tell me what "type" of agent you have? They list off the "types" in the first page of this site: https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/105-type/findagtbrk.cfm
We have regular Medicare with AARP/United Healthcare Plan F (what it was called when we took it out over 10 years ago). It has been uniformly excellent for both of us. Between us, we’ve had multiple surgeries, cancer, paid for nothing but a weird sling one time; I’m on 4 common prescriptions and pay nothing out of pocket for them. We also have great doctors, all of them. This is Maryland though with top medical centers, the NIH, and a big biomedical research community. We’re lucky that way.