I don't know that it's necessarily the hospital. Rather, I'd suspect they're getting the government lists of people on Medicare or about to go on Medicare. Every year, I hear from pretty much every plan that does business here. I especially hate the ones that are made to look like they're official government correspondence, but they just go into the shredder.
This is exactly right, and the same thing happens with us each year. for at least 3 months in the autumn, we get offered for new medicare plans from every company that operates in our area. An interesting thing this year is that the doctor where Bobby and I have been going even sent me a message about their medicare plan, and so did our bank. It appears that the insurance companies are going all out to capture new people. United Health Care is the largest medicare advantage company, probably a lot because they market through AARP. Just like Humana did, UHC is also upping the extra benefits this year, at least from what their ads are saying.
I have a supplemental with Aetna. It seems to pay for everything medicare does not. Even my chiro. I haven't gone for eye or dental yet. They sent me a note to ignore the commercials saying we should check with the ads on tv with our zip codes about all the free stuff we need to apply for as they are just other insurance companies, not government programs in themselves.
I think that most of the ads are for other various insurance companies, and some of the benefits are the same as we have on our advantage plan with Humana. I think that the reason they make the big deal about the zip code being a factor is just to weed out the callers who do not live in the areas where that particular insurance company is licensed, and it has nothing to do with whether you can qualify for the benefits or not.
Straight Medicare has worked just FINE for me for 19 yrs. I buy no supplemental and work with prevention (supplements) to keep more healthy and away from docs and hospitals. Not perfect but pretty damn near. And if something comes up with a copay that can be a challenge, the providers NEGOTIATE....I own nothing so they can't threaten me to take this or that.
My mother-in-law aka Jakes Mon who was a wise lady plus my informed friends all went with AARP UHC so we did also. I've had it for 8 years and never paid a dime for any care, [ of course no dental]. Medical bills can cause seniors to lose their home and other property, it is like property insurance for us. If we didn't own the home, we may still have it because many plans are not accepted by doctors, first thing they ask is who is your provider. So far all prefer UHC.
I didn't know the importance of electing Medicare Part D when I became eligible for Medicare. I also didn't realize that my primary insurance termed when I became eligible for Medicare so there went my prescription coverage. Now that I have a medicare advantage plan I have been informed that I may be penalized for not having prescription coverage during a period of time before actually enrolling in the medicare plan. Penalized meaning higher medicare premium for the rest of my life. I'm not complaining about it and I expect even after providing how I was paying for my medications to avoid the penalty I still may have to pay for my lack of knowledge and not thoroughly reading my former health insurance policy.
Von this is rediculous, I didn't know this. " Now that I have a medicare advantage plan I have been informed that I may be penalized for not having prescription coverage during a period of time before actually enrolling in the Medicare plan. Penalized meaning higher medicare premiu". This is not right. We keep this AARP just in case our medicare doesn't cover the medical bills and they put a lien on our property. But that is expensive and can hurt when other unexpected things happen, like autos tearing up. We keep the AARP
Sadly, it doesn't seem right that Medicare would impose a penalty for a period when someone doesn't have prescription coverage before becoming eligible for Medicare. If I do get penalized I am going to dispute the decision.
Von, I'd recommend that you take @Yvonne Smith 's advice and contact a reputable insurance agent. They don't charge anything to help you navigate through the different plans and it can be a help. Hopefully since this is your first year of Medicare it is not too late to avoid any penalties, but you really need someone to help you sift through the details. That said, there is a wealth of information on the Medicare website.
Speaking of Medicare penalties... I just remembered that a couple of years ago we made a sizeable withdrawal from a retirement plan to make use of the one-time "NUA" (net unrealized appreciation)... whatever that means. (Recommended by our financial advisor to help with taxes.) Anyway, that resulted in a large increase in our taxable income for that year. (Even though we didn't actually withdraw any money; it was just moved between accounts.) Since Medicare premiums are based on income, the next year our Medicare premiums DOUBLED. I was freaked out and thought the increase would be forever, but apparently they reassess income annually so the next year the premiums went back to "normal." It did aggravate me to have to pay double premiums for each of us for an entire year, though. So they get you one way or another... save a little on taxes and they'll gouge you on Medicare premiums.
We have had our insurance agent ever since Bobby started getting medicare. I was on a program that didn’t provide any of the extra benefits, and when Jassen explained to Bobby what all he could have along with his advantage plan, I asked if there was any way that I could change over to the same plan and have those extra benefits also. Every year, when the new medicare supplement plans come out, Jassen looks through them, and then if he thinks a different plan would benefit us better than what we have, he calls us in to his office and we go over the information on both of the plans and make a decision which one we want. Jassen is a broker, so he can represent any insurance company, and I believe that this is a good thing when you want to find the best plan, and avoid any pitfalls, like the back charging @Von Jones wrote about. If you have a local agent for house, life, or car insurance, they probably carry health insurance, too; so that might be a good place to start. If they do not carry medicare insurance, they can recommend you to another reputable agent. Available plans change every year with different benefits from each company; so it is good to review what you have and what is available every fall when the open enrollment happens.
According to the latest figures available (2019) Medicare Advantage (Part C) programs cost the Medicare budget an average of $321 more per year, per enrollee, than those on Medicare alone. That's one reason why the insurance companies are pushing the plans so much. If it means more people can afford health insurance it's not a bad thing. But in 2022 more than 28 million people are enrolled in Plan C, which amounts to about $9 billion in extra costs per year. It just means the deficit will have to be addressed a little sooner. The question is, how much of the $9 billion is going to increased benefits to enrollees, and how much is going to the insurance companies.