Somehow this thread evolved into a medicare thread which it is not but I have to throw my 2 cents in one last time because of what I am seeing posted here regarding medicare.
1. Medicare comes in 2 parts, part A and Part B. Part A hospitalization cost you nothing, Part B you will automatically be enrolled in at the age of 65 and coverers everything outside of the hospital , so you will have Part A at no cost and Part B at current cost of $170 a month will be taken from your social security check. Of course prudence on your part is required to make sure you get the proper notice that you are automatically being enrolled in Part B unless you "Opt Out"
So Part A and B pays 80% of all your medical bills except prescription drugs not given in a hospital setting (minus an irrelevant deductible) You are responsible for 20% of out of hospital costs (doctors ect) Does not include coverage outside of USA.
2. If you want you can buy additional insurance called Medigap from private Insurance companies. Medigap covers oil most all cases the other 20% that Medicare A and B doesnt pay. Chose plan G or N and you are all set.
3. You will then need drug coverage which would be Medicare part D at additional cost.
So you can keep your government Medicare A and B at a cost of $170 a month then select a Medigap private policy typically Plan N or Plan G and I private Drug policy Plan D.
So you will have Medicare A,B,G,D or A,B,N,D this will cover your medical expenses very well and almost never have a bill at a cost of in round numbers up to $400 a month but most likely closer to $350 or so.
All the plans above DO NOT include, dental, vision, hearing, over the counter products.
You can go to ANY doctor or hospital in the USA that accepts Medicare you also have limited coverage in an emergency outside of the country.
If one takes time to study it, it is pretty simple stuff.
Ok, one other Medicare option =
An all in one plan, so you can forget ALL THE ABOVE and sign up for a Medicare Advantage C private Insurance plan.
Advantage C plans cover all the above plus most also cover dental, vision, hearing, over the counter products and prescription drugs and out of country emergency but you must be careful and know what they cover and dont, the plans vary widely.
Total cost of my plan is the government $170 plus $25 = $195 a month.
Call me crazy but never has health ins cost me so little.
I would strongly in every sense of the word, if anyone is at the point of their life for Medicare or even in medicare consider checking United Health Care Medicare plans, largest in the country mainly because they team up with the AARP. With UHC (united health care) being so popular you will most likely find out, like I did in my state every single hospital network and doctors where I live take the plan.
But its easy to check on all the websites.
If your not one for details, it maybe best to contact a knowledgeable person. Keep one thing in mind EVERY MEDICARE PLAN MUST BE APPROVED by government. IN the case of the Advantage C the premium is paid by the government instead of you taking part a and b.
I have to stress, if you are not one to read all details of all the plans, spend hours and days on it, they talk to a local person who specializes in it.
What I like about United Health Care many of their plans are group priced and not age based so the rates doesnt increase with age only as a group. SO it might be a little higher at the start but it will stay that way and not go as high as the others.
DO not make decisions based on my little post here, there is a good amount of reading of plans and they are specific to your area.
GO to the government medicare.gov website and read for days on end.
My brother loved his A,B,G,D medicare, never gets a medical bill, but as he got closer to age 70 the rate kept going up so he just went into a Medicare C plan (partly because of me) and now pays almost $200 less a month.