Need help selecting a Medicare plan. So many plans to choose from. How do I know which is the best for me?

This is the medigap policy - I have plan G, although I could have had plan F. My annual deductible is only $198, and that's quickly made up by the difference in premiums!

I had AARP United Health Care for one year - they were not the best plan I've had by any standards! Check out their co-pays for mental health appointments, for one thing? I went to a counselor 1x/week for almost a year when dealing with Mom's problems and found the $45 co-pay with them grossly more expensive than the $30 with my prior plan (an additional $60/month out of pocket) and that wasn't easily searchable initially. Other issues too...

I went through the tools Medicare set up on their web site. Start with entering your zip code, then they present the MA plans available. From that list I immediately eliminated the HMO plans. Those will restrict you to the HMO doctors (there are probably ways to get referrals out of plan, if they have no options, but it'll likely cost you!)

Once it was pared down (not a lot of options where I am located), the plan I was interested in allowed me to check to see if the doctors I generally use are "in the plan" - since all were, I went with that plan (also UHC/AARP plan.) It does say that you can go to any doctor who accepts Medicare, but some are likely not in the network, so it is better to check first (those who are in the plan can later drop out, so it is always good to check again later!) You can go out of network, but most of the time it will cost you more.

I still find the cost of this MA plus Medicare much better than my last two years with company insurance - even on their "retirement" plan. Almost 12k to get a freaking physical, and not much of one at that. Nothing else was covered as they had a new policy whereby you pay the first $700 of ANYTHING, so my eye exam and one doc visit were both out of pocket. :-( (BTW, the MA plan covers eye exams, hearing, basic member in health club and for a fee it has a dental plan - I kept my company based dental plan as it covers much more.)

The same plan for 2020 has the same cost, but co-pays are going up as are costs for other items. I did note they have another plan that is $0, with smaller co-pays, however the big cost, as someone else noted, is if you have something serious, like hospitalization/surgery. THEN you pay!

The tools on the Medicare page also allow you to "compare" if there are several plans that interest you. Basic info presented only, so either read the details for each plan you consider or contact HICAP.

My experience has been different. Two sick seniors here, a lot of specialists. We previously were on a Medicare Advantage plan, and the copays for many specialists, tests, prescription drugs, ended up costing more than the monthly supplement premium and drug plan premium combined. I ran three years of numbers for each of us, to make the comparison. So, as a person becomes sicker, should that happen, your copays with an Advantage plan may end up higher than the supplement and drug plan. Happened to both of us.

This is better called the Medigap supplemental policy because people just enrolling have trouble understanding the difference between this and Medicare Advantage plans...

That’s an excellent Medicare supplement plan. The only difference between supplement plans F and G is that the G supplement does not pay the yearly deductible. Many states are doing away with F, and only those already on it are allowed to keep it. For us, the yearly premiums difference between Plans F and G were more than the cost of the deductibles.

Thank you for the kind words! It means a lot to have supportive people here.

We relocated from south FL to coastal GA. It was considered a move out of Plan area, as the Medicare Advantage Plan HMO, Humana was only in south FL. That was our chance to go back onto Original Medicare, plus a supplement plan. We chose a Plan G, and pay monthly premiums plus yearly Medicare deductible, times two people. The one we are in is the AARP United Healthcare supplement. They pay quickly, and get billed automatically after Medicare processes claims. They generally pay within two weeks. Neither of us could get approved in underwriting, so the out of state move was our chance at guaranteed issue of the supplement G. If a person signs up as soon as they are eligible for Medicare, that’s also a guaranteed issue, not required to go through underwriting. If a person goes on a Medicare Advantage Plan HMO when first eligible for Medicare, you throw away that protection from medical underwriting, if you ever want to go back to Original Medicare plus a supplement. There is one exception to the Medicare Advantage Plan fatal decision. In the first 11 months after you become eligible and sign up for one of the Advantage Plan, you can go back on Original Medicare in the first 11 months, without being subjected to medical underwriting. If you do have to go through medical underwriting, don’t sign up as soon as eligible, have a lapse in your employer health insurance, you can end up with much higher premium, assessed by the insurance company.
Since Ive got so many health issues, hubs has had cancer twice and his cardiovascular system is crap, neither of us could even get approved, had it not been for guaranteed issue.
I never worked for Medicare, but did work for a Blue Cross/Shield HMO. I went through Boomer Benefits to purchase our supplements. You have to join AARP initially to purchase the United Healthcare supplement, but aren’t required to renew the AARP membership second year. The vast majority of Medicare supplement plans are age rated, so when you move to a different age band, the premium will increase. I was pleased that United Healthcare did not increase premiums across the board for 2020. Some years they all raise rates. The way of insurance.
I found the insurance agents at Boomer Benefits totally knowledgeable, and you don’t pay an extra commission to use them. There are many other companies that sell supplement policies. We’ve been very happy with them. They also send us yearly forms to fill out, with our maintenance medications, and will plug them into the Medicare site and make recommendation as to the most cost effective drug plan for you each year. Saves me time, I let them do it on my behalf. However, the Medicare drug plans have preferred pharmacies, and formularies. I have found I sometimes get better prices using WalMart instead of CVS, which is SilverScripts’ big preferred chain. Sometimes best drug price is not using my drug plan, using the GoodRX coupons. It’s extra work to check prices every time one of our maintenance drugs is due for refill. But our experience with SilverScripts is that they keep moving generic drugs into the higher copay non-generic tiers.Medicare doesn’t prohibit this type of price gouging. It pays to get the list of specially-negotiated promo drugs for the various pharmacies, like Target, WalMart, Kroger. You can save a chunk by checking prices before using your drug plan.
Good luck whatever plan you choose!

Our Medicare Advantage Plan HMO abysmal experience was also Humana.
Actually, to evaluate the true cost of the Plan, against the monthly premiums for a supplement plus a drug plan, I made a spreadsheet of three years of all our copays and out of pocket expenses with Humana’s HMO, for each of us. Added it all up, divided to get average monthly cost. It ended up being a wash. Why on earth give up access to the good doctors, the best hospitals, and go through the constant referrals, plus being denied accepted medical testing, screenings, and care, under an HMO trying to cut costs, when we can have our own choice of any doctor accepting Original Medicare? Even my pulmy pulled me in behind closed doors and told me to get rid of the HMO, and the internist who was denying care so she would receive a larger year-end capitation check for not treating my lung disease. He told me to my face the HMO was trying to not treat my lung disease. Then when I was sent to their gastro, he did a colonoscopy in a filthy facility, and told me he wasn’t allowed to treat my chronic, uncontrolled diarrhea and stomach pain, as it was not cancer. He told me that was the way Humana wanted it. Now I am being treated by a good gastroenterologist, using accepted diagnostic criteria, and am now correctly diagnosed as having BAM as well as IBSD. Humana didn’t care that I had lost 45 pounds from stomach disease. They were perfectly happy for me to slowly die.
Those who are happy with your HMOs under Medicare are lucky. You won’t be so happy as you age, your health declines, and you can’t get the generally accepted care in the specialty. You’ve been warned.

Anyone eligible for Medicare automatically is covered by Part A - you don't have to sign up for it! Part B, on the other hand, has to be signed up for. Part A covers in-hospital expenses, and then post-hospital rehab/skilled nursing for up to 100 days (20 at no patient cost, and then 80 with co-pay) - as long as Medicare deems the patient NEEDS THAT LEVEL OF CARE AND IS MAKING PROGRESS (yes I'm yelling!). Facilities estimate at what point they "think" Medicare wouldn't consider continued care necessary and would stop paying - and then give the patient a discharge notice per that "guess"(with almost no "notice" to the patient). Under Medicare rules, at that point the patient is supposed to be provided with information and directions to challenge the discharge (one phone call process - easy!), and if Medicare decides in favor of the appeal (after their medical staff review records) the facility has to keep the patient for awhile more. With my Mom, I had to challenge the discharge 4 times, and my appeal was upheld by Medicare every time, and Mom ended up being able to stay 96 days! (That's almost unprecedented, though...) The co-pay to the facility for the days after the initial covered 20 was $257/day, which sounds like a lot? Not anywhere near the cost without Medicare A's help!

Talk to your HR because some employer plans assume you will enroll in Medicare and their plan will coordinate benefits with it in force.

Tell us your out of pocket costs if you have to stay in the hospital or have out patient surgery.

The most we have to pay out-of-pocket for the entire year is $4,100 each. We now have no copay for primary care visits, and $35 for specialists. A trip to the ER costs $90. Diagnostic tests and procedures $35 copay, lab services $10 copay, CT scans $75 copay, x-rays $20 copay. Hospital stays are $300 per day for days 1-5 and zero after that. Most screening tests and immunizations are free of charge, and we can be reimbursed up to $500 a year for dental expenses from any dental provider.

So far it's been a wonderful deal for us.

To my knowledge (and experience) Medigap plans (F & G) cover the 20% basic Medicare doesn't cover totally (you do pay a monthly premium over the basic social security-deducted cost and with Plan G a low annual deductible, $198/year in my case). I don't know what you mean about the 50-60% Medicare Part B costs? Part A for everyone covers in-hospital charges and 20 post hospital-stay costs for a rehab/skilled nursing facility - as long as Medicare deems it necessary and helpful (progress made). Does Medigap cover any of the additional "potential" 80 days coverage, with daily co-pay, under Part A?

One little point on the advertising.
All of it is from private companies.
Most of it is from Medicare advantage plans.
The rest might be from supplement plans.
Traditional medicare does not advertise.

You've absolutely got it right! I started out with MA plans - under several companies, including AARP/United Health, which was the worst! Besides a considerable monthly premium to the company I paid through the nose for co-pays to docs, procedures (scans, etc.), ER visits, etc. I started out with Kaiser when first eligible and that was when Obamacare first started, and Kaiser (which I'd had as regular insur. before that because I couldn't switch at that point). I personally hate Kaiser? Their "Sr. Advantage" plan is no better - or less expensive - than anyone's "HMO" Advantage plans. Through a fortuitous situation (my Advantage plan company discontinued my particular plan) I had the option of signing up for any plan as if I'd never had Medicare yet. I chose a Medigap policy, and there is no comparison to how much better it is! My monthly premiums are somewhat higher - but not that much - and after the 80% covered by "original/basic" Medicare, the Medigap (Part G) plan covers all of the remaining 20%. I have a $198/year co-pay and then it's gravy! One thing? If you didn't opt for the Medigap policy when you were first eligible, you might still be able to switch but it would probably be more expensive and they can then require info on pre-existing conditions, etc., and refuse you...

I attended a Medicare seminar a couple years ago when I was investigating these subjects, and one person said that if you go to a doctor's practice and find that you are the youngest person in the waiting room, you can be quite sure this doctor accepts Medicare.

CORRECTION!! I meant to say HSA (health savings account) above. HRA is not the same.

My current MA plan "offers" dental but it is only basic cleaning/exams. I kept my high option from work and it has been worth every penny!! They also have hearing and eye exams, but with copay (at least with the eye exam, don't have a hearing problem!)

Please listen to RedVanAnnie, she knows what she is talking about. Look into Supplement Plan N from AARP.

I do the same on drugs because I am on no “maintenance” drugs. But I have found that when I do need a drug that the GoodRX card discount gives me a better price than the insurance policy does. But I keep the insurance in case I do someday need to use drugs on a regular basis.
There is a penalty for not having had the drug plan from the time you were eligible although you can still sign up for one when needed.

I ditto the response about not liking Humana. I had my parents with them and they were a nightmare to deal with. Their customer service was horrible and one department did not speak to the other so I would have to explain the situation to multiple departments. I switched m dad over to blue shield and have been happy with them. It is very region specific who offers what so best to check with an insurance agent to find out what is offered in your area and then read reviews on the ones you are considering. Good luck.