I am a super fan of our Medicare Supplement HIGH DEDUCTIBLE (HD) part F, which my husband and I have had for about six years. (New enrollees are only eligible for HD part G, which should work the same way.) I do not understand why I never see anyone talking about this HD insurance. The charts I have seen showing the lettered options for Medicare supplements show the HD option with an asterisk and comment at the bottom. I read through all of these comments and found just one mention of HD F or G when Dan Malone briefly referenced Stephanie Abt. We purchased ISSUE AGE high deductible part F polices that were a little more expensive initially, but the price is only supposed to increase due to inflation - unlike ATTAINED AGE policies which would have increased in cost as we got older. Our agent indicated the break-even point should be around age 82 for us. We get all of the thorough coverage of part F (or G), except that we first have to pay the standard deductible ($240 for 2024) and the Part A hospital deductible, if applicable, ($1,632.00 for 2024). Then we pay 20% of our greatly reduced medical bills (the amounts Medicare allows) until we reach our annual (high) deductible ($2800.00 for 2024). Any deductibles we've paid count toward this high annual deductible. Then every Medicare approved medical claim will be paid in full by the insurance company. We can chose where and with whom we get our medical care and we are fully covered throughout the United States. In exchange for being willing to pay up to the annual high deductible, we have saved thousands of dollars compared to the premiums we would have paid for part F or G plans. They were about $200 a month at the time we enrolled - or about $2,400 annually for each of us. I'm confident these premiums would have increased over the past six years, too. Our HD part F policies cost $588.60 each the first year. Then our premiums changed as follows: $500.40, $450.00, $450.00, $459.00, $459.00 and $518.40 in 2024. Yes, we are each still paying less than our initial premium amount - still under $50 a month. Initially our standard deductible was $183.00, the hospital deductible was $1,340.00 and our annual (high) deductible was $2,240.00. Every deductible increases every year, but the deductible amounts are set by Medicare, not our insurance company. I had known medical expenses when I purchased my policy. I would have annual doctor visits to a specialist that always billed around $500. My insurance always reduced the amount paid to about $300 by them and $40 by me. With Medicare, my final cost has always been under $100 - all paid by me, but applying toward my standard deductible. So I discovered the first year that my medical bills with my HD plan F weren't going to cost me as much as I had expected! We have had three unexpected surgeries between us, but have only reached our high deductible amount once. We have still saved thousands of dollars. It is my understanding that this high deductible option is not available in all states. We live in Iowa. At the time we purchased our policies, only three insurance companies offered it. A friend lives in Colorado. A couple of years ago I was able to help her find a HD policy. If I'm remembering correctly, she had more than three options. I would definitely recommend that you consider a high deductible part G Medicare supplement if it is available in your state - especially during your initial open enrollment period! If you know you will have high annual medical bills, it might not be the best option for you. A little number crunching should help you make that determination.
I am a relatively new reader of Humble Dollar, so I don't know about any rules related to comments. But after reading that David has an adult disabled son, I feel compelled to share the new book Retire Secure for Parents of a Child with a Disability that James Lange is making available for Amazon download for only $1.99 through January 15th. He is offering many other resources for free with this offer, as well. He considers this book a culmination of his life's work, as he has a disabled adult daughter. Here is the link to the email I received from him about this offer: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/jim%40jameslange.com/FMfcgzGwJckFhLwXTzVQhzBnFNGFWWJG
If this link does not work, I would suggest emailing him at jim@jameslange.com. I have not contacted him about sharing this information, but he has stated multiple times that his goal is to get this book into the hands of as many parents of disabled children as possible, so I cannot imagine that he would not want me to share this.
Comments
I am a super fan of our Medicare Supplement HIGH DEDUCTIBLE (HD) part F, which my husband and I have had for about six years. (New enrollees are only eligible for HD part G, which should work the same way.) I do not understand why I never see anyone talking about this HD insurance. The charts I have seen showing the lettered options for Medicare supplements show the HD option with an asterisk and comment at the bottom. I read through all of these comments and found just one mention of HD F or G when Dan Malone briefly referenced Stephanie Abt. We purchased ISSUE AGE high deductible part F polices that were a little more expensive initially, but the price is only supposed to increase due to inflation - unlike ATTAINED AGE policies which would have increased in cost as we got older. Our agent indicated the break-even point should be around age 82 for us. We get all of the thorough coverage of part F (or G), except that we first have to pay the standard deductible ($240 for 2024) and the Part A hospital deductible, if applicable, ($1,632.00 for 2024). Then we pay 20% of our greatly reduced medical bills (the amounts Medicare allows) until we reach our annual (high) deductible ($2800.00 for 2024). Any deductibles we've paid count toward this high annual deductible. Then every Medicare approved medical claim will be paid in full by the insurance company. We can chose where and with whom we get our medical care and we are fully covered throughout the United States. In exchange for being willing to pay up to the annual high deductible, we have saved thousands of dollars compared to the premiums we would have paid for part F or G plans. They were about $200 a month at the time we enrolled - or about $2,400 annually for each of us. I'm confident these premiums would have increased over the past six years, too. Our HD part F policies cost $588.60 each the first year. Then our premiums changed as follows: $500.40, $450.00, $450.00, $459.00, $459.00 and $518.40 in 2024. Yes, we are each still paying less than our initial premium amount - still under $50 a month. Initially our standard deductible was $183.00, the hospital deductible was $1,340.00 and our annual (high) deductible was $2,240.00. Every deductible increases every year, but the deductible amounts are set by Medicare, not our insurance company. I had known medical expenses when I purchased my policy. I would have annual doctor visits to a specialist that always billed around $500. My insurance always reduced the amount paid to about $300 by them and $40 by me. With Medicare, my final cost has always been under $100 - all paid by me, but applying toward my standard deductible. So I discovered the first year that my medical bills with my HD plan F weren't going to cost me as much as I had expected! We have had three unexpected surgeries between us, but have only reached our high deductible amount once. We have still saved thousands of dollars. It is my understanding that this high deductible option is not available in all states. We live in Iowa. At the time we purchased our policies, only three insurance companies offered it. A friend lives in Colorado. A couple of years ago I was able to help her find a HD policy. If I'm remembering correctly, she had more than three options. I would definitely recommend that you consider a high deductible part G Medicare supplement if it is available in your state - especially during your initial open enrollment period! If you know you will have high annual medical bills, it might not be the best option for you. A little number crunching should help you make that determination.
Post: Medigap pricing question
Link to comment from September 7, 2024
I am a relatively new reader of Humble Dollar, so I don't know about any rules related to comments. But after reading that David has an adult disabled son, I feel compelled to share the new book Retire Secure for Parents of a Child with a Disability that James Lange is making available for Amazon download for only $1.99 through January 15th. He is offering many other resources for free with this offer, as well. He considers this book a culmination of his life's work, as he has a disabled adult daughter. Here is the link to the email I received from him about this offer: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/jim%40jameslange.com/FMfcgzGwJckFhLwXTzVQhzBnFNGFWWJG If this link does not work, I would suggest emailing him at jim@jameslange.com. I have not contacted him about sharing this information, but he has stated multiple times that his goal is to get this book into the hands of as many parents of disabled children as possible, so I cannot imagine that he would not want me to share this.
Post: Retirement Ready
Link to comment from January 10, 2024