Tom, just an FYI; and Bob no offense to what you have decided to use as your medicare coverage; but in Bakersfield and also in So. California, Kaiser has a very bad reputation for several things. First, not being able to get an appointment in a timely manner was one issue. And getting a second opinion is a long procedure. I have friends who used the Escondido facility, as well as, the Bakersfield facility.
You must go to a Kaiser facility, I wanted to be able to choose my own doctor and not have to just use the Kaiser doctors or drive several hours to reach a Kaiser facility while traveling.
What got me confused when I was trying to figure it all out last year was that there are two roads to follow after you get your medicare card. Everyone gets Medicare A and B. The next step is you have to decide if you want to follow the one path, which is original medicare supplement often called "Medigap" and have to purchase Part D which is drugs; or the second road which is to buy a Medicare Advantage program which includes the supplemental coverage and drug coverage. Once I figured that part out it made it easier for me to choose. Plus the fact that if you do not take the original Medicare (medigap), you are penalized.
The things important to me were:
- choosing my own doctor
- coverage out of the country
- quick appointments and second opinions
The Drug formulary is often different with different companies and it often changes each year.
I chose the Original Medigap with Humana as my Part D drug provider. My decision on the supplement was between AARP or Anthem. I went with Anthem because we were already covered with them.
For those who aren't interested in Medicare, my husband a, healthy never been sick husband had to have a pace maker put in a couple of years ago. The cost for 3 days of hospital stay was over $75,000. We had catastrophic insurance with a $5,000 deductable. I would have hated to pay the whole $75,000.
Marsha~
