Clark Howard calls Medicare Advantage plans "disadvantage plans," warning the new SCAN Costco HMO prioritizes cost savings over patient care through prior authorization denials.
In a serious illness year, a $0-premium Advantage plan can cost $6,807 more than Original Medicare plus Medigap Plan G, which caps costs at $283 annually.
Choosing Advantage at 65 may permanently lock you out of Medigap coverage if you get sick later, since most states allow insurers to deny or upcharge applicants.
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"Costco. Do you know what you're doing here? You know who you're messing around with?" Consumer advocate Clark Howard, usually one of the warehouse club's biggest fans, said that on his show on October 5.

#clark #plan #plans

Unlike Medicare Advantage, Medigap offers no recurring annual shopping window, so health conditions can permanently lock policyholders into higher premiums.
The one-time federal Medigap Open Enrollment Period lasts just six months starting at age 65; after that, most states allow medical underwriting.
Never cancel an existing Medigap policy before a replacement is confirmed in writing, since a declined application leaves the original coverage intact.
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A 72-year-old in Ohio opens a December rate notice and finds that her Medigap Plan G premium is rising again in January, the fourth increase in four years. Her broker finds a competitor charging $40 less each month.

#finds #period

Humana (HUM) confirmed 600,000 affected members and UNH projects 1.1 million fewer enrollees as carriers cut lower-rated 2027 Medicare Advantage plans.
A plan termination triggers a rare guaranteed-issue Medigap window, but only for members who are returning to Original Medicare. Those switching to another Advantage plan do not qualify.
Nonrenewal notices arrive October 2, leaving only 66 days before Open Enrollment closes December 7. Members should save the letter and price both coverage paths immediately.
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Somewhere inside the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sits the list of Medicare Advantage plans that will stop existing on December 31, 2026. Insurers submitted their 2027 bids in June. Wall Street **** ysts have dissected the implications on earnings calls all summer. The people enrolled in those plans will find out by mail.

#plans #plan #only #medigap

Selling and buying in retirement burns anywhere from 5% to 8% in transaction costs alone, and that is before moving expenses of up to $10,000 hit the budget.
Crossing a state line resets property tax **** sments to full market value and strips Medigap of its guaranteed-issue protections permanently.
Renting for a year before buying preserves flexibility if the family relocates again and lets retirees evaluate a city on its own merits.
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The plan is one of the most common in American retirement: sell the longtime house, move near an adult child and grandkids, and buy something smaller in the same school district. Then a job offer arrives in another state, or a spouse's career pulls the family elsewhere, and the retiree holds a house bought at retirement-age prices in a town chosen for a reason that no longer exists. Almost **** ody plans for this. Here is what it actually costs and what would have to be true for the move to still make sense.

#House #selling

Humana is exiting Medicare Advantage plans affecting 600,000 members in 2027, with federally required non-renewal notices dated October 2.
Federal law grants a guaranteed-issue Medigap right when an MA plan exits, barring insurers from rejecting applicants or charging more for pre-existing conditions.
Before accepting any replacement Advantage plan, members should price Medigap Plan G and verify new coverage includes their doctors, drugs, and hospitals.
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A Humana (NYSE: HUM) Medicare Advantage (MA) member could open the mail in early October and discover that coverage ending December 31 will not be back next year. Humana told investors in July that targeted 2027 exits will affect approximately 600,000 members.

#plan #medicare

I'm 84 and my wife is 77, and we are both fully retired. We have no significant financial obligations beyond routine monthly expenses such as food, utilities, taxes, insurance and so forth. Our largest expenses are required minimum distribution-related taxes and annual real-estate taxes, which together run about $7,000 per year.
Our combined net worth is approximately $8 million, most of which is held in separate traditional IRAs — two in my name and two in my wife's name. Our annual income comes from Social Security, RMDs and monthly pensions from previous employers. Our pensions total about $2,200 per month.
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After taxes, we reinvest approximately half of our RMDs in a taxable brokerage account. The other half goes into a bank account from which we pay our expenses; it normally maintains a balance of about $45,000. We simply don't seem to need much money. Our relatively minor healthcare expenses are covered by Medicare and Medigap policies.

#taxes

Missing the 6-month Medigap enrollment window at 65 allows insurers to deny coverage or charge more based on pre-existing conditions like diabetes.
Only 4 states offer meaningful Medigap protections beyond the federal window: Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Maine. Most beneficiaries are left subject to medical underwriting.
Before leaving Medicare Advantage, confirm remaining protected rights, compare multiple Medigap insurers, and secure approval before finalizing any switch to Original Medicare.
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At 65, an Ohio woman picked a zero-premium Medicare Advantage plan because she was healthy and the sales brochure looked cheaper than adding a Medigap policy to Original Medicare. Two years later, her doctor diagnosed Type 2 diabetes, started her on insulin, and referred her to an endocrinologist outside the plan's network. Now 67, she wants to switch to Original Medicare with a Medigap Plan G so she can use a broader range of specialists.

#original

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There's no doubt about it: Evaluating Medicare's alphabet soup of coverage options is challenging. There are Parts A, B and D to consider, plus the Advantage route and the opportunity to source supplemental coverage via Medigap plans, each with its own pricing and coverage dynamics to consider. It's no wonder 75% of survey respondents said selecting coverage was a confusing and frustrating process, according to eHealth, an online health insurance marketplace.
Despite the challenge, Medicare claiming must be part of the broader retirement planning process because of the significant impact healthcare costs can have on a client's monthly cash flow, said Whitney Stidom, vice president of consumer enablement at the company. One key decision every retiree must make is whether to go with the all-in-one simplicity of Medicare Advantage or opt for the traditional Medicare route with a Medigap supplement.
Both options have merit, Stidom told Retirement Upside, but the right coverage depends on individual factors such as the client's health, anticipated medical needs, preferred care providers, travel habits, retirement income and comfort with unpredictable expenses.
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#medicare #Retirement

Medicare Advantage enrollment is easy, but switching back requires medical underwriting that a stent, GLP-1 prescription, or high blood pressure can permanently block.
Federal law gives Medigap applicants one guaranteed-issue window: six months starting at 65 with Part B enrollment; after that, carriers can legally deny you.
Original Medicare without a supplement carries a $1,736 per-benefit-period hospital deductible and unlimited 20% Part B coinsurance with no annual out-of-pocket cap.
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A 71-year-old Florida widow had spent two years fighting her Medicare Advantage plan over a cardiology referral. She finally decided she was done. A broker helped her choose Medigap Plan G and start the application. Then the insurer saw the stent placed in 2023 and declined her. Other carriers followed. She was allowed to leave Medicare Advantage. Buying the coverage she wanted on the other side was the problem.

#medicare #advantage #medigap #stent

Medicare Advantage enrollees get one 12-month trial right to return to Original Medicare and buy a guaranteed-issue Medigap policy without medical underwriting.
The trial window closes 63 days after year one ends, and missing it can permanently expose beneficiaries to unlimited 20% outpatient coinsurance with no cap.
The MA Open Enrollment Period, which runs from January through March, lets you leave Advantage but does not guarantee Medigap access, leaving post-year-one switchers vulnerable to health underwriting.
Two retirees, same $1 million, same 4% rule, buy one finished with $1.4 million, the other hit $0 in 12 years. Our free reader guide explains the flaw that separated them, and the income-first method built to avoid it.
A 66-year-old retiree signs up for a zero-premium Medicare Advantage plan the month she turns 65. Fourteen months in, her orthopedist drops the network, her prior authorization for an MRI is denied twice, and she wants back on Original Medicare with a Medigap policy. She calls a broker. The broker asks when she first enrolled. Then he tells her the escape hatch closed 60 days ago.

#medicare

Americans get one 6-month guaranteed-issue window for Medigap at 65, after which insurers in 46 states can deny coverage based on health history permanently.
The window opens at Part B enrollment, not the 65th birthday, so delaying Part B for employer coverage directly delays and can complicate Medigap access.
Only New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine require year-round guaranteed issue, and those protections don't transfer if policyholders move states.
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Federal law hands every American a single, non-repeating window to buy Medicare supplemental insurance on favorable terms. It opens the month a person turns 65 and enrolls in Medicare Part B, lasts exactly six months, and never comes back. Inside that window, insurers must sell any Medigap policy they offer at their best available rate, regardless of health history. Outside it, in most states, they can pull medical records, charge more, exclude conditions, or refuse to sell entirely.

Americans get one 6-month guaranteed-issue window for Medigap at 65, after which insurers in 46 states can deny coverage based on health history permanently.
The window opens at Part B enrollment, not the 65th birthday, so delaying Part B for employer coverage directly delays and can complicate Medigap access.
Only New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine require year-round guaranteed issue, and those protections don't transfer if policyholders move states.
Are you ahead, or behind on retirement? SmartAsset's free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today. Each advisor has been carefully vetted, and must act in your best interests. Don't waste another minute; learn more here.
Federal law hands every American a single, non-repeating window to buy Medicare supplemental insurance on favorable terms. It opens the month a person turns 65 and enrolls in Medicare Part B, lasts exactly six months, and never comes back. Inside that window, insurers must sell any Medigap policy they offer at their best available rate, regardless of health history. Outside it, in most states, they can pull medical records, charge more, exclude conditions, or refuse to sell entirely.

Original Medicare's uncapped 20% coinsurance can leave a retiree owing $40,000 on a $200,000 cancer treatment with no annual ceiling to stop it.
Medigap Plan G converts that unlimited liability into roughly $2,640 a year, capping all exposure after a single $283 deductible.
Choosing Medicare Advantage at 65 is effectively permanent. Once the six-month guaranteed-issue window closes, insurers can deny Medigap coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
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A 67-year-old retiree on Original Medicare gets a stage III colon cancer diagnosis in March. Surgery, chemotherapy, imaging, and specialist visits generate roughly $200,000 in Medicare-approved Part B charges over nine months. After the deductible, Medicare generally pays 80% of covered Part B costs and the beneficiary is responsible for the remaining 20%. Without supplemental coverage, that share could approach $40,000.