50 thoughts on “Medicare: What You Need To Know

    • If you happen to have an HSA pre-tax account with a balance, there is a way to pay all medicare premiums with the HSA dollars making it tax free. I am hoping to be able to pay all my medicare out of pocket expenses and premiums for at least 5 years and probably 10 before the account is depleted.

    • Your total medical expenses, including premiums, must surpass 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income to be deductible as itemized deductions. if your itemized deductions exceed your standard deduction you can reduce your adjusted gross income by the excess.

    • +billyrayband I need to find out more. Are HSAs only available before retirement. I see even my CU has them in a brochure

    • +Jim Petersen main hsa requirement is you have a high deductible health plan. And you can’t put money in once on medicare. But you can spend balance tax free.

  1. This is a ways off in the future for me, so I haven’t really looked into this info before – very informative.
    I did an internet search to check that Medigap underwriting is avoided if you sign up for it during the open enrollment period.

  2. Thanks Josh, actually had a GeorgiaCares rep at work today to explain Medicare, your presentation is much simpler to understand. Tks.

  3. Hi Josh, planning in retiring at 63 this September but keep working till December. Likely over the limit of $17,600/12 so penalty…. ok but want to keep January till April 2020 and then stop for good. Any issue for 2020 beside the $17,600 potential penalty? Thanks for your input

  4. Another great informative video Josh. I will retire from Ford motor co in 5 yes at 58 with great health insurance, I also am retired from the army with active and reserve status and will receive tricare at 60. Will I need part b and c. Thanks

  5. Thanks Josh alot of people dont take the moral high ground, gotta watch out for those that don’t because you will be ruining there business. Ha ha good for you!!

  6. Sheesh with my wife and I probably only having 2K per month in SS in retirement combined, it sounds like apprx 33% will go to health care premiums alone

  7. I can tell you as a nurse who worked for surgeons, just try getting a good doctor if you are on Medicaid. The best physicians here in DC will not accept Medicaid…at all and I have heard horror stories from a nurse who quit working for a pediatrician who made children who were ill wait longer than the children whose parents had decent insurance. That story alone made me cringe. Medicare is also not accepted by many of the best doctors in this city. I use a nurse practitioner who can do anything a doctor can do, and will continue with her when I go on Medicare. Her practice accepts most all insurance.

    Please note: Many doctors only accept a percentage of Medicare patients and you will not have access to them if they have do not accept new patients. Be sure if you are retiring to another part of the country that there are good doctors who participate with your insurance.

    The Medi-gap plans F and G are raising premiums because Plan F will be discontinued in Jan 2020 and many people are flocking to plan G. Plan N is the one to go for.

    Christopher Westfall, in North Carolina, has a great You Tube channel and he is a broker who looks out for his clients, with no charge to clients. I found him to be a wealth of knowledge. I will use Christian Healthcare Ministries as my secondary insurance (approved for Medi-gap) and GoodRX.com for medications. I take no meds at all right now.

    • Jaylee, great information. Using GoodRX are you not concerned about the penalty for delayed enrollment in Part D in the event that you would need expensive medications in the future. In my part of Georgia the cheapest part d plan is $14 a month which many pay for even though they don’t take any medication to avoid high penalties later for not having part d coverage.

  8. While Advantage plans do change, with a Supplement/Medigap you are essentially locked into that plan forever and the price is not locked. You are subject to pre-existing conditions (underwriting) when you try and change it later. I know someone right now at age 71 in this situation whose premium has went up and up since 65. I think Advantage is fine if you just want to avoid the 80/20 problem and not a big traveler and for most, will cost less.

  9. So we’re looking at about $320 a month all in for health insurance and prescription. $135(Medicare) + $150(MediGap) + $35(Prescriptions)

    • And, Medicare has a historical inflation between 5 to 7 percent. That’s just for part B and part D. MediGap has its own rate.

    • yeah but IRMAA only kicks in at Modified AGI around 80k for single taxpayers and $170k or so for Married filing jointly

    • +Heritage Wealth Planning Yes really no big deal shouldn’t hit that many people – the only people impacted by this will be a 55 year old person retiring at age 70, saving $10k a year in a Trad 401(k)earning that already has $50k invested and is earning a whopping $70k a year,.

      Not a big deal at all IRMAA really won’t impact many people as those that are rich hardly ever make over $70k

    • +Heritage Wealth Planning Yes really no big deal shouldn’t hit that many people
      An example of who hits IRMAA:

      -55 year old person
      -retires at age 70,
      -saving $8k a year in a Trad 401(k)

      – already has $50k invested
      – earns a whopping $70k a year,.

      Not a big deal at all IRMAA really won’t impact many people as those that are rich hardly ever make over $70k a year

  10. You may not know…I don’t either but I’m retired Air Force and have TRICARE prime- my guess is it covers the medigap and prescriptions. But thank you I need to go check!!! And $320/mth is a chunk so need to be ready for that in under 6 years. Glad you’re telling us -no one else is. Thanks again

  11. Medigap plans are not the same in all states, e.g. MA has 2 plans, which aren’t F, I, N etc. But yes, within a state, a plan X from one issuer will offer identical coverage to a plan X from another issuer, at perhaps a different price.

    Also, one common piece of advice is to not just go for the issuer with the lowest price for a particular Medigap plan. You also need to see how they are allowed to raise premiums, and the pricing model (community etc). Saving a lot in the first year isn’t great if prices quickly rise above the competition, because as with part C to medigap, you cannot change medigap issuers without underwriting approval….

  12. Leftie here, why doesn’t a public health care plan make sense for US? Every other industrialized country does it…

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