News and Views

All… er… Both. Both of us. Gisele and me both!

A little over a year ago I went on Medicare and wrote a post about it. It’s now Gisele’s turn.

For the past 6 months we have been paying nearly $900 per month for her coverage, which has a deductible of $6000. (On the plus, the maximum out-of-pocket was $7150 which we easily met with her back surgery this year. I guess that’s a plus…)

Starting today she is on a much, much better insurance plan, costing just $200 a month, with small deductibles and a $2200 cap on out-of-pocket (based on the particular Medigap plan she has).

The following table compares her previous coverage with her current plan. It’s even more significant an improvement when you realize that negotiated costs under Medicare are lower than under most plans, and after meeting the deductibles she only pays 20% of the Medicare approved price. It’s not likely that she will hit the maximum out of pocket in any given year (though this year’s surgery would probably have been pretty close).

	Cigna	Medicare
Premium	$880	$200*
Deductible	$6000	$1316 (Part A) $183 (Part B)
Maximum	$7150	$2200**

* Including basic Medicare, Medigap F-HD, and a Part D prescription drug plan
** Based on the Medigap Plan F-High Deductible we both have

This is especially interesting considering all that’s going on in Congress right now with healthcare. I understand that Medicare is a big piece of the national budget, and if it were extended to everyone it would be a much larger piece. But it seems that something could and should be done.

Anyway, I feel like we are set. As long as the government keeps its hands off our Medicare!