Is there a place on the Fool for those of us approaching 65 to discuss Medicare requirements/choices/plans? I’m an old-school Fool and this new place is so much harder to navigate and is so much more sparsely populated. 
I’d suggest trying the Retirement board.
This is probably as good a place as any.
I just applied for Medicare Parts A and B. I turn 65 in April, and the application window is the three months before your birth month, your birth month, and the three months after your birth month. The web site tells me that the typical application takes one month to get approval.
Once approved, I can go back and apply for Part D (prescription drug coverage). I also intend to get a high deductible Part G plan to act as the Medigap/supplement.
No Medicare Advantage for me. Stick with traditional Medicare. If you get an Advantage plan, part of your premium is going to enrich the third party insurer’s profits, and you will be subject to the In Network/Out of Network nonsense, and the prior authorization gaming and delays.
Tim
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All true. You can get Medicare advantage for your Medicare premium deducted from Social Security. Medicare Supplemental and Part D usually require additional premiums. That and Part D deductible means I save $2K/yr w Medicare Advantage.
Depends on where you live and what choices you have. I use AARP United Healthcare Medicare Advantage HMO. So far all my doctors and hospitals are in network.
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Once you learn how its not too bad. Yes, lack of participation and loss of some well informed posters is a tragedy.
Absolutely correct. On the old TMF, we had numerous discussions about this. More recently John Oliver did a deep-dive on Advantage (it did not fare well). The attraction is lower premiums, but there can be issues when you start having serious problems. Denial of claims apparently is routine.
Realize that you are adding a layer between you and the doctor(s), and that layer expects to get paid. It’s additional overhead, and that’s ultimately going to come from you. And once you are on Advantage, it’s almost impossible to get off because your premium for Medicare will include preexisting conditions (where it doesn’t if you enroll in straight Medicare from the beginning). Here’s John Oliver:
In two years I will be applying for vanilla Medicare and a Medi-gap policy. I will need to check out part D. It’s my understanding it’s a bonanza for Big Pharma, but if you need really expensive meds, it can be useful.
Over the next 30 years I expect to save $60k w Medicare Advantage. If coverage gets denied the first $60k (plus compound interest) is merely payback. Looks like a good investment to me.