You are getting outdated, the private insurers only sort of in the ballpark match what Medicare will pay these days. Excluding things like plastic surgery and highly dependent on how expensive your policy is, if you can still get an indemnity policy.
Jeff,
Have a like. But it can be a lot worse than a more expensive lunch.
Ironically some here are arguing private insurance for younger folks which is a bad deal for our economy as a whole, when in fact we are discussing the seniors here and how bad a deal it is for some of them to get the Advantage plans.
I have a friend in a low place and she has dumpster dived. She has had to take the advantage plan deal. It aint good folks.
Only problem I have had with Medicare, wasn’t a problem with Medicare. It was a problem with my doc using the wrong billing code. There are three codes: one for “welcome to Medicare”, one for “first annual checkup”, and one for “subsequent annual checkups”. I went in for my “welcome” visit, he used the “subsequent checkup” code and it was bounced, so he sent me a bill for some $450. I squawked. He billed it again, using the “first annual” code, and it was bounced again. I did the legwork myself. Found a page that spelled out each code and what it was for, printed it out, and handed it to the billing person at the office. She said she had never before seen anything that spelled out the usage of the codes before. Billing problem for routine checkups solved.
The faceplant I did on the sidewalk last summer would have cost thousands, without Medicare. Trip to the ER $2,641.87. My bill, $257.01. Getting stitched up, because, apparently the Doc was an employee of “Team Health”: $1,120.00. My bill $27.55. Getting the stitches taken out a couple weeks later: $135.00. My bill $9.23.
No wonder people have an apoplectic fit when someone suggests making Medicare a national health plan for everyone.
Steve
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Steve,
Little known thing, I am not the expert on this, mom five years ago had a squema on her upper nose. She had it taken off. But left open just bandaged for a couple of days. Medicare paid for a plastic surgeon to finish the job. He cut an incision all the way down the edge of her nose, then he stitched it all up. You’d never know. Not a single mark on mom’s face.
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