Medicare & Retirement: Know Your Options!

Are you currently getting your Medicare benefits through a retirement package from your job? You may be paying too much!

I have spoken to numerous retirees who tell me they are mostly happy with the Medicare Supplement they received from their retirement. They also tell me that if they go outside of their former employer’s network, they will not be eligible for a subsidy. If you are in the same position, let me take a moment to explain how a lot of these programs work, and why it may benefit you to look at other options.

Your employer contracts with a third party to manage the retirees health coverage. They are paid to promote this company and be the exclusive provider of the coverage. As an incentive, they offer perks to enroll with the company, such as subsidies for premiums. They tell them that in order to receive these subsidies you have to enroll through the contracted company. This is the problem in a lot of cases.

The first issue with these companies is they normally only push one product and that is a Plan F Medicare policy. This is the most expensive plan out there and it will be going away in 2020. After Dec. 31, 2019, if you are new to Medicare, you will not be able to enroll into a Plan F. Unfortunately, that means the people in Plan F will be older, and as we get older we get sicker. In your mind you are not paying for it because you are getting the subsidy, right? They are usually only contracted with one or two companies, so they will push those products to make the most money for themselves. Plan G, in most circumstances, is going to be the best route for most people, as it will save you the most money over time. By only going through the provider’s choice you are limiting your options.

What they don’t tell you is you can still get your subsidy, in most cases, if you purchase at least one Medicare product through them. Most of the time you can just purchase a Prescription plan through the provider and still get the subsidy. What I recommend is purchasing a Plan G through an independent broker, purchase a drug plan through the contracted company, and use the left over subsidy for the purchase of a Dental and Vision policy, or a critical illness policy. This way, you are getting the most bang for your buck.

Please look over your paperwork from your retirement package and as always, let us know if you have any questions.

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