Medicare

[wdfifteen]

For the most part I don’t have any complaints about Medicare now that I’ve gotten settled into it. The whole maze of Part A, Part B, “do I go with an Advantage plan or not, what the hell is a supplemental plan,” etc was difficult to navigate due to the Medicare staff’s inability to communicate, but I got through it.
But the failure to communicate persists. Last January I got a bill for $1000 even. No explanation, just a bill. After a couple of frantic phone calls and a conversation with someone who had no clue why I was billed I finally got to someone who was confused by it, but did look into it. All was resolved, but it could have been resolved so much more easily if the bill had just said, “This is a bill for …..”
MrsWD signed up for Medicare June 1st. Her bills were supposed to be $202/month. Her first bill was for $542! No explanation other than under “Coverage period” it had June – September. But $542 is no multiple of $202 so WTF? Again, phone calls and conversations with clueless people. I finally Googled “Medicare first bill” and learned – with no help from Medicare - that they have an arcane rule that if you are not on Social Security they bill you for the first quarter at the lowest premium rate, no matter what your premium actually is. Again, a lot of wasted time and anxiety could have been avoided if the bill had just said, “This is a bill for …..”
As another example of Medicare’s inability to clearly communicate, here is a picture of what they send me every month. It's no wonder everyone else is confused. They seem confused themselves.

[Chocaholic]

Government run health insurance.

There’s the problem.

[Baz]

Educate me on Medicare

[Bugsinrugs]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Government run health insurance.

There’s the problem.

Yes but it’s minor in my opinion.

[Zeke]

Every state has a SHIP office set up to clarify and help with that state's Medicare insurance offerings. https://www.seniorsresourceguide.com/directories/National/SHIP/