Guest guest Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Hi , I was in the same situation. I went back to work in 1998 after being on SSD since 92. I had Medicare, and when I went to work, I had CIGNA. I decided to keep Medicare, and pay the monthly premiums. I'm glad I did!! I had "Med 90" so I was supposed to pay the 10% of reasonable and customary fees. I was hospitalized several times, and I paid nothing for it, thanks to Medicare as secondary payor. CIGNA with Medicare paid 100% of all office visits, and 100% of all hospital stays. Medicare paid my $350 CIGNA deductible and paid my $2500 out-of-pocket and 100% of the medical bills CIGNA didn't pay. It was well worth the monthly fees to keep Medicare. I am on SSD again, and will get Medicare again in 07/07 (I called). I will return to work again soon, and again will keep Medicare to supplement my other insurance. You can keep Medicare for something like 5 years after a return to work, so if you're 100% sure that you'll be totally healthy through 5 years, I'd drop it. But none of us can predict our medical futures. But, 1 hospital stay will prove Medicare to be a godsend as secondary payor. Francoeur <r080962@...> wrote: I was on disability for 10 years and now I have beenback to work about a year and a half. I work for aschool district so I have decent medical benefits. Myquestion is whether it is worth it to keep paying formedicare part B. Anyone have experience with this?Thanks, SEIZE THE DAY! ENJOY TODAY, SMELL THE ROSES AND HUG YOURSELF Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels in 45,000 destinations on Travel to find your fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Hi , I was in the same situation. I went back to work in 1998 after being on SSD since 92. I had Medicare, and when I went to work, I had CIGNA. I decided to keep Medicare, and pay the monthly premiums. I'm glad I did!! I had "Med 90" so I was supposed to pay the 10% of reasonable and customary fees. I was hospitalized several times, and I paid nothing for it, thanks to Medicare as secondary payor. CIGNA with Medicare paid 100% of all office visits, and 100% of all hospital stays. Medicare paid my $350 CIGNA deductible and paid my $2500 out-of-pocket and 100% of the medical bills CIGNA didn't pay. It was well worth the monthly fees to keep Medicare. I am on SSD again, and will get Medicare again in 07/07 (I called). I will return to work again soon, and again will keep Medicare to supplement my other insurance. You can keep Medicare for something like 5 years after a return to work, so if you're 100% sure that you'll be totally healthy through 5 years, I'd drop it. But none of us can predict our medical futures. But, 1 hospital stay will prove Medicare to be a godsend as secondary payor. Francoeur <r080962@...> wrote: I was on disability for 10 years and now I have beenback to work about a year and a half. I work for aschool district so I have decent medical benefits. Myquestion is whether it is worth it to keep paying formedicare part B. Anyone have experience with this?Thanks, SEIZE THE DAY! ENJOY TODAY, SMELL THE ROSES AND HUG YOURSELF Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels in 45,000 destinations on Travel to find your fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Hi , I was in the same situation. I went back to work in 1998 after being on SSD since 92. I had Medicare, and when I went to work, I had CIGNA. I decided to keep Medicare, and pay the monthly premiums. I'm glad I did!! I had "Med 90" so I was supposed to pay the 10% of reasonable and customary fees. I was hospitalized several times, and I paid nothing for it, thanks to Medicare as secondary payor. CIGNA with Medicare paid 100% of all office visits, and 100% of all hospital stays. Medicare paid my $350 CIGNA deductible and paid my $2500 out-of-pocket and 100% of the medical bills CIGNA didn't pay. It was well worth the monthly fees to keep Medicare. I am on SSD again, and will get Medicare again in 07/07 (I called). I will return to work again soon, and again will keep Medicare to supplement my other insurance. You can keep Medicare for something like 5 years after a return to work, so if you're 100% sure that you'll be totally healthy through 5 years, I'd drop it. But none of us can predict our medical futures. But, 1 hospital stay will prove Medicare to be a godsend as secondary payor. Francoeur <r080962@...> wrote: I was on disability for 10 years and now I have beenback to work about a year and a half. I work for aschool district so I have decent medical benefits. Myquestion is whether it is worth it to keep paying formedicare part B. Anyone have experience with this?Thanks, SEIZE THE DAY! ENJOY TODAY, SMELL THE ROSES AND HUG YOURSELF Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels in 45,000 destinations on Travel to find your fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 You really have to look at your employer's plan and figure out if there are any gaps in it that Part B fills. If you have large physician co-pays and deductibles and/or co-pays for laboratory tests under the employer plan, the Part B may pay for itself. You should be able to determine what Medicare has paid for while you have been covered by the employer's plan by reviewing the Medicare Summary Notices that you receive. Even if Part B doesn't quite pay for itself when your health is stable, you should look at what it would cover if your condition worsened and you were hospitalized or had extensive home health care. That being said, it may very well not be worth the cost of paying for Part B while you are covered by your employer's plan. You should be able to get back on Part B with no premium penalty in the event you stop work again due to disability. Francoeur <r080962@...> wrote: I was on disability for 10 years and now I have beenback to work about a year and a half. I work for aschool district so I have decent medical benefits. Myquestion is whether it is worth it to keep paying formedicare part B. Anyone have experience with this?Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 You really have to look at your employer's plan and figure out if there are any gaps in it that Part B fills. If you have large physician co-pays and deductibles and/or co-pays for laboratory tests under the employer plan, the Part B may pay for itself. You should be able to determine what Medicare has paid for while you have been covered by the employer's plan by reviewing the Medicare Summary Notices that you receive. Even if Part B doesn't quite pay for itself when your health is stable, you should look at what it would cover if your condition worsened and you were hospitalized or had extensive home health care. That being said, it may very well not be worth the cost of paying for Part B while you are covered by your employer's plan. You should be able to get back on Part B with no premium penalty in the event you stop work again due to disability. Francoeur <r080962@...> wrote: I was on disability for 10 years and now I have beenback to work about a year and a half. I work for aschool district so I have decent medical benefits. Myquestion is whether it is worth it to keep paying formedicare part B. Anyone have experience with this?Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 You really have to look at your employer's plan and figure out if there are any gaps in it that Part B fills. If you have large physician co-pays and deductibles and/or co-pays for laboratory tests under the employer plan, the Part B may pay for itself. You should be able to determine what Medicare has paid for while you have been covered by the employer's plan by reviewing the Medicare Summary Notices that you receive. Even if Part B doesn't quite pay for itself when your health is stable, you should look at what it would cover if your condition worsened and you were hospitalized or had extensive home health care. That being said, it may very well not be worth the cost of paying for Part B while you are covered by your employer's plan. You should be able to get back on Part B with no premium penalty in the event you stop work again due to disability. Francoeur <r080962@...> wrote: I was on disability for 10 years and now I have beenback to work about a year and a half. I work for aschool district so I have decent medical benefits. Myquestion is whether it is worth it to keep paying formedicare part B. Anyone have experience with this?Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 , I was on disability as well, and decided to keep my Medicare A/B. I was not well, so Medicare really paid for itself. It paid the remainder of my share of out-of-pockets and deductibles from my CIGNA plan. That would have cost me $3000. I was so greatful for it. If I were healthy (high t cells and low viral load, asymptomatic, etc) I'd probably have dropped it. But, you said you were coming off disability (CONGRATULATIONS!!) so I'd consider keeping it, at least for now. Francoeur <r080962@...> wrote: GuysI need help. I am off disability and workingfull-time with full medical benefits. Is it worth itto continue paying for Medicare part B?Thanks, SEIZE THE DAY! ENJOY TODAY, SMELL THE ROSES AND HUG YOURSELF No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go with for Mobile. Get started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 , I was on disability as well, and decided to keep my Medicare A/B. I was not well, so Medicare really paid for itself. It paid the remainder of my share of out-of-pockets and deductibles from my CIGNA plan. That would have cost me $3000. I was so greatful for it. If I were healthy (high t cells and low viral load, asymptomatic, etc) I'd probably have dropped it. But, you said you were coming off disability (CONGRATULATIONS!!) so I'd consider keeping it, at least for now. Francoeur <r080962@...> wrote: GuysI need help. I am off disability and workingfull-time with full medical benefits. Is it worth itto continue paying for Medicare part B?Thanks, SEIZE THE DAY! ENJOY TODAY, SMELL THE ROSES AND HUG YOURSELF No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go with for Mobile. Get started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 Dear Annette, Medicare Part A is for hospitalization, Part B is for doctors fees and tests. It only covers chemo if it is an infusion, that is why it is not going through with your drug card. Plan D is for seniors 65 and older and they do cover Gleevec, but you will probably have a high co-pay if you fall in this category. You didn't say how old your husband was. If y ou are unable to pay for Gleevec, you can contact the Novartis hot line and ask for patient assistance. There are other organizations that assist you with drugs, but you must apply to each different company in most cases. Someone will correct me if I am wrong. Let us know if you were successful, so others will benefit. I was under the understanding that Medicare had people answer their phones 24/7. All the best, Lottie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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