Guest guest Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Re this part of message 1d. from above digest:1d. Posted by: "Louis Carliner" lcarliner@... "Generally, it is my understanding that surgery for men over the age of 70 is considered somewhat risky. The hormone therapy, as I understand, works in synergy to increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy. Unfortunately, for Medicare patients, the cost is considerably higher than surgery alone ..."===> Related to what medicare/medicare supplement plans (not medicare advantage) cover -is it that it does not cover radiation treatments or for as many visits as does work insurance ?and/or is it that some/all hormone treatment medicines, for example lupron and related, are notcovered by medicare ?Am getting close to having to go onto medicare and can't really find any definitive or clearinfo on this when browsing the web so far.Thanks - Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 > ===> Related to what medicare/medicare supplement plans (not > medicare advantage) cover - is it that it does not cover > radiation treatments or for as many visits as does work > insurance and/or is it that some/all hormone treatment > medicines, for example lupron and related, are not covered by > medicare ? > > Am getting close to having to go onto medicare and can't really > find any definitive or clear info on this when browsing the web > so far. Ken, There's a booklet explaining benefits at: http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/10116.pdf Page 42 has a very brief discussion of radiation therapy. However, how to translate it into dollars wasn't at all clear to me. You might put together a thoughtful list of questions, then call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-) and ask them. Good luck. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Each radiation treatment session has co-pays which can be substantial, especially with man Medicare Part C plans. Also, some of the very expensive hormone blockade injectables are either covered by Medicare Part B with a 20% copay or Medicare Part D in the specialty tier with a 33% co-pay which will quickly put you into that dreaded coverage gap! With surgery, only the hospital co-pay (which will be zero in many Medicare Advantage programs because of the short hospital stay) and co-pays for followup visit with the surgeon (which, in many Medicare Advantage programs will be zero) will be the only costs. In my Optimum healthplan, the co-pay for each radiation treatment session will be $50. However, the plan does have an annual out-of-pocket limit of $3400, but still substantial. Louis. . . To: "ProstateCancerSupport " <ProstateCancerSupport >Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 1:43 PMSubject: Re: Digest Number 3731 Re this part of message 1d. from above digest:1d. Posted by: "Louis Carliner" lcarliner@... "Generally, it is my understanding that surgery for men over the age of 70 is considered somewhat risky. The hormone therapy, as I understand, works in synergy to increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy. Unfortunately, for Medicare patients, the cost is considerably higher than surgery alone ..."===> Related to what medicare/medicare supplement plans (not medicare advantage) cover -is it that it does not cover radiation treatments or for as many visits as does work insurance ?and/or is it that some/all hormone treatment medicines, for example lupron and related, are notcovered by medicare ?Am getting close to having to go onto medicare and can't really find any definitive or clearinfo on this when browsing the web so far.Thanks - Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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