re: Medical expense not covered by Medicare will be 25,000 bucks this week

Ok, thanks for explaining. I’ve just read you are taxed again when combined and I always wondered why if taxes are withheld on that amount at time of withdrawal. Thanks for clarifying re the portion, I did not know that. Not planning on withdrawing anytime soon, thankfully.

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medicare advantage

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My 78 year old brother is learning the medicare advantage is a POS lesson now. He recently had hip replacement surgery and starting to see high medical bills that he was not aware would be coming his way. To add insult to injury, they have denied damn near all his post op needs....in home PT, wound care, etc...etc.

The joys of figuring this stuff out does not appeal to me.

I will give you a suggestion..
When going on chose Medicare traditional with a supplement .. plan g and a pharmacy plan .D

Spend the next year figuring things out.. you can change back and forth each year….

However if you sign up for Medicare advantage.. the first time.. which is when ( 6 months after 65 I believe)…. They can NOT factor in pre existing conditions and or deny coverage…

If you were on advantage right into retirement and come down with a heart condition.. MS etc during that year and wanted to switch from Medicare advantage ((ppo concept).. to Medicare with a Medicare supplement like plan G.. ( better coverage. Follow up care etc like op said about his brother) you are past the six mont time limit set by government and they can now look at existing condition like MS and deny or include in premium calculations..

Many people will offer to help you at no cost.. but many do get kickbacks from companies they get you to sign up with..

Do your research.. Google will help.

Good advice, thanks.

I wish everyone was educated on getting Medicare a/b with a supplement. A lot better than a Medicare disadvantage plan

Humana Medicare needs to be exiled from earth. They are literal scum

Acknowledging that each individual's cataract conditions are likely not to be identical, the choice of implanting insurance covered lenses vs. premium lenses deserves carefull consideration.

For example my brother chose the expensive premium lenses vs. the no patient cost ones Medicare would cover 8 years ago. He had improved vision, but was having some difficulty seeing some things as well as I did with my "progressive lenses eye glasses" before I had cataract surgery. 6 years ago, when I agreed to have cataract surgery, I chose to just use the implant lenses that would be covered fully by Medicare due to my brother's experience. The technology of lenses available has been improving overtime and I have had 20/20 vision using the Medicare covered lenses with no need for glasses at all! I suspect the implant lenses technology has continued to improve over time and that includes those covered by employer insurance and also via Medicare coverage.

I suspect that the skill of one's ophthalmologist doing the surgery can affect the best lense options chosen to correct one's eye conditions as well as their skill as a eye surgeon in performing the procedure.

Thanks for your post. Unfortunately, the problems you're experiencing are due your not having Medicare coverage despite what your Medicare Advantage plan would like you to believe.
The primary health insurance portion of Medicare is known as Medicare Parts A & B which began in 1966 and Part D which covers prescription drugs and began in 2006. You've been paying in to the Medicare system for Parts A & B for many, many years and when you were eligible for Part B, usually at age 65 you began paying an additional Medicare Part B premium that will contunue for life. Sadly, at some point you elected to disenroll yourself from the very comprehensive and quality coverage under A & B and enroll in a HMO- Health Maintanence Organization. All Medicare Advantage plans are HMO's and have nothing to do with the coverage under real Medicare despite having "Medicare" in the name. I've owned a health insurace agency since these plans began and in the begining for a small segment of the population they were a good fit.
That's not the case today. If you simply stay with the Medicare A & B coverage otherwise known as being "Medicare Primary" and purchase a Medicare Supplement policy the max out of pocket for 2025 is $257. I've reviewed thouands of clients Medicare explanations of benefit statements of the last 35 years and as long as they are Medicare A & B primary I've never seen any treatments declined or not allowed by Medicare. Ever since the house and the Senate voted in 2012 to defund Medicare Advantage to fund Obamacare the MA plans have been a terrible and very expensive choice. It's not as difficult as you may believe to switch back to real Medicare

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Mississippi’s House Bill 1, signed into law in March 2025, phases out the state income tax by reducing it from 4% to 3% by 2030, with further cuts based on revenue growth, potentially eliminating it by 2040. It also cuts the grocery tax from 7% to 5% starting July 1, 2025, and raises the gas tax by 9 cents per gallon by 2027 to offset revenue losses.

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Currently, Mississippi is attracting many retirees. No State income tax on retirement plans. Pensions, 401K’s, etc.

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Good luck with underwriting if you ever try to switch from MA back to Medicare.

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Can be done annually without issue during the enrollment period