After a number of weeks, I got through to AARP.
I’m an impatient man. I can’t wait forever for an agent to come online. If I don’t get cut off automatically, I don’t hang around if my lunchtime comes and goes while waiting.
This morning I decided to try a brand new strategy. I would call in the morning.
Brilliant!
After some fiddling around with the buttons, Chris came on the line. She is in Stockton, California. I was so surprised to hear an AARP human I dropped my cocoa into my lap causing me to dance around my desk. That added to the joy of hearing a fellow human being from AARP.
Chris enrolled me into the MedicareRx plan. That is she started the process. She transferred me to Amy who verified the information needed. We then went through the same procedure with my wife. Before I talked to Amy, I had to listen to a very long spiel about the plan. I had to agree that I understood the spiel and that I agreed to its terms. Suddenly, we were both enrolled. I couldn’t believe it.
Well, there is a two-week wait for the plan to come through. I selected the option that lets Social Security deduct the MedicareRx Plan premiums.
I carry supplemental insurance with AARP. I’ve always enjoyed the way they pay every single penny of my medical expenses beyond what Medicare pays.
Well, there was one exception. One of my specialist doctors does not except checks from Medicare or AARP. I get the checks and then pay his bill. The checks do not cover the bill because he wants an extra 20%. I heard that some doctors want the extra 15%. Whatever! Anyway, who wants to pay extra?
Anyway, I’m changing from Specialist A to Specialist B. Specialist B accepts Medicare payments. Besides, Specialist A scared the heck out of me during a medical test. Also, he is always seems to be in a big hurry and …
Yesterday the Humana® agent came to the house. He explained the Humana® plan available here in Idaho. They are the new guys on the block as they move west across the country. They still have the West Coast states to harness.
The Humana® plan looked good to me. However, I feel safer with my AARP plan that pays everything without co-pays and all that stuff. For a healthy couple, Humana® would be just fine and less costly. You only pay for services as you use them with Humana®.
Each of the above statements about Humana® assumes that I understood what the agent was talking about. A more definitive analysis would require six weeks study on my part of the service pack he left me.
Anyway, the reason I decided to join the MedicareRx plan is that after you get through the GAP that occurs when your drug cost reach $2250.00 and ends when your drug cost reach $3600.00, you are covered to infinity. My AARP drug plan ends when the total cost are $6250.00. There is no GAP however with AARP.
You have to decide. As ARRP states, if you think that you someday will need coverage beyond the GAP, you might consider MedicareRx. The other factor is your total drug cost. I reduced my cost by going to MedicareRx. The reason is the dramatic cost of my AARP supplemental plan when I remove drug coverage cost.
Now let’s talk about the GAP in the MedicareRx plan. Why is there a GAP and why is it so huge?
The GAP in MedicareRx is called the “doughnut hole.” It is the reason that so few eligible people have joined MedicareRx. The GAP was designed because Congress just loves (to bilk) the taxpayers of our country. They did not want drug cost to “get out of hand.”
I’ll tell you where the cost got out of hand. It is the $2 billion windfall given to the drug tsars by the MedicareRx Plan.
I’m not too bitter.
I’ve got go get a drink of cranberry juice. I’ve got this horrible taste in my mouth.
The End
John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine. He is Executive Representative of IWS sellers of Tyler Hicks wealth-success books and kits. He also sells TopFlight flagpoles. He calls himself "Taylor Jones, the hack writer."
More info: http://www.tjbooks.com
Business web site: http://www.dumbincome.com
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