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Turning 65: A Medicare Snafu

PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | September 13, 2011 | Trudy Lieberman

I didn't expect to write a sequel to my seven-part series about signing up for Medicare. Just when I thought I was on the program, and all was fine, it wasn't. After I submitted two bills for routine exams, I learned Medicare would not cover them as my primary carrier. That threw me into a tizzy. All my years of reporting about the program taught me that once you retire Medicare is primary.

Turning 65: Medicare's Future and Me

PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | July 14, 2011 | Trudy Lieberman

I once thought that when I signed up for Medicare, I would never again have to worry about paying for health care. But I will. Medicare's future shape and substance is uncertain.

Turning 65: Making the Choice

PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | June 21, 2011 | Trudy Lieberman

Even though I have written about Medicare for many years, it wasn't until I actually went through the process of selecting an option to cover Medicare's gaps that I realized seniors have an extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, task. You can't make a perfect decision because so much depends on your future medical needs and no one can predict those with certainty.

Turning 65: Finding a Medicare Advantage Plan

PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | June 6, 2011 | Trudy Lieberman

Ah, those Medicare Advantage (MA) plans! The government can't seem to decide if it loves or hates them. On the one hand, when I tried to learn about my options, there was much more MA plan information available from the government than for traditional Medigap policies. So it seemed like I was being encouraged to select an MA plan.

Turning 65: Finding a Prescription Drug Plan

PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | May 23, 2011 | Trudy Lieberman

If I were to choose a Medigap policy to supplement my basic Medicare coverage, I would still have to buy a separate plan for prescription drugs, since Medigap sellers can't include drug benefits in those policies.

Turning 65: Finding a Medigap Policy

PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | May 12, 2011 | Trudy Lieberman

The first step after reading my collection of Medicare Advantage, prescription drug, and Medigap sales brochures was to find a way to fill in core Medicare coverage gaps'the deductibles for hospital stays and doctor care and the coinsurance for physician visits, lab tests, and hospital outpatient treatment that could really leave me with an unwelcome bill. I would have to pay 20 percent of those bills if I didn't have supplemental coverage.

Turning 65: The Sellers Were After Me

PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | April 28, 2011 | Trudy Lieberman

Even before I officially signed up for Medicare, sellers of Medicare Advantage plans, prescription drug benefits and Medigap policies began stuffing my mailbox with marketing brochures and lead cards'the kind that ask for your name and address and tell you that a salesperson will call if you return the card. Since the first of the year, I have received five lead cards asking for personal information, four solicitations for Medicare Advantage plans, two for stand-alone drug plans and three for Medigap insurance.

Turning 65: It Was Time for Medicare

PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | April 11, 2011 | Trudy Lieberman

This is the first in a series of posts that examine the process of signing up for Medicare, navigating its rules, choosing supplemental coverage and planning for health care in a program with a very uncertain future.

Resources to help people find good care and make the most of it.