cutter vs medicine chucker? always two different viewpoints but glad things are looking up

Post #442,370 by boxley 12/2/22 10:54:01 PM 12/2/22 10:54:01 PM Reply	cutter vs medicine chucker? always two different viewpoints but glad things are looking up since I am likely a few months away from medicare part b and all of the rest of the alphabet it is good to know about that part. "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #442,371 by rcareaga 12/2/22 11:32:40 PM 12/2/22 11:32:40 PM Reply	Think thrice about “Medicare Advantage” CaesarCare has been pestering us for years to sign up for “Medicare Advantage.” Yeah, right: advantage CaesarCare. It would have locked us into their system, and Cedars-Sinai, rather than being underwritten on Medicares A and B, would have been entirely on our dime, and by now I’d be typing this entry from a residential hotel room in the San Francisco Tenderloin with our socks drying on the radiator, since we’d have had to sell The Crumbling Manse™ to meet the expenses. cordially,
Post #442,372 by boxley 12/3/22 12:27:06 AM 12/3/22 12:27:06 AM Reply	thank you for that. Im in no rush and will confer with my doc's billing office for best practices as well as the specialists I use from time to time. Have had part A for a couple of years and since I am still nose to the grindstone I am covered at work so have some planning time "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #442,373 by Andrew Grygus 12/3/22 2:00:24 AM 12/3/22 2:00:25 AM Reply	With Medicare A and B . . . The bill for the main work on my heart attack was $171,718.01. My out of pocket was $1,556.00. I should have Medicare D starting on 1 Jan 2023, which is important because Dr. Toshikkor added another expensive (no generic) prescription. The "Physician Samples" he gave me will hold me until then.
Post #442,404 by CRConrad 12/8/22 2:40:56 AM 12/8/22 2:40:56 AM Reply	The Washington Post agrees. WaPo Opinion: Medicare Advantage? More like Medicare Disadvantage. -- Christian R. Conrad The Man Who Apparently Still Knows Fucking Everything Mail: Same username as at the top left of this post, at iki.fi
Post #442,407 by boxley 12/8/22 9:56:18 AM 12/8/22 9:56:19 AM Reply	looked at my 2023 medicare guide Part A and B service anywhere is the US where it is accepted advantage plan? Locked into their area of service with huge costs if elsewhere, looks like I am sticking with A & B. Thanks for the link "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #442,409 by scoenye 12/8/22 5:11:29 PM 12/8/22 5:11:29 PM Reply	Also - 'deny until they die' - gotta make that profit somehow
Post #442,421 by Another Scott 12/9/22 11:12:18 PM 12/9/22 11:12:18 PM Reply	There are good threads at Balloon-Juice on medical insurance. David Anderson is the front pager there that talks about it clearly and with lots of facts. Lots of good comments on his threads. One woman makes the point that if you're in an Advantage plan, there are severe constraints if you later decide that regular Medicare works better. E.g. this comment by Ohio Mom. Personally, I start suspicious when for-profit outfits advertise insurance on TV. TV ads cost money, and that money has to come from somewhere... So, while Medicare Advantage may work, one has to verify it with one's own work based on one's own circumstances. We're a few years away from signing up for Medicare, but we dread the process. David makes the point that picking insurance is complicated and there are too many variables to make an "optimum" choice. The best you can hope for is to not make a bad choice, and keep an eye on annual changes. Good luck!! Cheers, Scott.
Post #442,423 by drook 12/9/22 11:16:05 PM 12/9/22 11:16:05 PM Reply	And they have an incentive to make you choose the plan that's best for them I try to do the math and figure what we're going to need each year. But they have better actuarial tables, and they know what hospitals are actually going to charge. -- Drew
Post #442,426 by pwhysall 12/10/22 5:54:00 AM 12/10/22 5:54:00 AM Reply	I am so, so pleased to not have to deal with all that bullshit I know there are variances in quality of care and outcomes. But holy shit, from where I’m sitting, it’s worth it.
Post #442,433 by CRConrad 12/12/22 5:50:25 AM 12/12/22 5:50:25 AM Reply	Seconded. Thank Bog for the pinko commie Nordic Welfare State.

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