r/medicare

Any idea what the rate increase will be for BCBS of Texas Medigap Plan G in 2026?

I honestly think a lot of intelligent people feel overwhelmed by Medicare because the system keeps changing constantly.

Different parts.
Drug plans.
Networks.
Prior authorizations.
Supplement plans.
Advantage plans.
Annual changes.
Enrollment penalties.

And many people only discover certain rules after a problem happens.

What part of Medicare do you think confuses people the most?

Where should I be looking for affordable Medicare supplement coverage? The premiums for Medigap plans for me and my spouse are approaching nearly $700 a month combined. We've tried researching options ourselves but the marketplace feels overwhelming and we're not sure if we're missing better alternatives or group purchasing options. Where do people typically go to find competitive rates or broker assistance? Or if not, how are others managing these costs?

Background:

Located in Florida, both recently eligible for Medicare.

We're both on Medicare Part A & B, employer coverage ended.

Medigap Plan G coverage for us (65M, 63F) is running close to $700 monthly. I have a pre-existing cardiac condition (stent placement 8 years ago).

Any guidance would be genuinely appreciated!

Medicare transportation cost to see a doctor in rural states can be very high, Should Medicare adjust their coverage ?

Hello all,
I am doing research for my dad who is turning 65 in 2 months and I’m so confused on how part A is covered. He wants to enroll in the Kaiser Senior Advantage Basic Plan(HMO)
I called the SSA and they said that he qualifies for Part A for free. However, in the Kaiser plan benefits book, it says that he still have to pay for hospital stay.
Does part A from SSA overwrites the Part A in the Kaiser plan?

I’m a disabled veteran with medical coverage for life. I’ve been paying into Medicare for my entire adult life. I want that money back! How do I initiate that process?

My husband is 71 and currently on hospice care for Stage 4 cancer. He is covered under my company plan and has Medicare Part A. I am leaving my job this month and my company coverage ends on May 31st.

I enrolled him in Part B on the Medicare website on May 11th. I have the email confirmation the forms were received. However nothing is showing up on the social security website that’s it’s being processed. I’m worried he is going to be without insurance June 2.

Do I continue with Cobra coverage for him until Part B is approved? Is there a specific number I should call? Or department to reach? Hospice told me not to worry about Plan B as hospice is covered 100% under Part A but I’m kind of panicking about not having Plan B approved.

Why do I keep getting calls asking me about a flex card if it's outside of open enrollment for Medicare Advantage plans? I get phone calls all day long!

I see United Healthcare is a highly rated company.

A friend told me to use Humana for gap coverage.

Any thoughts or comparisons?

Thanks.

Some info:

- Began dialysis in December 2023

- SSDI Benefits began in June 2025

- Medicare premium deductions from SSDI benefits began in November 2025

- Currently on spouse's employer plan as a dependent

- Current age: 60

Questions:

1. When (what date) does the 30-month coordination period end, where Medicare is primary and the employer health plan is secondary? Some confusing responses by case/social worker at the dialysis center.

2. Now the twist: spouse has been informed that she and others will be laid off in November 2026. Spouse is looking for another position in the next few months and will hopefully land another position and will be on that employer's family health plan. Friend will be enrolled in that plan.

- If, for some reason, a new position is not found by November 2026, plan is to go on COBRA for family plan and/or find insurance in the marketplace (with similar great current coverage for family; understanding premiums/deductibles will be high).

- Does this make sense?

- OR, my friend can keep with current health insurance, but pay as a medicare gap/supplemental insurance plan for the other 20% coverage since Medicare will pay 80%. Friend has reached out to current insurance plan to walk through how this would work.

Any insight and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I’ll probably work a couple of years past 65 and stay on my employer’s insurance. How do I calculate whether at that point whether it’s better to return to my employer’s Medicare creditable plan or to continue on my current non-creditable HDHP and take the part D penalty so I can still make HSA contributions?

My parents were on a medicare advantage plan thar was very helpful up until this year when the plan was no longer offered. They moved to normal medicare and the bills are piling up fast. Is there any gap policy that accepts cancer patients and is available outside of enrollment period? In arizona, pima county, thank you so much!

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I live about 4 hours from my dad who's 84 and had a stroke two years ago. he's in a care facility and something just feels off lately. he seems more withdrawn, he's lost weight and last week he told me something happened but then kind of backed off when i pressed him on it.

i don't want to overreact, but i also don't want to do nothing. i've never dealt with anything like this before. has anyone actually reported suspected elder abuse and what happened? did anyone help you through the process or did you have to figure it out yourself?

I'm concerned the local hospital is trying to bill Part B services under Part A to allow them to charge Medicare a higher fee for routine outpatient services that should be billed under Part B.

(edited) Problem 1: Like many hospitals, the hospital bought some outpatient facilities years ago. Its electronic service is now being used to try to require me to sign online an untitled document that assumes that I am receiving services at a hospital when I'm clearly NOT at the hospital itself.

CoPilot (an AI on Windows) had told me that current Medicare regulations require the actual facility providing the service to do the billing, but last year, the billing service created a bill under Part A last year which charged Medicare more money (which Medicare paid) and which also charged me a higher amount of money. However, my understanding is that imaging for non-hospitalized outpatients done at an outpatient facility (that is NOT on the grounds of the hospital) aren't supposed to be billed under Part A.

I think that in the past, it *was* permitted for hospitals to bill Medicare a higher fee (edited) for services from outpatient facilities that are owned by the hospital, but my understanding from CoPilot is that Medicare rules do not permit that now. Yet, if that's truly the case, many people still don't understand that, including people staffing the usual Medicare phone number. (I looked at the Medicare guidance, and it's not easy to understand.)

Problem 2. How can I get a definitive answer about whether it's appropriate for the hospital to blur the lines between the hospital and the outpatient facility, have me sign an electronic document (that I can't change) as if I'm at the hospital when I'm not, and then bill Medicare under Part A as if I got imaging services at the hospital? (I don't want to file a fraud complaint that might not be justified.)

I understand we have six?eight?months post retirement to get Part B. Is this a money saver if I wait a few months after retiring to apply for it...vs immediately applying?( I'm assuming I'll be billed immediately)

How can my mother qualify for both SLMB and SNAP in Texas?

Her SS is $1435 and she also gets a small pension of $114 per month. Her rent is $1271 and she pays electric and her phone and pretty much has nothing left. Last year, I did her SNAP renewal and applied for the SLMB at that time. Apparently I messed something up and put that I contributed $ toward her rent (which I do not) but I did that because there was already an amount in the carryover info from the prior application for $500 that I accidentally deleted so I was trying to put it back in. They approved her for SLMB but denied the SNAP. I didn’t want to deal with calling and fixing the mistake so I’ve been buying her groceries every week for over a year and cannot afford it any longer. I need help.

Let's see if I can explain this in a semi-short amount of time...

The Medicare extra help I got to pay my premiums ended in December of '24. But I didn't get notice of that.

By March of '25, my Aetna advantage plan ended my policy due to nonpayment. Even though I'd paid the Aetna premiums. After it took me FOREVER to figure out I had to pay Medicare premiums too, I went into my social security office and paid the $1300 to pay the back premiums all the way through June of '25.

After June, I checked online every couple of weeks for months to see if I could start paying my premiums on medicare.gov again. I was never able to make those payments. It just said I needed to call SS to find out what I needed to do. I called social security every month, and they would tell me that the $1300 was sitting at the payment center and I needed to "wait it out" until it went through and I could start paying my premiums monthly again.

In October, I got a letter from Medicare saying I was eligible to enroll in a plan b during open enrollment. So I did. In November, I got a letter saying this plan would NOT be effective in January, due to not being eligible for Medicare. When I called to ask why I got a letter saying I was eligible to enroll, if I wasn't really, no one could answer- and they said my $1300 was still waiting to be processed.

I finally got marketplace coverage in December, because I can't keep going without insurance.

I even tried to just get a letter from social security saying I was eligible for Medicare to give to my doctors, but they said they couldn't do that.

Then, when I needed a letter for the marketplace to show I wasn't eligible for Medicare, they gave me one.

But now they're saying I've been eligible this whole time.

Then, at the end of April, I got a statement saying I now owe $2048 for June of '25 through August of '26.

Why am I paying the premiums if I haven't been able to get coverage? This makes no sense to me and I'm about ready to do myself in over all of the bullshit I've dealt with over the last year.

I called Medicare twice this morning, Aetna once, and finally was on hold with SS for over an hour to make an appointment with my local SS office to "make the payment", even though the appointment is after the deadline and I can't see how I can possibly make that large of a payment in the next week, AND I don't understand what I'm paying for.

Anyone have ANY insight for me?