How Does Medicare Advantage work for you as a full-timer?

[Dave Jenkins]

My wife and I have been full-time RVers for nearly two years. We have had medicare supplement policies for many years, but with the latest round of price increases we are paying nearly $750 per month. We could save a lot of money with Medicare Advantage,but we're concerned about being able to get health care in different areas we travel to. So far, most of our travel has been in the Southeast, but we plan to travel west next summer if the price and availability of diesel permit.
We would like to hear your experiences with Medicare Advantage, if you would care to share.
Thanks in advance,
Dave and Louise Jenkins

[Steven@147]

My wife and I have been full-time RVers for nearly two years. We have had medicare supplement policies for many years, but with the latest round of price increases we are paying nearly $750 per month. We could save a lot of money with Medicare Advantage,but we're concerned about being able to get health care in different areas we travel to. So far, most of our travel has been in the Southeast, but we plan to travel west next summer if the price and availability of diesel permit.
We would like to hear your experiences with Medicare Advantage, if you would care to share.
Thanks in advance,
Dave and Louise Jenkins

Dave and Louise, We have been fulltime going on three years now. As you know a lot depends on what health care plans are being offered for Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare, based on your zip code. It can be a real mess researching all the available plans in your area. With traditional Medicare A&B you will need a drug plan and if you want to have minimal pay then you need a supplement. It is different all over the US. Then based on your current health, you have to decide how much you are willing to pay in the case of catastrophic health care, like being diagnosed with cancer or heart issues. If your goal is to pay minimal out of pocket then traditional Medicare +Supplement + Drug Plan or Medicare Advantage Plans will cost more.

We are based out of Texas near Houston so the Medicare plans available to us are pretty good. We have an AARP Medicare Advantage plan HMO/PPO that does cover us if we are out of our area, anywhere in the US. Zero dollar premiums, zero co-pays, low hospital stays with minimal cost primary care office calls, minimal co-pays for health screening like xrays and MRIs and a great drug plan. We have refilled our prescriptions all over the US from the Houston area and on our trip out west to WY, MT, ID, UT, CO, and so forth. My drugs are for high cholesterol, my Wife is for her inhalers for asthma. We use CVS and Wallgreens for refills, and the drug price is always the same.
Like i said our plan is based out of the Houston area but our primary Care Dr. is based out of Austin. It is still in network. Of course our plan pays more using in network (HMO part) but also pays really well out of network (PPO part) for emergencies. Whether we use a hospital, Urgent Care or the like where ever we are. We have not yet had to use our plan out of network. It's worked out really well for us.

In January Medicare B is supposed to be lower and Social Security is supposed to increase a lot, so we'll see how that works out.

[Johnww]

Dave and Louise, We have been fulltime going on three years now. As you know a lot depends on what health care plans are being offered for Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare, based on your zip code. It can be a real mess researching all the available plans in your area. With traditional Medicare A&B you will need a drug plan and if you want to have minimal pay then you need a supplement. It is different all over the US. Then based on your current health, you have to decide how much you are willing to pay in the case of catastrophic health care, like being diagnosed with cancer or heart issues. If your goal is to pay minimal out of pocket then traditional Medicare +Supplement + Drug Plan or Medicare Advantage Plans will cost more.

We are based out of Texas near Houston so the Medicare plans available to us are pretty good. We have an AARP Medicare Advantage plan HMO/PPO that does cover us if we are out of our area, anywhere in the US. Zero dollar premiums, zero co-pays, low hospital stays with minimal cost primary care office calls, minimal co-pays for health screening like xrays and MRIs and a great drug plan. We have refilled our prescriptions all over the US from the Houston area and on our trip out west to WY, MT, ID, UT, CO, and so forth. My drugs are for high cholesterol, my Wife is for her inhalers for asthma. We use CVS and Wallgreens for refills, and the drug price is always the same.
Like i said our plan is based out of the Houston area but our primary Care Dr. is based out of Austin. It is still in network. Of course our plan pays more using in network (HMO part) but also pays really well out of network (PPO part) for emergencies. Whether we use a hospital, Urgent Care or the like where ever we are. We have not yet had to use our plan out of network. It's worked out really well for us.

In January Medicare A&B is supposed to have a substantial increase and Social Security is supposed to increase a lot, so we'll see how that works out.

Steve, I read somewhere (Medicare site) that in January Medicare Part B premiums will actually go down from the current $170 per month to $149 per month and yes Social security will go up by 8.7%.

[Steven@147]

Steve, I read somewhere (Medicare site) that in January Medicare Part B premiums will actually go down from the current $170 per month to $149 per month and yes Social security will go up by 8.7%.

Yes your right, I got my ups and downs mixed up, thank you for catching that,I edited my post

[Uncorked]

My wife and I have been full-time RVers for nearly two years. We have had medicare supplement policies for many years, but with the latest round of price increases we are paying nearly $750 per month. We could save a lot of money with Medicare Advantage,but we're concerned about being able to get health care in different areas we travel to. So far, most of our travel has been in the Southeast, but we plan to travel west next summer if the price and availability of diesel permit.
We would like to hear your experiences with Medicare Advantage, if you would care to share.
Thanks in advance,
Dave and Louise Jenkins

Dave,

I reside in Florida and have a Humana PPO Advantage plan. We spend 6 months in Northern Michigan, and I've had no issues finding providers within network. My plan currently cost me $114.00 per month, which I believe may come down in 2023. I've had the same plan for 2 years and I am completely satisfied.

[Dave Jenkins]

Dave,

I reside in Florida and have a Humana PPO Advantage plan. We spend 6 months in Northern Michigan, and I've had no issues finding providers within network. My plan currently cost me $114.00 per month, which I believe may come down in 2023. I've had the same plan for 2 years and I am completely satisfied.

Thanks for your reply. Have you or your wife had any major issues?
Dave

[MoonShadow_1911]

My wife and I have been full-time RVers for nearly two years. We have had medicare supplement policies for many years, but with the latest round of price increases we are paying nearly $750 per month. We could save a lot of money with Medicare Advantage,but we're concerned about being able to get health care in different areas we travel to. So far, most of our travel has been in the Southeast, but we plan to travel west next summer if the price and availability of diesel permit.
We would like to hear your experiences with Medicare Advantage, if you would care to share.
Thanks in advance,
Dave and Louise Jenkins

As others have stated above, it's based on your domicile (or home address) zip code, county, and/or state. It depends on the state you claim as your home state.

I still work full-time so I cannot contribute to the Medicare portion of the discussion and my wife is retired and Medicare eligible, but is on my employee healthcare plan. Many of us full-timers have selected states (Texas, Florida, and South Dakota) to domicile in, usually through an organization like Escapees which cater to full-time RVers.

Also, as you are probably well aware of, the premiums will vary considerably from location to location and company to company; as do the coverage options.

My advice, if you are not domiciled in one of the previous states I mentioned and are not part of an organization like Escapees or you are claiming a full-time address in one of those states but are not part of an organization like Escapees, I would highly recommend joining Escapees (no, this is NOT an advertisement and I don't get paid for it ). Even if it's for just a year until you are all settled in, the tools and benefits that are available to you as a full-timer will pay for the membership in no time. They even have programs targeting full-timers that are making the transition to Medicare and fixed income living while on the road.

[Uncorked]

Thanks for your reply. Have you or your wife had any major issues?
Dave

My wife isn't old enough for medicare, so that would be no for her. I am a Diabetic and have HBP, for which I take several meds. My meds are 90 day supply and they are shipped by mail. I have a primary doc in Florida and another in Michigan. I had pneumonia while in Michigan and no issues with coverage or treatment.

[Dave Jenkins]

I should have stated up front that we are Escapees members and that we are legally domiciled in Florida, although since we use the Escapees mail-forwarding service we mostly use the Livingston, TX address. I imagine we would need to use our legal state of residence address with a Medicare Advantage plan.
Thanks to all for your responses, by the way.
Dave Jenkins

[ajg617]

Not full time, but things happen. I think it depends on whether the provider accepts medicare at all for some of the Advantage plans - seems not all do. We're covered under Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO through wife's retiree plan. When we were in Garryowen Montana early Sep, I had a meeting with a boulder at night - the boulder won. Nearest hospital was Crow Agency and this was the first time we've needed anything out-of-state and out-of-network and at a location that is probably federally subsidized. Still waiting on that one.