Are Your Aging Parents Paying Too Much for Health Insurance?

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Many of our parents are on fixed incomes and are struggling to make ends meet.  Property taxes, home heating fuel, insurance, utilities and food prices keep rising every year but their social security checks only increase minimally.  If your parents or any retired seniors that you know are experiencing financial trouble, the following information could help them save a considerable amount of money each year.

When an individual is about to retire they will generally apply to the Social Security Administration to start receiving their social security retirement benefits.  At that time, if that person is 65 or older they will be enrolled in the government’s health insurance program, Medicare parts A and B

Medicare Part A is the hospitalization portion that helps pay for hospital stays and limited skilled nursing home care.  There is generally no premium for this coverage. 

Medicare Part B pays for some of the things that Part A doesn’t cover like doctor’s services and outpatient medical care.  For most people, a premium for part B is taken out of one’s social security check. 

Since there are deductibles and co-pays that Medicare A and B don’t cover, most people purchase a Medicare Supplemental Plan to cover those gaps. 

These plans will vary from state to state but in most cases there is no difference in coverage when you compare one like plan to another.  However, the premiums for these plans can vary dramatically.  The variations will depend on a number of things like, whether the insurance company bases the premium on one’s age or perhaps the premium was low when the policy was first issued but the yearly increases have caused the premium to skyrocket. 

Since I am an attorney that focuses on estate planning, I meet with a number of elderly clients.  I have many opportunities to find out what some seniors are actually paying for their Medicare Supplemental Insurance coverage.

One Change that Saved over $4,800 a year!

I recently visited with a couple and was shocked to see that they were paying $700 per month for Medicare Supplemental Insurance.  They had had their policies for over 15 years and the premiums just kept creeping up.  They were unaware that there were other plans that were much more economical and did not realize that they could even switch to another plan.  I was able to help this couple find a plan that would save them over $400 per month.  That’s at least a $4800 a year savings!  I was also able to save them a few hundred dollars more per year by getting them to enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription drug program.

Analyzing these Medicare Supplemental programs is very time consuming and can be very overwhelming to the average person.  I believe that many seniors stay with what they have rather than trying to navigate through large amounts of information, much of which is a very confusing in order to find a new plan.  If you feel that you or someone you know is paying too much for their health insurance, you should contact a reputable insurance agent that deals with these types of plans or an elder law attorney should be able to help or direct you to someone who can.

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