Medicare dilemma.. any help would be appreciated.

[SoCalDem]

My husband is 66 and has union medical coverage through work.. he is not retired or planning to retire until age 70. I am 60 and do not have a job, and do not plan on getting one.

We have had Pacificare forever and recently (last month) the union changed us to Aetna (I know:(..).. Yesterday we got a letter that more or less tells my husband that he HAS to sign up for medicare.

He is NOT union, but management people have the same coverage through the union, but I don;t think they will "counsel" him, since he is not a union member.

We are afraid to ask Aetna, for obvious reasons..

I am so afraid we will make the wrong choice and I will end up uncovered, or they will delete us .. Our drug benefit is entirely a different thing, as is vision and dental.

Has anyone here run into this situation? Who can we go to, to get unbiased information, but specific to US.? I have looked at Medicare's website, but it only made me more confused ..

God.. I wish I was a Canadian :(

[ChicagoSuz219]

1. Here's the info...

You can call 1-800-MEDICARE. They take calls 24/7 & will answer any questions you might have...

[pnwmom]

2. Has your husband tried talking to someone in Human Resources at his company? n/t

[Tobin S.]

3. That's what I would suggest, too. It's worth a try anyway. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Why isn't he in the union?

Sounds like they might be helpful about now.

Also sounds like the employer's contract with the insurance company says the employees eligible for Medicare will be on Medicare. I don't think that is all that uncommon.

[TexasProgresive]

6. It sounds like he is not eligible for union membership

He is NOT union, but management people have the same coverage through the union

Management people are not in my union either, are they in yours?

[TexasProgresive]

5. We are in a similar situation

My wife is older then me. She did not work enough quarters to be eligible for Social Security. The S.S. office told her that she was not eligible for Medicare either. I think we need to revisit this since she checked this out during the dark years of 2000 - 2008.

I am still employed and we are covered under the plan at work- how this will work after my retirement I don't know.

I'd go for that, "God.. I wish I was a Canadian."

[brer cat]

7. The little I know, but might help...

I'm thinking Aetna wants your husband to sign up for medicare so they will become his secondary insurer and therefore greatly reduce their liability should he get sick. That's an ok thing. It should also reduce the cost to him or his company for their premium. They can't make you sign up unless you are disabled because you aren't old enough yet. I would call his company's Human Resources office and/or the billing department of your local hospital or doctor's office. They will understand the in's and out's about this.

[pinto]

8. brer cat's assessment in #7 sounds likely. Suggest you call the office that sent letter to clarify.

It's not uncommon for a private insurer to be the secondary to Medicare as the primary. As brer cat said, the set up limits the private insurer's risk. Medicare would pay the bulk of any health care costs and Aetna would pick up the remainder (less deductibles, or whatever the limits stipulated in the Aetna plan).

If that scenario holds here, it would likely be a good thing all around, since *you* should still have coverage under the Aetna policy via his employer. Again, *ask questions* and ask candidly for clarification on what it all means.

If the letter came from Aetna, they should have a 'patient ombudsman' with whom you could speak. Again, ask for clarification. Oh, and check if there's a time frame for your response. Some plans require action from the insured (your husband) within a certain time frame. Hang in there.