Competition creates lower consumer prices

By Cheri Brown

Cheri Brown

Dear Medicare Cheri, I am turning 65 in June, and my friend told me to sign up for Medicare. I work at Cisco and would prefer to keep the insurance coverage I have. I like the coverage, and my wife and daughter are under the plan. Do I have to go on Medicare? Do I have to pay additional money for Medicare?

Signed, still working, and loving it

Dear Still working,

Good news — you do not have to go on Medicare when you turn 65 if you have employer group coverage with a company that has 20 or more employees.

When you are working you are paying into the Medicare system through payroll deductions for Medicare Part A. Your Medicare Part B is paid for by you and the federal government on a sliding scale based on your income. Medicare has a decision tree you can use to confirm this here: www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare. It is important to remember, if you leave your current employer for any reason, do not utilize Cobra for yourself. This will cause you to have a late enrollment penalty. If this occurs go to www.SSA.gov and sign up for Medicare as soon as possible. You can also go to your local Social Security office or call them at (800) 772-1213. The Social Security phone line is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Dear Medicare Cheri, I am on a great Medicare Advantage plan and my costs are super low and I get lots of extra benefits too. I am considering moving to either Idaho or Redding. A friend said my healthcare costs will go way up. Is this true?

Signed, want to escape

Dear Escapee, unfortunately, your friend is probably right. The Medicare Advantage plans in Santa Clara county have very rich benefits, with low copays and extras. This is not the case in many areas of the country, especially in rural counties. There are two reasons behind this. First, there are dozens of Medicare Advantage plans in Santa Clara County, and competition creates lower consumer prices. Second, Medicare pays the Medicare Advantage plans to take care of you based on your county, and the amount they receive can be significantly different (by hundreds of dollars a month).

Cheri Brown can be reached at [email protected].