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Ready for Medicare. Parts A & B. A is free so that is solved. Part B is the question. I am DAV and receive all my help through PCP & VA hospital. Scripts are co pay. Do I need to get Part B of Medicare or is what I receive from VA enough to cover me? Looking for pros & cons of Medicare B vs. VA. I'm 65 now. Looking for input from any retiree or vet. who passed through this door before me. Thanks in advance for your time & info.
greensideout
12-13-07, 11:15 PM
Ok, do you have a current health plan? It's not a slam dunk. There are lots of things that come into play. Lay out what you have and maybe we can help.
Ans. Greensideout, I do not have any health ins plan of any kind. Zilch. The only beneifits I have is thru VA. By March 1st I will qualify for Part A of medicare.
If you are SERVICE CONNECTED at the 50% rate or higher, VA will treat you and provide medications for anything free of charge, so you could "possibly" do without medicare. If you are paying co-pays,...
What about Tri-Care or is it Tri-Health ?
Thanks old top. Just recently received letter of rating of 10% service connected disablity. Also, co-pay will stop and classified in group 3. Also I fall in low income catagory threshold now. Will this make a difference?Thanks again.
Tri care- doesn't apply to me as appears to cover dependents & survivors. Thanks for that one
a 10% rating will get you treatment & meds for your service connected condition free; also it will get you free eyeglasses and hearing aids if you need them. Now that you have been reclassified to group 3 it may make a difference.
FYI, since you are in a low income category, contact your representative and have him / her go over the possibility of NSC Pension getting you a higher award. Pension is only available to vets with wartime service (active duty during a wartime period) and is often a PITA due to the annual reporting requirements and income offsets, but sometimes it will provide a greater benefit than 10% service connected compensation. Fortunately, VA will not change you from compensation to pension even if you erroneously request it if doing so will reduce your benefits. In any case, your representative should be able to determine which benefit would provide the most benefit if you ask.
Dogone it TRI CARE is also for retired folks
Since your profile says retired----
Ken Hendry
12-14-07, 03:40 PM
A is automatic no premium ,you earned this. Hospital only. Part B is the services that Medicare takes out of you ss check. Also Parte D is the drug plan set up through medicare. The problem is,,, I believe the VA only covers drugs you get thru them. If you go to an outside dr VA willnot cover. If you are low income then I would check with Social Security. It may be that you are also qualified for low income for medicare where part B will not have a premium taken and would be a good thing. This is called low in come subsidy .
thanks for all info. Got leads to follow for now. Won't see rep til new year.Thanks again, Merry Christmas & Happy New Years. NEVER TO OLD TO LEARN.
s/sgt gehrij right on retired. didn't see retired mentionedin articles I read so thought didn't apply. will look deeper into that. Thanks. that's why I posted so I could get info from all you guys that know & had experience in different areas. Thanks again.