A new development in the hoop-jumping contest that is figuring out how to get full coverage under Medicare:
The volunteer snail-mailed two thick brochures on Medigap—over a hundred pages, to go along with the hundred pages or so of data to be mastered before signing up for Medicare. Took an hour to shovel through the new stuff.
She apparently was wrong on two counts: First, COBRA is regarded as “credible creditable (!) coverage,” meaning that if you continue your employer’s coverage through COBRA between the time you’re terminated and the time you reach age 65, Medigap carriers can’t refuse to cover you for pre-existing conditions. And second, she didn’t know that attained age premiums (which start low but rise as you age, ending up costing more than you would have paid if you’d selected a pricier product to start with) are illegal in Arizona.
{sigh}
Well, I’m glad I finally got my hands on what appears to be definitive information. It’s a shame elderly people are expected to plow through over two hundred pages of dizzingly complex and confusing material just to sign up for something as basic as health insurance. And mighty annoying that the only people you can get on the phone are unpaid volunteers who themselves are a bit confused!
😯
I was *wondering* how they got away with offering COBRA and considering it NOT creditable coverage, since it’s basically the SAME coverage you had before at a much much higher price.
Did I say creditable? *sigh* Credible! I know my words ….. 😛
@ Revanche: Weirdly, “creditable” is the word they use. Looks like I misspelled it, above…and am just about to FIX IT!!!!! Unclear what “creditable” means… It may not mean “believable”; possibly it has something to do with the insurer’s financial stability????