Employer coverage ends at 65. What should I do for spouse?

[barkley]

As for yourself, start investigating Medicare supplement plans right now. It's not as straightforward as it could be, and Medicare by itself is insufficient.

good advice on researching in advance-and this goes for mediCARE in general for wherever you live. find out if your current provider accepts it AND if they will allow you to continue as a patient once you have it (some have long wait lists). explore plans to see which hospitals, labs and pharmacies in your area are covered. depending on your health needs an advantage plan can be an option as well.

 

[longboard55]

You can actually apply for cobra 3 months after leaving your work insurance so the trick is do nothing and if by chance something happens apply for cobra

 

[tvguy]

good advice on researching in advance-and this goes for mediCARE in general for wherever you live. find out if your current provider accepts it AND if they will allow you to continue as a patient once you have it (some have long wait lists). explore plans to see which hospitals, labs and pharmacies in your area are covered. depending on your health needs an advantage plan can be an option as well.

This is especially true for Medicare ADVANTAGE plans, if they are available in your area. I bought my insurance through a broker and they started by seeing how many options I had. Based on where I live, I qualified for 30 different plans. Entering my Primary care Doctor, the options dropped to 3 plans. Entering my specialists, it drop to none. So I would have to find new specialists.
Checked regular Medicare and a Medigap policy through a major insurance company. All my Doctors accepted them Last statistic I can find is 99% of all non-pediatric Doctors take regular Medicare.

 

[barkley]

Last statistic I can find is 99% of all non-pediatric Doctors take regular Medicare.

the issue is that even before the shortages we are seeing these days of primary care physicians many doctors/practices balance the number of mediCARE patients and traditional insurance patients in their mix of whom they serve. some primary care physicians will continue with a patient when they transition to mediCARE but others will be at their practice's chosen cap and the patient is left to find a new provider-and there can years long waiting lists (that's why some of the advantage programs are so popular-guranteed a doctor).

speaking to one's doctor a year in advance of mediCARE kicking in is advisable to learn if you can continue on with the doctor (or if they even plan to be with the practice that far down the line).

 

[Marrila]

This is especially true for Medicare ADVANTAGE plans, if they are available in your area. I bought my insurance through a broker and they started by seeing how many options I had. Based on where I live, I qualified for 30 different plans. Entering my Primary care Doctor, the options dropped to 3 plans. Entering my specialists, it drop to none. So I would have to find new specialists.
Checked regular Medicare and a Medigap policy through a major insurance company. All my Doctors accepted them Last statistic I can find is 99% of all non-pediatric Doctors take regular Medicare.

Yes, many Drs take Medicare. They don't have to accept new patients. And depending on where one lives this can be a huge problem. Some Drs cap their new Medicare patient load and when they hit it that's all until next year. Some hit their limit as early as Jan/Feb.