Blue Cross Meeting

The following email was sent to the retirees in the Orlando area. Those of you in other areas may want to contact some of the insurance companies and set up some meetings. Most are happy to accommodate.

The email below was sent by Lee Jacobs recently. If you received it, no need to go further. I am re-sending it because there may be a few retirees on my list that Lee doesn't have. All Medicare eligible retirees have from Nov 15, to Dec 31 to enroll in a supplemental plan or Medicare Advantage plan of our own choosing. Most major providers offer supplemental plans. Some offer the Medicare Advantage plan.

It's important that you know the difference in making your selection. Basically, the supplemental plan is like the one with Embarq where you use Medicare as the primary and after a amount out of your pockets the supplemental kicks in and pays the difference. For me this year I chose the low deductible plan for myself and spouse at a cost of $59.00 a month, taken out of my pension pay check. After I spent $600 out of my pocket then the supplemental came into play. With the supplemental plans you will have 3 cards, your Medicare card, your supplemental card and part D for prescriptions.

The Medicare advantage plan is one where the provider, be it Blue Cross, Humana or whomever, contracts with the government and is paid a flat amount monthly to cover your insurance costs. You have only one card, All expenses , doctor, hospital, and prescriptions are taken care of by the provider.

I have had a lot of retirees complain about the costs and some are high. I don't think that there is one plan that will fit everyone. It pays to be informed and choose the best one for you.

Some other facts to look at is the availability of doctors in the plan you choose. For example: the 2008 Medicare Advantage plan offered by Humana has 3 options, the first is a no cost (0) to the retiree for their basic HMO plan which includes Doctor visits with small co-pay, Hospital costs with co-pay, and prescription drugs. All at no cost to the retiree. The Premium HMO plan costs $39 a month for each person and also covers doctors, hospital and prescription drug costs with 0 co pays for most doctor visits.

The PPO plan cost $43 per month and has higher co pays.

Just like the Blue Cross meeting info given below, Humana would also like to have a meeting to present their program and options. I will let everyone know when I have a schedule.

I'm am not endorsing any company, but I think we should go and find out as much as we can and choose one that will fit our individual needs.

Retirees/Embarq/Medicare….

This is for those retirees who are medically covered by Medicare, and are affected by Embarq’s decision to discontinue supplemental medical insurance effective December 31, 2007..

On November 9, from 10 a.m. – noon, there will be a presentation by BlueCross BlueShield for affected retirees in the Parish Hall at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Maitland. The Church is located on Lake Avenue at the railroad track, just off North Orlando Avenue (as it continues west, it becomes Eatonville Rd. and then Kennedy Blvd.).

Remember, under Embarq, we were covered by Cigna which was a Medicare Supplemental Plan with Medicare being the primary insurance. As you investigate available programs, be aware there are plans which replace Medicare and there are those which are supplemental.

For proper planning, please let the following know by November 5 if you will be attending the presentation: Lee Jacobs, 407.862.0808; Ron Brock, 407.339.1698; or Frank Hutsell, 407.977.2171.

This meeting is for information purposes only to provide you an option to consider when making your supplemental insurance replacement decision.