General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: medicare etc [View all]myccrider
(484 posts)I have Medicare A, B, D and a medigap (plan G) through United Healthcare. My copays are minimal but it does cost a few hundred dollars more a month than an advantage plan. I havent had to be hospitalized, but the costs are supposed to be specified/controlled by the plan you pick. Hopefully, itll be a looong time before I have to find out if it really works.
My husband has his Advantage plan through Kaiser and its been wonderful for him. He had a stroke 7 years ago and Kaiser was fabulous. No surprise billing or costs and minimal copays, they took care of all his care including rehab hospital. We did have to foot a larger part of the bill for some brief at home care, though. Thankfully, he recovered to 95% of pre-stroke function and hasnt needed any further medical treatments, except a blood thinner.
I have a mild form of a rare genetic condition that now causes me chronic pain, among other complications. I was in Kaiser at first, too, but their pain management team in our area was run by a crusading idiot of a doctor who objected vociferously to my using medical marijuana to reduce my opioid use (Im in California and this was between the time medical marijuana was instituted and just before it was completely legalized) while simultaneously insisting that I reduce my opioid use without offering any other reasonable alternatives. He always treated me like a drug abuser, too, although I had letters from all my previous doctors declaring that I never exhibited abusive behaviors wrt my meds. I had been taking opioids for over a decade before I became his patient.
My, admittedly very cautious, attempts to go around him were rebuffed by Kaiser. He declared that Id never find a "real doctor" who would give me the prescriptions while I used MJ. It took me 2 weeks to find one who was better qualified than he was and listens to me and gives me the benefit of the doubt about what I tell him! It was about 9 months before I could change insurance, so we paid out-of-pocket for me to see the new pain specialist.
One of the happy consequences was that the new guy is an expert in a procedure that he has since used on me that has, in fact, reduced my pain! The Kaiser doctor had told me he didnt recommend this procedure for me because he didnt think I was a "good candidate" so Kaiser wouldnt give it to me!
So, Kaiser is a mixed bag. My husband and other friends love it. The problem is that if you dont have one of the "cut-and-dried" health conditions they are very good at treating and/or you get one of the lesser doctors, you have more limited options for getting the specialized care you may need.