Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

"what is the monthly cost of Medicare plan G for a single person?"

Go here, enter your Zip code and follow the prompts.

https://www.medicare.gov/medigap-supplemental-insurance-plans/#/m?year=2024&lang=en

"what is the monthly cost of Medicare plan G for a single person?"

Go here, enter your Zip code and follow the prompts.

"I believe you have to meet your annual deductible of $2700 FIRST before the High-Deductible Plan-B begins to pay the 80%."

Incorrect, $2700 is not really a deductible but a MAX OUT OF POCKET! Once you hit the $2700 the HD G sup is equal to the regular G supp.

1. E. you go to doctor, bill is $350, Medicare contract says it only pays $50.

You're only on the hood for $50.

A healthy person stands to save a bunch by selecting the HD G plan over the regular G plan.

Most people on the HD G supplement never hit their deductible (max out of pocket).

Not sure if anyone is still following this blog, but related to the following:

"I'm not 65 for a few years yet, but I dug into the whole Medicare options out of curiosity"

The individual who posted this makes the following statement:

"The one that interests me though, when its my time, is the Supplement Plan G-HD (high deductable) which is currently $2700/year. But that's after the primary Medicare pays its 80% first. So unless you're really injured/ill, you likely won't hit that in a given year."

I believe you have to meet your annual deductible of $2700 FIRST before the High-Deductible Plan-B begins to pay the 80%.

Benefits from High Deductible Plan G will not begin until out-of-pocket expenses are $2,700. Out-of-pocket expenses for these deductibles are expenses that would ordinarily be paid by the policy. This includes the Medicare deductibles for Part A and Part B, but does not include the plan’s separate foreign travel emergency deductible.

"
@3hhn+1p9pf7qX

Thank you for breaking it down to cost out of pocket. So, the UHC plan by T will save an individual approx $4800 per year if I'm reading that right. Until it doesn't I guess.
"
scratch that, I think your saying the UHC T plan save's you $150 per month or $1800 per year.

With that in mind, It's probably not worth the risk of not being able to go back.

@3hhn+1p9pf7qX

Thank you for breaking it down to cost out of pocket. So, the UHC plan by T will save an individual approx $4800 per year if I'm reading that right. Until it doesn't I guess.

To the person that posted "what is the monthly cost of Medicare plan G for a single person?"

Well, All Medicare is for an individual, there are no "+ spouse" or family plans, etc. If you have a spouse you both individually will have your own plan. Thats the same for Advantage Plans too, I'm pretty sure.

Plan G is the most inclusive of the Supplement Plans, the only thing it doesn't cover is the (approximate) $230 Plan B deductable per year. Once that $230 is paid, everything else (medically) is covered 100%. As such, Plan G is the most expensive of the plans. It varies somewhat but largely depends on your state / zipcode for the rate. Say an average of $150/month if you start at age 65.

Supplement Plans are all equal. So if ACME Insurance offers a Plan G and their monthly premium is $150, and Budget Insurance offers a Plan G for $125, there is no difference in coverage by law, all Plan G's are exactly the same coverage-wise -- go with Budget.

How it is expensive is that the Supplement Premium is in addition to the Part B Premium of like ~$170/month. That does not cover Prescription Dr-gs, so you also need a Part D Then that still does not cover Dental, Hearing, Vision. So you're racking up maybe $400 or more as an individual per month. And, like everything else, they go up a bit every year from inflation and as you get older.

what is the monthly cost of Medicare plan G for a single person?

quote
After seeing AT&T transfer their Pension obligation for over 90,000+ retirees drawing their retirement annuities to Athene, I am skeptical of their future commitment to health care plan sponsorship.

Enough said, right?
/quote

That's a fair enough concern, however, the only alternative is to exit the current benefit now.

After seeing AT&T transfer their Pension obligation for over 90,000+ retirees drawing their retirement annuities to Athene, I am skeptical of their future commitment to health care plan sponsorship.

Enough said, right?

yes, this is related to layoffs because if you are 65+ and get laid off, you will not be eligible for AT&T CEC and you MUST enroll in Medicare at that point. The Medicare rules are very tricky and confusing. There have already been some great posts here regarding Advantage plans and Medigap plans. A couple of additional things to keep in mind:

• If you have been contributing to the HSA, be aware of the 6 month Medicare "lookback rule" and its impact to HSAs. If you get laid off, and you hadn't previously considered this. You may need to calculate if you have exceeded the allowable contributions (by yourself or AT&T's contribution) for the year in which you are laid off and need to go on Medicare. Do a Google search on this so you don't get hit with unexpected excise taxes.

• You will not be eligible for the AT&T UCH Medicare Advantage Plan unless you are eligible for both Medicare AND the modified rule of 75. If you don't meet the modified rule of 75, you are on your own with no AT&T options. (I fall into this category and it is fine with me as I do not want to use any Advantage plan, and although AT&T's sounds promising, I am concerned that the plan's benefits will deteriorate and I will be out of other options if it does. Switching to a Medigap from any Advantage policy may make me eligible for underwriting due to the Trial rights rules already mentioned, and there are very few other Advantage plans offered in my area.

• Be aware that Medicare Advantage plans are full of traps, as have already been indicated. There is no guarantee that your current provider, even if they accept Medicare patients, will accept ANY UHC plan. Some prominent medical centers either don't take Medicare Advantage or specifically don't take UHC. Sometimes they may take it if convinced, and sometimes UHC will convince them to take the AT&T plan which is really a PPO and not an HMO so the network rules are different, but some institutions simply will not take it. UHC is known for paying the doctors late and a lot of doctors don't like dealing with that. In general, Advantage plans are available only in specified postal codes. While this doesn't impact the AT&T plan specifically, if you decide you don't like the AT&T plan (if eligible), you may have few options in switching to another Advantage plan.

• Be aware of your state's Medicare "guaranteed issue" rules for Medigap. Some states are better than others. In some states, a Medigap policy might be based upon your attained age or age at issue; in other states, this is not the case.

Best of luck. It's not easy getting through this. Anyone working at AT&T who is 65 or older or will soon be in this age group should educate themselves and plan ahead on what to do if laid off or if you simply decide to leave.

There is "Trial Right" 1 and 2 for someone trying Medicare Advantage for the first time.
https://boomerbenefits.com/medigap-trial-rights-1-and-2/

1. ) Part A, B, and Medicare advantage started all on the same date. Can try Medicare Advantage up to one year, and go back to original Medicare and choose a Medigap without underwriting. Gotcha is, Part A and Part B didn't start on the same date, because Part A was free, and you didn't need Part B because there was employer insurance. Want to preserve "Trial right #1" - don't start Part A on a different day than Part B.

2. ) You started out with traditional Medicare with a Medigap and then tried Medicare Advantage. Then, you can go back to traditional Medicare and the Medigap you had without underwriting.

I'm not 65 for a few years yet, but I dug into the whole Medicare options out of curiosity. It is very confusing with the Advantage Plans, I don't believe there are any I would personally consider when it's my time. Regular Medicare covers 80% of in-patient and out-patient services, at any facility or doctor that accepts Medicare anywhere in the US. There is no max on that other 20%. That's why Medi-Gap, or Supplement policies come in to play. They are policies by major insurance companies BUT, they are completely locked in to whatever Medicare covers, they have no option but to pay. their part. If its covered under Medicare, Medicare will pay the 80% and the Gap Policy will pay the 20%, there are no ifs' ands', or buts. The Gap plan G is the top tier currently and is a bit expensive as a monthly premium but the only additional fee is like the 1st $226 a year as a Part B deductible. Gap Plan N is a little cheaper monthly and includes some co-pays for office visits, etc, and doesn't include "excess charges" of up to 15% over standard Medicare rates, supposedly that's rare (~ 3% of doctors/facilities charge those). The one that interests me though, when its my time, is the Supplement Plan G-HD (high deductable) which is currently $2700/year. But that's after the primary Medicare pays its 80% first. So unless you're really injured/ill, you likely won't hit that in a given year. Many insurance carriers offer the Gap plans and they are identical across all, its by law that way, so a Plan G is a Plan G is a Plan G, etc.

Now, Advantage Plans are where the CMS (Medicare Fund) pays the insurance carrier like $1,000/month for each participant to "take over their healthcare", so in these cases, the insurance companies are deciding what services they will pay, which network of doctors you can see, etc. Its the same thing where you may need pre-approval to see a specialist, get a test, etc. They decide. They also throw in dental and vision but its limited, and a gym membership. And it may be "free" to you on a per month basis (You still have. to pay the Medicare Part B monthly premium). But the plans can and do change every year, you really have to keep track of them every year. People are attracted to them because of marketing and it sounds good when they are free/cheap. But the healthiest we'll probably be is when we first sign up, and Advantage Plans are great - until you need care. And there is a limited window after initial Medicare sign up where you can try either standard Medicare (and Supplements) or Advantage. After that, you may still switch, but you will be subject to Medical underwriting. They expect that if you want to switch back to Medicare, you may have a major issue. With standard Medicare, you are guaranteed entry when you are first eligible regardless of preconditions, after that window, maybe not.

Yes, standard Medicare + Gap isn't cheap, but when you need it, its pretty straightforward. In my state last year, the retired state workers were being pushed into an Advantage Plan as their only option (previously they had a choice between Advantage and standard Medicare) and protests ensued, I think the same thing happened in NYC.

There may be good Advantage Plans, but, they can change year-to year. Just be aware.

Something else to think about if you are currently on Traditional Medicare with a Medigap Plan. If you leave for ANY Advantage plan and decide to come back Traditional, all bets are off on Medigap. There is longer a guarantee of acceptance, existing conditions may make finding a covering plan difficult or rates will skyrocket to cover them. In general, rates will be higher as you are now older. I have little faith that the ATT Plan won't start tweaking costs and deductibles or even disappearing altogether in the future. Piece of Mind has a price. Traditional Medicare/Medigap is more upfront cost for sure, but I never see a copay or bill, and I can go anywhere in the USA for care.

It does relate, indirectly, to layoffs. People were offered the carrot of post-retirement health benefits if they left the payroll by a certain date. This reduced the number of people that could have been laid off, hence, the nexus.

So, it's entirely appropriate to review company representations made in the past to decide on company representations in the future, because it is quite likely that the company will make such future representations in order to induce people to leave the payroll voluntarily, resulting in less people terminated involuntarily.

Sorry, man....didn't mean to upset you. Think about it- who actually would post about the Mets AND request a pumpkin pie recipe on this board? Does that person really exist to ask seriously? Honestly, it was a joke since the initial topic was so far off. Seriously....all kidding... but I love the passion...

Easy solutions: The Mets ownership don’t care about what you think. If you want a recipe might try to learn how to Google. It’s not that hard except for you it seems. Someone that gets upset on a free platform has serious mental issues. So su-k it up buttercup.

Is this board no longer about layoffs? If not, I have a big problem with the Mets front office and am looking for a good pumpkin pie recipe for the holidays.

@rmj+1p9pf7qX

Great reply. I think the most important thing to remember is that the net contribution by AT&T to the UHC option is close to ZERO. The plan is set up so that healthy retirees subsidize unhealthy retirees. That is why the plan is set up as auto enroll. My Advantage plan offers $2,000 of first dollar dental without any additional premium. It's everyone's individual decision but you definitely want to compare the UHC option with other options especially if you do not have a chronic illness.

We don't have to decide today. I've decided to decide in 2nd half November. If this was 2023, slam dunk, AT&T plan, because of that $6500 cap on prescriptions, as opposed to the sky is the limit. But, 2024, there is an $8000 cap on prescriptions from the Inflation Reduction Act, so, their $6500 cap doesn't mean that much.

As far as their low out-of-pocket, makes sense for people who have chronic illness requiring regular medical visits, but, to bolt on dental, an extra $600. The alternative is a $0 Medicare advantage with $3700 in-network out of pocket, and a $5700 in or out-of-network out of pocket. And that plan includes dental, and pays $40 per quarter for things like vitamins.

So, I'm not seeing a whole lot of subsidy in AT&T's program. One size does not fit all, and if I decided today, I would opt out of AT&T's program and take the individual plan (also a UHC plan) that looks like a better fit. AT&T is subsidizing chronically ill people, and only chronically ill people.

Don't forget this part.
https://retiree.uhc.com/att/enrollment-information
Reminder! These are the only AT&T-sponsored plan options for 2024, and by declining coverage you may not be able to enroll in AT&T-sponsored coverage until the next annual enrollment period.

I printed that because I'm relying on it. They have represented that it isn't now or never. So, the issue can be revisited next year. I'm also hearing that AT&T isn't the only company with a group Medicare Advantage plan that isn't sporting much advantage. So, compare plans.