Zero Dollar Medicare

[Ouroboros]

I hit the big six-five soon, and I’ve been deluged by mail promising zero dollar premiums on Medicare. I would assume they are all scams, but I have seen the same stuff on TV commercials.

Even if it’s not a scam, it’s some sort of gimmick. So do they get you on the back end and drain you dry, or what?

 

[rickc]

I am still working. Medicare cost me $235 a month and my advantage is another $40.

Better than what I was paying with Blue Cross

 

[Greenbeard]

I hit the big six-five soon, and I’ve been deluged by mail promising zero dollar premiums on Medicare. I would assume they are all scams, but I have seen the same stuff on TV commercials.

Even if it’s not a scam, it’s some sort of gimmick. So do they get you on the back end and drain you dry, or what?

Generally, you pay some or all of the regular Part B premium even in a "zero dollar premium" plan.

Medicare Advantage plans place bids that are compared against benchmarks based on traditional Medicare spending. If a bid is higher, they charge the difference to you as a premium. That premium is in addition the normal Medicare Part B premium. If the bid is lower, the insurer gets some of the difference to put toward additional benefits for you, or to help you with your Part B or D premiums.

So zero dollar premium plans are just plans where the private insurer bet that it could provide benefits at a lower cost than traditional Medicare.

 

[Ouroboros]

Thanks for the information. It sounds like in some cases you might end up paying more than your regular premiums just for the chance of paying less at other times.