Switch Back From Advantage To Original Medicare

VinceInMT said...
... it’s a benefit all vets have. I went to our VA office and inquired and was told that was true as long as I met their means testing. I filled out the application which wanted to know about my income and several weeks later I was denied. I am a retired teacher and have a small pension plus social security...

Vince, I signed up for VA healthcare just as a backup plan to avoid a penalty if at some point I might need a part D drug plan. (There is a penalty for each month that you have no Rx coverage, unless you have existing outside coverage). So it was merely a CYA approach to the VA.

The VA went back several years and we got into a snail mail runaround because two years earlier, we had sold our house and some stocks, and used the money to buy a retirement condo and fix it up. The VA showed the entire proceeds as INCOME!

My wife has a small pension that is about the same amount as my small SSA retirement income. Furthermore, her chemo that first year was nearly $10K out of pocket. As it is, about 20% of our combined income goes toward medical costs and premiums. While I was still accepted by the VA, I must pay a co-pay for any and all services. So much for the "backup plan". After filling two Rx's thru the VA (with $30 copay) I decided to stay with Costco pharmacy and GoodRx.

Fairwind, good luck in your dealings with the system, and I hope you find a solution that works. Your choice twelve years ago is understandable from a financial standpoint for a healthy man. By age 65 I'd already been thru the healthcare wringer and it still looks like it won't be getting any better. Always hope for the best but definitely plan for the worst. Murphy's law. Stuff happens, and when it does, it happens to YOU.

Post Edited (RobLee) : 5/22/2019 9:57:41 AM (GMT-6)

Understood Matt. I discovered the edits myself and deleted a paragraph. Granted I do sometimes use strong language for emphasis. Both the subject of Obamacare as well as the potential medicare shortfall had already been mentioned in this thread. Personally I have nothing against Obamacare nor medicaid. My family has been aided by both. But the re-appropriation of a trust fund is cause for concern when one has planned their future on the status quo. It's called "trust" for a reason.