My situation is that my Mom isn't on a Medicare Advantage plan, which I think would be beneficial to her. Nor a Medicare supplement plan, that I'm sure she wouldn't pay additional money for since she's on Tricare.

But I do believe there are better options than just having Medicare and Tricare as the posters at the VA indicate.

Last night I got an email that listed three shops with great bonuses. All had taken place earlier in the day.

This is probably not the correct venue to discuss the pros and cons of MA vs "Original Medicare". Let me just give a hint because it is important to know the basic difference if you go to a presentation. I have always called the Medicare Advantage a misnomer. It is really just like an HMO plan vs a PPO plan so if you know the difference between those two types of plans for the under 65 crowd, this will help you.
The first presentation I ever went to I did not realize the Insurance company had a different presentation for each. I sat thru the whole hour and fortunately at least got a nice dessert because it was for the Supplement plans and not for the Advantage plans. I personally have an Advantage plan. If your area has choices look at them. I save thousands and thousands of dollars every year and am with the #1 hospital in California according to the new 2022 hospital survey and also with a top rated medical group. I do not pay a penny above the monthly amt that comes out of social security. I get referrals easily. However if your state has only one choice it might be a poor one for Advantage plans. PM me if you need any further info for yourself so we can go offline.

@sandyf Agree!

I have an Advantage Plan that is a PPO. I pay nothing additional because of the county I live in. (besides what they take out of social security) However, I am relatively healthy and use it for routine exams and such. There is also an allowance for eye doctors and glasses, dental and hearing aids and includes drug coverage which I think is extra for supplemental plans. I do not take full advantage of my plan which is my own fault. I could join a gym for free also. So far, I'm happy with the plan. I do have co-pays for specialists and other things, which I think you don't have with a supplemental plan. My sister, who had multiple health issues when she was alive, had an expensive supplemental plan because it covered everything she needed. So, it depends on your needs and your overall health. Supplemental plans are very pricey.

okay so if the insured had no medical needs and doesn't have a Medicare supplement or Medicare advantage plans, is Medicare advantage beneficial. If so what provider? Or what shops am I missing?

Just signed up for one of these with a decent PAD. I have been reading that reports get rejected- I do not really want to drive out of my way to get the report rejected. What is the learning curve and are many of these rejected? Please let me know. Rain in the forecast tomorrow and to be driving in bad weather and then get rejected is not my cup of tea. Thanks

Shopper Girly- What was the small reason your shop was rejected? I signed up for one tomorrow- good pay but rain in forecast and thinking perhaps I should not go- please advise. thanks

I've done several and have never gotten that much so good for you.

I am not sure what your question is. If the person is over 65 and eligible for Medicare and they are uninsured then having any Medicare is beneficial. As I mentioned my Advantage plan is wonderful and even if I were very sickly I would still have it. I have top notch docs and a top notch hosp and anything my doc asks for we get. In addition I save thousands a year and have always thought if I needed for some reason to go to a doc not on my plan and pay out of pocket I could use all my savings over the years to pay for it. But, and this is a big but, it depends on what is available where you live. I do not think your medical condition has anything to do with it if your local area has good plans.
The one big difference is for those who travel. If you have an Advantage plan and get sick in another state or country your plan will pay for emergency care but if it turns into an ongoing illness they will expect you to come back home to your own docs for ongoing care. If you have a Supplement, which is what most people purchase if they chose Original Medicare then like a PPO you can go to a doc anywhere in this country and it will be covered. The supplement is to cover much of what Original Medicare does not cover and you have to purchase it in addition to your choice of Original Medicare. If you choose an Advantage plan all those things that cost extra in the Original Medicare choice are free...I have no copays except for an ER if i am not admitted. I have no office co pays, tests are all free. These are the kinds of things they should tell you at a session. They probably stress that you can be covered anywhere when you are at a session for the Original or supplements. But if you are at a session for an Advantage plan they may only make a small mention of that negative. So when on the job listen carefully . I am doing one next week at base pay but these things almost never pay more here. The pay is $40 but it seems they only want the :"bare" minimum of reporting...did they say it or did they not with seemingly not a long narrative each time.

@wrosie wrote:

okay so if the insured had no medical needs and doesn't have a Medicare supplement or Medicare advantage plans, is Medicare advantage beneficial. If so what provider? Or what shops am I missing?

Just got a shop with great bonus. It us informal event. Scheduler says informal shops less time than formal. Read the many pages of directions. Am a bit nervous trying to remember everything. Any hints or tips? I am nervous about going and not getting paid, thanks

You're supposed to be turning 65 within 3 months to attend an informal event? Doh! Can't remember anything anymore at this age so a notebook is needed to take notes.

I am doing an informal event this morning. Just read over form. It says I must ask the hard skills questions on form. I read the form three times and see no such questions. Can anyone tell me what the required questions are?driving a distance would hate not to get paid. Thanks

Why was your report denied?

Felt really bad- had shop set for this morning and there was heavy snow and freezing rain. It was in an area 10 miles from my home that I am not really familiar with so I cancelled. Feel bad missing out on the cash and also on flaking- but with a single old car I am careful where I drive in bad weather. I also got the assignment last night and had questions that the scheduler could not answer about what questions I was to ask and report on. There is another one in the area in a week or so- sitting at $34 only 5 miles from my home in a place I am familiar with- do you think I should ask for a PAD or take it for the $34 fee. I read that one of the shoppers on here had a report disallowed because of some minor issue and was curious as to what it was prior to driving in the freezing rain and snow and taking a chance of a crash on a highway and then not being paid. Any advice on whether to accept the close one for $34 and whether these reports are often not approved for something minor. I found it so strange that you needed to wait for follow up when the directions said NOT TO GIVE CONTACT INFO!!!! How can you get follow up if you just give a fake first name!!!I have been shopping MANY YEARS- the certifications and training for this company were really heavy duty -I passed everything but am rally nervous about taking shops that will be unpaid. Thanks

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2022 12:22AM by SueW70.

Don't you just cringe when stubborn mothers do that??
Mine FINALLY got a supplemental plan (we recommended the Aetna one because hubby has it and is very happy) and she did nothing but gripe about the service and the premium. She is in a different county than us and her premium was double (she also NEVER had part D Medicare because she would never pay for it so she has the penalty).

So the next time around she switched plans because they told her she would have WAY more benefits and now she is on a PPO type and having trouble finding participating docs. She did however just get new hearing aides with the 3,000 YEARLY benefit, so there is that.

She is one of those people that is so stubborn (and doctor averse) that she refused to do what an opthamologist told her to do 5 years ago for Macular Degeneration (take vitamin A) and to have her cataracts removed, so now at 92 she is pretty much blind and the cataracts had as the doc put it "turned to stone and would have to be dug out and it is mostly her own fault. The Mac.D cannot be cured but the progression likely would have been slowed and the cataracts would have been a simple, easy operation and now it isn't. She INSISTED that there was a laser version of the procedure and she was pissed that Medicare wouldn't pay for it so she wasn't going to get it done.I told her repeatedly that there is no laser version but she didn't believe me.

She said it again to the latest doc (who she went to see in a panic when her vision dropped dramatically) and he said there is NO laser version .... .
Some people think they know everything, sadly they don't.

She wants a "second opinion" on the cataract removal. I have had to accept she is just a nutcase.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2022 03:05PM by Boutique.

sorry, I just saw this. I failed to ask a question about whether the rates could be found online. stupid me, should have said I asked it.

@Boutique wrote:

She is in a different county than us and her premium was double (she also NEVER had part D Medicare because she would never pay for it so she has the penalty).

Just as an FYI, realizing that every State is different, and that even the COUNTIES within each state are different in their benefits, in the county where I live (NW corner of SC), there ARE Advantage Plans that DO NOT HAVE a Drug plan, and so the person DOES NOT HAVE TO PAY ANY PENALTY for never having a Drug plan. So if you've been on Medicare without a Drug plan, and want to switch to an Advantage Plan, DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LIVE, there MAY be a similar Advantage plan available with NO Drug Plan, so that if you never had a drug plan, you can switch to this and not have to pay a penalty......of course, that being said, this would only be good for someone who does not take a lot of prescriptions, or who uses something like GoodRx and feels the cost is within their budget. But at least there IS a work-around for avoiding that ghastly penalty for people on Medicare who never had a drug plan....DEPENDING ON where you live.

I miss the Pre-COVID AMAZON gift card for filling out the presentation survey and the free lunch or dinner !!!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/2022 11:37AM by ShoppingDad.

Deleted double post.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/2022 11:38AM by ShoppingDad.

Yes, that is what I said - she is in a different "County" not country.

I did not know that about the drug plan though - she probably doesn't need it as the only med she is on is blood pressure. I am not sure though at her age that I would skip it as things could change dramatically (but then again she would probably refuse to take the drugs ....
I will mention it to her.

Just an FYI, I didn't have a drug plan the first year I was on Medicare, mostly because I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Live and learn. I have a drug plan now, and I pay the dreaded penalty. They sent me a coupon book the other day, so I could write checks and pay it by the month. It is $1.00 per month per year for the months that I didn't have a drug plan, adding up to $12 per year for me. I generally just pay the $12 at the start of the year. As other mentioned though, a lot of this can vary by state and even county, which is in addition to how long you went without a drug plan. I was in conniption fits when I first realized I was going to get hit with that penalty throughout eternity, or at least this lifetime. I wish I had been shopping at the time and done a few Medicare shops before I started into it all.

I have not heard of the Medicare Mystery Shops in our area. How do I find them?

@BBrian wrote:

I have not heard of the Medicare Mystery Shops in our area. How do I find them?

You probably aren't signed up for the MSC. As I stated in my earlier posts, here is ONE company I've done them for.

@wrosie wrote:

Thought How Everyone Sees Other Utility, Red or orange, Carts Every time they go to the big box stores, but this MSC doesn't.

SueW,

Look at my post carefully. I have spelled out the MCS's name. I can't do any more than that.

I snagged 2 at $90 each. Happy with that as both are no more than a 10 min drive. The MSC was recruiting aggressively in my area. My phone was blowing up with texts.

Make sure it's not the same agent. They may cancel one of them on you after you submit the first.

The formal events I have done each had a different hard skills question. It was on the printable form about three quarters of the way down.

@OldmanJames wrote:

I am doing an informal event this morning. Just read over form. It says I must ask the hard skills questions on form. I read the form three times and see no such questions. Can anyone tell me what the required questions are?driving a distance would hate not to get paid. Thanks

Does anyone have contact information, or the name of a scheduler that would answer back, with this company. Reading these posts, I realized I signed up with them months and months ago. I never received the confirmation email, and emailed them about it but they never replied. And if I try to log in, it tells me to click the link in the confirmation email first, which I don’t have, in Spam, Trash, or anywhere. I emailed them again, but again, no reply. Not sure if we can share schedulers information - maybe PM me if it shouldn’t be public?? Or if anyone has any insight how to get an answer back, I’d appreciate it.

I understand that the company wants to make sure all their shops get done, but I have now gotten THREE reminders in the past week to show up at my location today....in my opinion, that's two too many.

I agree. I completed 2 this week and received both email and text reminders multiple times on both. That on top of all the reach out emails and texts.

@KathyG wrote:

I understand that the company wants to make sure all their shops get done, but I have now gotten THREE reminders in the past week to show up at my location today....in my opinion, that's two too many.