Tip for a couple with one starting Medicare.

[sfanto39]

If you're both on the same plan, in the year that the older of you will switch to Medicare, put the younger person as the primary member for the plan. Else, when the older one switches over, the insurer (in our case Blue Shield) will terminate the existing plan and start a new one for the younger person, ie they won't let the remaining member continue the existing plan as the primary member. This means the younger one will lose any $$'s they've accumulated so far that year towards deductible or max out of pocket, because the insurer won't bring those $$'s over to the new plan, they have to start at 0 again.

Not too bad if it's a few hundred but when it's a few thousand you can see why they do it, and just guess how much the insurers are making every year out of this policy.

[Winter2025VA]

@sfanto39 , thanks for the tip!!!

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➡️[*** @sfanto39 wrote:

If you're both on the same plan, in the year that the older of you will switch to Medicare, put the younger person as the primary member for the plan. Else, when the older one switches over, the insurer (in our case Blue Shield) will terminate the existing plan and start a new one for the younger person, ie they won't let the remaining member continue the existing plan as the primary member. This means the younger one will lose any $$'s they've accumulated so far that year towards deductible or max out of pocket, because the insurer won't bring those $$'s over to the new plan, they have to start at 0 again.

Not too bad if it's a few hundred but when it's a few thousand you can see why they do it, and just guess how much the insurers are making every year out of this policy.

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