Turning 65 soon and do not want any part of Medicade or Medicare Pars A or B but only UHC

[efbaker51]

I'm turning 65 in 190 days and 9 hours and I have United Health Care Insurance. I know when I turn 65 that I will be sent a Medicare card in the mail with Part D at least. My wife when she turned 65 never received a card on her 65th birthday but did 5 months later with Part D coverage that covers everything. A nurse came out since she was just released three weeks before and ask her did she have Part A. Her card did not show it and six weeks later she got another card with Part A and then her rent went up 40%, 10% more than HUD shows with on their website. Now since I'm fixing to turn the old age of 65 I DO NOT want any part of Medicare-Medicaid Part A or D or any parts they offer. She has no credits paid in since she never had to work since she was married before and her husband died. I had 28 credits in 1979 and in 1983 I had 14 that was taken away and their paperwork doesn't show all places I had worked but on my dad's papers there it shows he work where I did which he never did and they said they cannot change the papers as well as the IRS. Can I when I do get the card in the mail return it to the SSA and keep United Health Care as I have it now or what?

[efbaker51]

Yes you can. I done that back on March 30,2019 and had the post office to write on the envelope REFUSED in caps but all in all you still will have Part B no matter what i hate to say. If you have return yours and you will receive another card from UHC and look down at the bottom and it will say Medicare/Medicaid with either an A or B or even both. It's a losing battle i can say with the Gov for sure. I worked and had 23 credits back in 1975 and could have retired but i turned it down by being 22 years old after starting work at 14 and i wish i had and now i have to have 40 credits to even get Part A. My wife has never worked a day in her life and never paid in anything at all and after her 65th birthday she got her card with B and three months later another one with Parts A and B so the system go to say is all messed up and soon you will see the affect. Since I only have Part B and was refused A because of the credits that you may have done got a card from some other company to help with your meds in which i have UHC TNTNCARE that on the 1st of 2020 i will still have them but as well another company that was forced on me. If you have found a way to get what you wanted PLEASE let me know ASAP or anyone that reads this. Good luck and have a happy upcomming Thanksgiving.

[GailL1]

@efbaker51

Sounds like you have a mess on your hands but as my parents use to tell me, don't get so angry or upset that you make an irreparable mistake.

It is Medicare Part A or hospital insurance which you have paid for by payroll taxes during your working years.

There is a monthly premium for Part B

There is a monthly premium for Part D but you can pick your plan.

OR you can pick a Medicare Advantage Plan (UNited Healhcare has one) as the way you can get your Medicare benefits.

I am having a hard time following you so what Inwould advise you to do is contact an independent Medicare insurance broker in your area - they can help you or call your states State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) - if you can find a knowledgeable volunteer they can help too. 

You need somebody to help you work through your choices and needs and help you to understand Medicare -  if you and your wife are low income there are other programs available to help you with some of the cost - Extra Help or Medicaid that works with Medicare.

I don't see how the payroll records could have confused you and your Dad even if you had similar names because those files go by SS# - you and your Dad didn't share your SS#, I hope.  You are gonna have to get this straightened out - not for just Medicare because, I would assume that you will want to get your SS benefit too at some point and that also comes from your work record.

[efbaker51]

Thanks for your reply and yes I have a mess on my hand but also a fight that I may go through with UHC as well as SSA. I may have seemed very angry but I was just having a nervous spell I go through daily. I know what the Parts A and B is and my wife has them herself but for me I do not want any part of those but just what I have now. I know I have paid in my taxes when I worked and the jobs I had were great that I never had to say work hard as many people did and still do as of today. The insurance I have now pays my hospital bill and drugs except for one that's not covered by any insurance company as I have checked and to be true full I'm glad of that and the other drug I take they pay except $1.50 I pay out of pocket but starting in January 2019 when I go get them I'm going to start paying for them myself no matter what the drug store say's. Two months ago a coordinator from UHC was here for my wife and I brought this up in front of her and she ask me why didn't I want Medicare/Medicaid and I just flat out told her I just did not want any part of it because of the way my wife is told one thing but then it turns out different. She then said she had heard that someone else said the same thing that this person return the Red/White and Blue card back to the SSA and they resent the person the card back and it was returned to them again with, no one by that name lives her" and she did tell me I have my rights to refuse the card but if I did not take it before 6 months that I would have to pay money to the SSA every month if I changed my mind to accept it. Not me for sure.

As for my work credit a woman at the SSA told me that she did not know how it got past them with me losing those credits and I never have lived with my dad after I was 18 months old after he gave me up to my grandparents since my mother was passed. I was ask was I ever a security guard and I said yes i was and it showed up I never was but my dad. Months after checking they found out that I was a guard and not my dad and all alone those credits went to him instead and they said it is done down on record and nothing we can do and also he filed income with the IRS with the money taken out and I lost over $2,400 in 81 to him and the IRS would not do a thing about it and our SSN are not shared and I did find out that the numbers are the same except the last one. No I cannot retire now I'm told but it is fine with me.

[GailL1]

@efbaker51

Of course, anything could happen in our political environment as to how our health care insurance system is set up BUT as of right now - unless you have some sort of UHC employer coverage and you are continuing to work OR you have some sort of UHC employer retiree coverage which works WITH MEDICARE then you will either have to join Medicare in the traditional program or a Medicare Advantage plan.

 IF NOT and you can even find an insurer to sell you a policy when you go over 65 years old, it will be VERY expensive.  They do sell policies for those over 65 and aren't eligible for Medicare or Medicaid at all.  Others who may not have enough work time to be eligible or fully eligible can buy-into Medicare.

Are you you a Veteran who can use the VA healthcare system?

Yes, if you do not sign up when you are 1st eligible for Medicare Part B and Part B - within a few months - in addition to your premiums, you do have to pay a lifelong penalty on each Part.

If your wife is having problems with Medicare, perhaps she needs to have a conference with them.  That is the reason it is there - to supply medically necessary treatment for those eligible for the program.  Perhaps it is just that you don't understand how to use it effectively -'sometimes it is a bit complicated to understand.

[fffred]

I think you got some good helpful information to your post "Medicare Part A and B" back in July, 2017.

There seems to be several issues: the credits with Social Security and then your preferred insurance.

I see from your 2017 reply that some of your working credits seem to have been lost. This is very worrisome (to me, even though you say you are not worried). I don't recall the specific rules but I think one needs 40 credits (equal to 10 total years of work history) to be eligible to collect a Social Security benefit. I am not certain how this affects Medicare though. It is certainly something to check into...though I understand that you want no part of Medicare. But realize that this is your benefit for your years of paying the payroll tax into these plans, you have earned this and are entitled to it, it's not charity.

As to whether you can voluntarily desist from Medicare, I recall some pretty specific (and almost harsh) rules on this in my own case. I recently retired at 66 but I had to sign up for Part A when I was 65...otherwise there was some penalty (I do not like penalties in the form of $$$, haha). Of course, there is no cost involved in the Part A. When I did retire I went to Medicare Part B

The premiums for Medicare Part B are very small compared to what we must pay for my wife's health insurance under the ACA ("Obamacare" if you must, though I do not like that name). Of course, it is now the law of the land that one must have health care (if not on Medicare), either through employer, through ACA, Medicaid, etc. If ones income is sufficiently high then they get penalized on federal income taxes if they do not have creditable health care. 

Now you could get your own policy from United but I imagine the premiums will be pretty high.

As suggested in the replies to your post last year it seems that you really need to discuss these several issues with someone in-person locally. There is a lot of background to be filled in. You might get this information from a local AARP office, from the local Social Security office, from a local health care (ACA) guide (they offer such services at no fee). Or from a local church or other such group. 

Good luck!