Dr. Zorba Paster: My adventures in Medicare were not exactly a thrill ride

I don't know about you, but I found enrolling in Medicare a confusing matter. In fact, enrolling in any health insurance can be a confusing matter.

Medicare was confusing to the point that I thought I'd share my experience with you in the hopes it might help you, especially if you are of a certain age. So off to the races.

First up, I'm older than 65. I'm 74 — actually 74½ (why do kids always insist on making themselves as old as they can be, and we adults do the opposite?). I've had health insurance where I work, at the Dean Clinic in Oregon, but since I've changed status, it was time to switch insurance.

So I plotted out what I needed for myself and my lovely wife of 47 years, Penny. We didn't need Part A because everyone signs up for that when they're 65. We needed Part B and Part D for each of us. Once I figured that out, I was ready to go.

Because I was on employee health insurance past the age of 65, I had to get information from my group that I had continuous physician coverage, the things Part B pays, from the month I turned that fine age until now. Then I had to do the same thing for Penny.

There were some issues here because our insurance company ownership had changed, but with a few calls back and forth with my employer, I had the necessary information. Then I had to fax, write or call Social Security to get it fixed up.

Tip No. 1: If you need to call Social Security, do it at 9:01 a.m., which is when the phone line opens. That's what I did. I got a wonderful person who told me what to fax and where, explaining that it might just take a bit longer because it was between Christmas and New Year's.

Tip No. 2.: When you're going to be hitting Medicare, start getting it lined up in advance. The earlier the better. In the end, it all got settled for me, but I was rather nervous it might not be on a timely basis. And it's never good to go "bare" when it comes to health insurance.

After getting the initial issues addressed, next I needed to find out which Part D, the drug coverage plan, I should choose for me and work with Penny on what would be best for her. We each had different medications, and we wanted the most cost-effective plans.

For that we turned to a Medicare Part D broker. The insurance companies have their own, but I turned to an independent broker to help walk me through the process.

I thought that because I had Part B, I would immediately be eligible for Part D. Well, B and D are not on talking terms. The issues I had with B had to be solved with D — showing proof that we had continuous drug coverage from the time we turned 65 until the present month.

If I didn't, then I would face a penalty for every single month I didn't have coverage, and that penalty would be accrued every month until I died. Wow! That's a whack in the head.

So, Tip No. 3: Don't assume one government program talks to the other.

It turned out that my Part D coverage began on Feb. 1 — perfect — but Penny's Part D coverage began March 1. Why? I'm not exactly clear, and because she had extras of her current medications on hand, it wasn't an issue. But had I not planned those extra meds, we would have been, in the vernacular of the day, SOL.

My spin: When changing any kind of health insurance get plenty of information and take plenty of time. Even if you're smart in one venue doesn't mean you have smarts in another.

P.S.: More on my Medicare Adventure in next week's column.