Gardner column: Learning the moves of the Medicare mambo

The caller ID on the house phone said that it was me calling our house.

Curious, I picked it up. It was "Dave" from Mumbai wishing to sell me a Medicare Advantage plan. The last person I'll buy insurance from is someone who spoofs my telephone number on the first call.

It's all part of the season's Medicare mambo, the annual dance contest for American's 65 and over. When the music stops Dec. 7, we'll have a Medicare dance partner for another year.

The mailbox is flooded with missives offering insurance. Call volume is especially heavy during lunch and dinner time. I've determined that most of the callers are voice-activated robots. If I don't hear someone speak for 10 seconds, I hang up.

Except when I spew some profanity. This almost happened when Pasquotank County Clerk of Court Jennifer Thompson called the house from a number I did not recognize. "Mr. Gardner, are you there," she asked? I apologized for my initial silence, "but I thought you were going to try to sell me a Medigap Plan," I said.

For you younger readers, Medicare is the federal government's 80-20 insurance plan for old folks. It's a great program. But 20 percent of a large medical bill is a large number. The prudent codger buys a Medicare supplement to pay for the other 20 percent.

That's not the end of it. Paying for prescriptions is a whole other matter. It's called "Part D," and it's subject to change every year, too. Don't forget dental insurance. Our choppers get loose over time and cause no end of headaches, literally.

Then there are Medicare Advantage plans "that put money back in your Social Security," exclaim Joe Namath and Jimmy Walker. These for-profit plans offered by investor-owned insurance companies relieve Medicare of its open-ended obligation to pay for a senior's medical expenses. In exchange for a direct payment from Uncle Sam, the insurance company becomes the bad guy. Every dollar of expense that the insurance company denies you goes into its pocket.

This is so lucrative a business that many of the plans advertise a $0 monthly premium, "and so much more."

I spent an hour and 24 minutes on the phone with an agent from Aetna just to move my Part D drug plan to a different Aetna plan in Zip Code 27909. Turns out the $4.20-a-month plan is $400 more expensive over a year than the plan with a premium of $72.30 monthly. You must factor in deductibles and co-payments to make an accurate comparison. Familiarity with Excel would help. Turns out that delivery by mail is 55% more expensive than standing in line at CVS.

Another hour was spent with agent Eddie Fields at Dawn Covington's State Farm office. They carry our Medicare supplement. (It's always comical to hear the doctor's receptionist tell me I've given her my State Farm automobile Insurance card instead of my health insurance card. The same company sells both.)

There are 10 species of supplements from "A" to "N," but no E, H, I or J. Eddie and I decided that I'd stick with State Farm again, despite a 9.9% premium increase in our generous "F" plan. I'll pay extra for good service, and Dawn's office provides plenty of it.

Dental insurance is another $1,050 a year. Blue Cross will pay for $2,000 worth of dental services. That's a good investment since I usually cannot double my money in the stock market in a year.

All of this costs almost $15,000 annually. It is our biggest expense. Seems high for two healthy people who each take one prescription drug. But I had a $50,000 hip replacement in March. Nobody ever sent me a bill for that.

We're paying more than $6,000 less each year than when I retired eight years ago. You folks under 65 still working are paying the difference. Thanks.