NO doctor has to accept Medicare, but any doctor who accepts Medicare has to accept whatever supplement plan you have. However, billing personnel don't necessarily know what they are doing.

Medicare is a huge learning curve. Combine that will misinformed or uninformed medical personnel and it leaves us in a lurch. This video taught me that if my provider accepts Medicare then they must accept my supplement. Valuable information in this world of misinformation. Thank you!

I found out last year that the desk clerk at my urgent care center entered my Plan G card as primary. Oops! And didn't understand my frustration when the claim was rejected and I complained. After about an hour of (ahem) discussion, she finally rolled her eyes and switched the cards around on my file. Surprise! The claim went through!

Off topic but I've got a friend who was seeing a specialist for what he had diagnosed as Crohn's disease. He then turns 65 and they tells him he would need to see a new doctor as the dr doesn't treat medicare patients. So he changes doctors and the new one runs new tests only to find out he didn't have Crohn's but had pancreatic cancer instead. Luckily it was early stage and he had surgery and is doing fine 5 years later. Good thing his old doctor had a no medicare patient policy otherwise he would probably be dead.

You are exactly correct. And it is confusing, I think it was designed to be confusing so it becomes easier to prey on senior citizens. We are in our 70s with Medicare original with supplemental plan f. We have no desire to ever change after two heart attacks, cancer, and diabetes. Yes, I have been told no by doctors. But I have excellent care by others. My advice to those considering which to choose is Medicare original and buy the most expensive supplement offered. You will need it as you get older.

This is the first time I’ve seen this problem addressed. I’ve watched dozens of channels that talk about Medicare, but none of them have ever talked about this. And he breaks it down into elementary English.

Love your content. You were born to explain these things. Thanks for clearing that up. Big sigh of relief from me and others I'm sure!

Thank you for the information. What a mess our healthcare system. I'm going to try and retire overseas.

The doctor office submits the claim directly to Medicare and then Medicare submits it to my Supplement Plan. The doctor doesn’t need to have contact with my supplement plan and doesn’t have to like my Supplement plan. The Supplement Plan is for ME to alleviate any additional costs beyond what Medicare pays and determines what I owe. That has been my understanding when I transitioned from a MA plan to Original Medicare earlier this year. I was told that all I needed to show is the Medicare card and Medicare interacts with the Supplement. Am I missing something here? Btw, my doctors participate in Medicare.

Doctors are *not* refusing Medigap/Medicare Supplement plans. As long as the Dr. participates in Medicare, they don't care what your supplemental plan is. Some Doctors & hospitals ARE refusing Medicare Advantage plans, nationwide. I'd be more concerned about that if I was a retired senior.

This is off topic but my own physician (double-boarded, Hopkins-trained) will not accept any Medicare Advantage insured pts. unless they are already established pts. The problem for him are their strenuous efforts to deny pts. appropriate diagnostic procedures and medical/surgical care.

Well, that title scared the crap out of me. I start Medicare and Social Security in May and have selected United Healthcare Supplement G. My hospitals and doctors accepted United Healthcare when I was treated for cancer so I assume that they and my doctors will accept it with Medicare though I will ask them the next time I see them. I'll also dot the i's and cross the t's as well. I've already paid my last ACA plan check last month and will be paying about half as much for Medicare A, B, Supplement, and D. I'm hoping that things go smoothly. In the meantime, I'm running outside and lifting in the gym as my preventative healthcare program.

I work customer care for a carrier that sells advantage and supplement and let me tell you, this **** happens all the time. Especially with outpatient labs, radiology outfits, EMS. No idea why. But ive had to help bewildered senior navigate billing IVRs to talk to a person so we can tell them it's not a gd HMO OR PPO

I had a little time and went to the Social Security website and looked around at the documents and found out that I now have a Medicare number so I can sign up for the Supplement G plan now. They said it would take 2-3 weeks and I was expecting around April 20 but they got it done a lot sooner. I wouldn't know about it if I hadn't gone in and looked though. So I guess it's a good idea to check out the website and the messages and documents. I guess that they don't mail them out by default or it takes a long time to get them.

G plan has unaffordable premiums for me , I dropped it and pay the uncovered bits myself. Works very well and I save money.

Thank you Erik!!! I am so new to trying to understand all this Medicare my head is just spinning🤪🤪🤪🤪

Good birdie I’ve always been told to ask if the physician accepts Medicare. If yes, then there is no need to initially mention the supplement plan.

This video is perfect proof that you should not believe everything you see on the internet.

Even though at time stamp 5:17 you clarify this issue, your title is very misleading. I think you did it on purpose -- click bait. It is the only reason I clicked on your video. Just so everyone who may not have watched the video through to this point clearly understands. If your doctor accepts you as a medicare patient, THEY TAKE YOUR SUPPLEMENT PLAN. It is the law.

Medicare is your primary insurance,not your secondary. Your secondary may or may not be accepted by a new doctor. Doctors who accept Medicare accept what Medicare pays them. Your secondary picks up from there,less any co-pay or deductibles your plan may have. Always check with your secondary insurance on any future procedures before having it done so you don’t get slammed with a huge bill. Always do your homework . Sounds like a lot, but it isn’t. Case in point, I had a total shoulder replacement. Submitted bills to Medicare and my secondary totaled near $250k…my out of pocket was under $100.00. I asked lots of questions,kept everything within the network down to my surgeon and am sleeping like a baby today knowing this case is closed.

Other relevant terms that Medicare beneficiaries don't understand are "Participating Providers" those who accept assignment, "Not-Participating Providers" those who do NOT accept Medicare assignment and "Opt-out Providers" those who aren't contracted with Medicare, don't accept Medicare AND Medicare will not pay for ANY services done by them even if it is a Medicare-covered service (no contract with Medicare).

I saw my doctor a few weeks ago and we were chatting and he told me he is so busy he has to work Saturdays at times. I wondered out loud why the clinic was still accepting new patients since they are so busy. He then proceeded to tell me they are not accepting new patients. So, yes, you are correct there is a doctor shortage. And I am very grateful I have a doctor and that I am not on the outside looking in.

You might have missed one more. Primary Care Drs in my area occasionally have closed their new patient admissiona to those on Original (Fee For Service) Medicare, with ot without a medigap plan, and will omly accept HMO (MA PD) new patients. They do this to help out the Medical Groups that drove patients to Medicare Advamtage plans. This does happen.

To make sure your Medicare covers your medical practitioner or service, check with a Medicare service rep first. If you need advice, call your Medicare agent. Don't depend on the doctor's billing department for accurate info. They go nuts trying to figure out which company covers who and to what degree.

My understanding is the doctor's office doesn't work with your supplement plan at all. When Medicare pays your claim, they are the ones that submit the rest to your medigap company.

Congratulations, beautiful family, too!

I am 67 years old and entering my third year of Medicare coverage. I chose a plan G through anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield as my supplement. My doctor informed me after a year that their practice would only take Humana Medicare advantage beginning January 1 of the next year. If I wanted to remain a patient at their practice I would have to drop my plan G and enroll in Humana. I felt the plan G was better for my situation and therefore had to find another doctor.I have been a patient at this practice for many years so it was very disappointing.

Some offices confuse supplements with primary coverage.

You definitely have doctors that are accepting Medicare and the supplemental programs but as an example, I just called to see a neurologist and I’m told that they’re taking appointments into December

You need to ask before you try to use it and if the Dr. doesn't accept it, find a new doctor.

Never show your supplement card (with Original Medicare only). Office staff will enter your Medicare number and Medicare will return the supplement info including any co-pays owed.

I hope you keep making these videos, you are a wealth of knowledge!

Very helpful

Thank you for acknowledging and addressing this GIANT issue! Trouble is, the person answering the phone may not have a grasp of all this complication. Just in order to MAKE a tele-doc appointment, I had to send the health network images of both sides of both cards- medicare and supplement, I suppose so they could verify coverage. THEN, I was allowed to schedule an 'introductory' televisit scheduled in MAY! That's 5 months into the year when I'm paying these premiums, and still have no identified doctor. I don't know if I made the right decision getting a G supplement, I think I'll give your office a call since California has the birthday rule, and my b-day is in July.

I have been rejected by many doctors who told me they don't accept Medicare patients! Nothing whatsoever to do with refusing new patients! So, all of you know-it-alls out there saying it isn't true have no idea what you're talking about!

More and more doctors and other health provider are refusing to accept Medicare, Medicaid and even private insurance. They expect payment in full at time of the service. Then, It is up to the patient to submit their claims to the appropriate insurance . Hard to blame the doctors considering the high cost of keeping a expensive staff to handle and keep insurance billing straight for thousands of patients. If they do not accept insurance, they can charge and keep the full amount of their services instead of the reduced amount that health care plans are paying.

Perhaps a group of doctors should get together and plan out first the tort law issue that drives up insurance. I would be glad to sign off on a legal document to that states that I would not sue over X amount of dollars so that these doctors could practice with more dignity. In the EU there is a cap on how much you can sue for like 275k. Here in the US, the skies the limit which is a dangerous scenario for greed and nefarious corporations like big pharma, big insurance, blood suck lawyers, etc.. As you can see, no one in leadership can talk about the insurance reasons driving up the health care costs. This is the root cause and the key to lowering costs.

Medicare and Medicaid are complicated to bill and the reimbursements are insufficient to cover the cost of seeing the patient. Many providers have determined they are barely breaking even if they have a large number of patients with Medicaid and Medicare. This leads to many refusing to participate and are accept the patients at all; especially if they are a private practice.

Medicare pays then submits to your supplement plan, Doctors who take Medicare is all they need to know. Advantage is not Medicare, the commercials try to confuse you, but Advantage is not Medicare.

Thanks for the information. Very helpful. 👍🏻

Once I turned 65 and started Medicare my doctor of many years said I must sign up for his Concierge program for $1,200 year or he wouldn't accept my Medicare with BlueShield supplemental. I was in Shock! Needless to say he's no longer my doctor which is sad.

Do I need to give them my Medigap card? I thought that by giving them my Medicare card, the balance would automatically go to medigap?

Curious to see what the future brings for supplements. Only 3 now seem popular. Maybe only two to chose from in the future; plan N (excess charges are rare and mostly with psych. doctors) and HDG.

Because so many negative things have been spread about the Advantage plans. It’s all been how great the supplement plans are.

I am not on Medicare yet. I recently went for a wellness visit and noticed while in a patient room my family doctor had a post on his bulletin board about all the Medicare plans. It stated anyone on a plan had to pay services up front and then they would submit the claim to Medicare. Not exactly sure what that is about or why except maybe he charges more or they are slow in paying his office. On another note I would definitely not call this "The Retirement Nerds" as I feel you have to be pretty smart to have all this knowledge about Medicare. Then to bring on experts for videos in retirement, investing, financial strategies, and social security is pretty smart. Just my opinion.

This is very timely. One provider who takes my Medicare say the don't take plan G

Good information and really good thumbnail - it got me to click and watch.

Be a those doctors are more interested in money than in helping the elderly.

prob need to call the doctor BEFORE buying a plan

Doctors who participate in Medicare can limit the number of patients on Medicare that they accept according to the American Medical Association (AMA) Medicare Participation Options FAQ for doctors: Question 4. Since so many physicians in my area have stopped taking Medicare, am I able to simply limit the number of new Medicare patients I accept so that I am not overwhelmed with Medicare patients? It seems better than refusing all Medicare patients. Answer: Yes. It’s up to each physician how many new Medicare patients they accept in their practice. I think this policy is easily abused since if the doctor does not like your particular supplement insurance provider, they can just tell you that they're not accepting new Medicare patients at this time whether or not they are accepting other new patients.

Good analogy

Thank you for the Medicare plans, thank you

I am a doctor and I stopped taking insurances. Why ? Because your insurance is a contract that YOU signed with your insurance company, I had zero involvement in what you signed and paid for. When I was practicing in an under-served area, my fee was cut 51% by Medicare before the patient ever walked in. I became a doctor so I could help patients, not becoming a billing specialist, a lawyer, etc. After I had Blue Cross and Blue Shield come in and do a brief audit to make sure I was doing everything correctly and legally, I found out that even though I had diagnosis codes for what I was treating, they said they considered certain procedures to be all rolled into one. Let me say this again, I had different parts of the body and had separate diagnosis codes for those areas and they didn't care, it was all the same to them. In my opinion, the insurance I hated the most of all was Medicare. There is a reason that more and more of us are not taking Medicare and other insurances.

ANY Doctor that accepts Medicare, WILL accept ANY Medicare Supplement Plan. I’ve NEVER heard of ANY Doctor not accepting a Medicare Supplement plan. Medicare Advantage? Absolutely! The Doctors can drop out of the network anytime. Thats exactly why you do NOT want to purchase a Medicare Advantage Plan.

My doctor is having trouble getting reasonable reimbursement from Medicare and insurance in general. He is thinking of shrinking the practice, dropping some insurance, and going concierge with patients paying $2K/year with guaranteed access in hours.

I have never once had my Anthem supplement plans denied.

This video is clickbait. The title is “My doctor denied my supplement plan G!” . “My doctor” means you have been accepted as the doctor’s “classic Medicare-enrolled”patient, and there is no way he can then refuse to accept Plan G. End of story. The clickbait part is claiming that “my Medicare approved doctor” could ever deny Plan G coverage. He/she can’t… ever.

Our country (well-off) has the problem that few doctors accept ANY Medicare or Medicaid. They don't have to. My physician, a close friend, and I were camping and I asked why he didn't take Medicare. "I'd just about break even and the hassle is not worth it." Medicaid was worse in terms of bad patients (1/3 never show up), bad health, payments lower than Medicare and endless red tape.. Something that caught my attention. Fully 75% of his entire salarywas already gone - insurance, personnel, rent, utilities, legal, accounting, billing, supplies, etc. And then he pays 38% in taxes and SS, another $12,000 health care, etc He admitted he was lucky but certainly not "rich". Like your common sense videos.

Can you stop Medicare when you have health insurance under your spouse?

Thank you for your clear explanation.

Very good

Thanks for the information.

Great video as usual. I just started Medicare (with my supplement) April 1. Now, however, I'm having buyer's remorse -- I'd like to switch from MoO as my supplement provider to Erik's Insurance. Can you help me do that?😉

Question. Do you have to pay for Medicare if you ARE A DISABLED VET AND USE THE V.A. HEALTHCARE

Thank you so much for these videos, I’ve learned a ton from you! One question, I’ve stopped working but my employer is paying me another year of salary and medical insurance and my plan has HSA. I’m turning 65 in a few months so do I have to enroll in Part A? I know if I do, I would lose HSA so can I wait till my plan ends? Also, I’m planning to get on my husband’s company plan when my plan ends. Will I have a problem since he’s already enrolled in Part A?

Terrific info!

Most iinformative video=Thank you!!!!!

The problem with Medicare is that there are too many for profit incursions into original Medicare that makes paying for medical care expensive for seniors. Medicare advocacy groups are dealing with some hospital billing departments that refuse to give straight yes or no answers to whether their hospital accepts Medicare pricing. For people with chronic medical conditions this answer can mean the difference between getting affordable care and facing bankruptcy. The shortage of doctors is a planned reason for higher medical costs. Most Americans support Medicare for all but this voter preference is not represented in congress under the control of the wealthy donor class working in the interests of AMA, the medical and pharmaceutical industrial complex, and the insurance companies all who are only concerned with maximising profits and shareholder returns. The medical schools are funded by the Pharmaceutical companies. In a Medicare for all scheme with a single payer system and with medical schools funded by the public we would have cost controls in a non-profit system in which physicians, surgeons, and other medical personnel would be compensated for their services but investors would not profit from the medical afflictions of others. Don’t believe the argument from scarcity. We have billions of unaccountable money going to fund wars in Ukraine and the Middle East that should be spent here on the welfare of Americans. The same pharmaceutical companies who lobby against Medicare for all are the same pharmaceutical companies who supported the US treasury as the single payer for the pharmaceutical Covid-19 vaccines that did not protect most people from the virus and were dangerous for many people especially young men; moreover, the pharmaceutical companies are immune from lawsuits. This is how American capitalism operates: the profits are privatised whereas the loses are socialised.

I have medicare plan F. Why do you not mention those of us grandfather with F.

It also is about the money. We have too many doctors that have borrowed too much money while in school and they want to retire at 55.

If a Dr. Or hospital takes Medicare A & B they are required by law to take F, G & N. A disadvantage Plan, C plan, etc. replace traditional Medicare and Drs and hospitals are refusing this because it’s not paying like traditional Medicare.

Have Medicare and G high deductible . Had it 18 months. Never used it. How would i found out if it would cover a CDL Physical... Been paying cash. Dont currently drive . But wish to keep it current . When i had employer provided insurance the wife and adopted kids and step kids had medical issues that having insurance saved the day. I inherited good health . Hardly ever needed it . CDL Physical costs have gone yp and up. Kind of retired now but again would like to keep CDL nust in case. So question is cheaper to pay cash or will Medicare cover it.? 66 years old . Still healthy. Drove a 100 ton copper ore dump truck. Otherwise CDL not really needed.

This is unnecessarily confusing and misleading. I’ve been selling Medicare plans since 1986 and other than the 1992 changes to standardization, and the first few years of Medicare Advantage. But this video was only made to induce fear and add subscriptions. Everything he talks about happens to so infrequent this video really is a waste of time.

This video is superfluous . It sounds informative , but really just says that there may be some confusion , which can be said of any medical transaction involving insurance . Nothing new or helpful here .

So the title is "borderline" clickbait. I've been on it less than a year and at first I thought this was something new that the people I worked with on choosing a plan totally overlooked. But my original understanding is correct, despite what the title IMPLIES. No doctor "Refuse(s) to Take Medicare Supplement Plans". If they take original Medicare (and they're seeing new patients, which is a separate issue that has NOTHING to do with the purported title of the video), they have to take whatever Medicare supplement (i.e. Medigap) plan you have. If they're not taking new Medicare patients, it has nothing to do with the supplement plan. In thate case, you won't even get to the point where you tell them what supplement plan you have!

Great Information.👍

I can't follow what you saying, your speaking very fast

Im almost positive Medicare and a supplement dont cover CDL exams. Ask the physicians office though. Since you havent used it even if its covered you have to pay an annual deductible.

This is weird. All the Supplement does is pay the 20% that Medicare doesn't pay. If they accept Medicare there is no reason for them not to accept the other 20%! It's all at the Medicare negotiated price. All Supplements of the same letter are identical regardless of company! Not even sure if they agree to accept Medicare that they are allowed to not accept payment from the Supplement. I would file a complaint with Medicare.

I want coke! Not pepsi! Yikes...not clear.

Misleading presentation complicating discussion.

Come on now

Unfortunately, because of trial and error, this video taught me NOTHING!

Sorry...but you take a somewhat confusing topic and blow it up with twisting subject matter scenarios. You should take this video down.

Depopulation.

Click bate

So anyone know we’re all the doctors have gone since Joe became a dementia president. Obama’s third term🙏🙏🙏🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

So glad that people don’t want to give up their private insurance, so we don’t have a national plan. 🙄

is it normal to have to call the billing dept and tell them I have already overpaid my deductible amount and still keep getting billed for something called PPD. They say "Medicare didn't cover this so plan g doesn't either. !!!

What in the world are you talking about? Your analogies are very confusing. 🫤

This is all about money- nothing else.