[jjm51]

hi all-

i have recently been approved for medicare due to depression. on my first try no less. yay! not really...

i signed-up with humana 'gold plus hmo' which is set to start 1 august, 2014. i was initially pretty happy about it; i just pay the $114? per month for the medicare and humana picks-up the rest as long as i stay within their plan of providers.

i am currently with blue cross. i have their top tier coverage and it is a ppo. it's much more expensive.

but, i am now realizing the 'windfall' i thought i was getting actually might not be such a good deal in my situation...

i have 2 questions;

1. can one 'delay' medicare coverage due to a disability? i have been on hold with soc sec now for over 30 minutes...i might just go make an appointment to find-out.

2. though it is expensive, my feeling that my blue cross coverage is much better regarding mental health. for example; i could go to ucla resnick/psychiatric mood center. it is rated as one of the best in the country. the list for pdocs is also very limited w/humana's medicare. argh. i do not think the humana coverage allows for this. i'm trying to sort this out right now.

i'm thinking you get what you pay for? i could save so much (maybe) w/medicare, but is it really worth it? i do not qualify for ssdi due to my teacher's pension.

biggest question i guess is can i delay my medicare kicking-in until i get more info to see what is best? again;

thanks for any thoughts/advice/help.

john

[~Christina]

You should make an appointment with your local Social Security office and they can explain your options. Good luck

[jjm51]

thnx christina.

i plan on doing that. i am just interested in people's experiences here with medicare and mental health coverage.

thnx again for your reply.

john