I have only encountered one MD who opted out of Medicare. This was the orthopod who did my left hip replacement before I was 65. I was foolish to go back to him for the right hip after he opted out. There are tons of other highly qualified orthopods. I paid $7K with zero reimbursement. Dumb Sue. Some MD's with 'niches' can get away with opting out. Ten years ago I found that some GP's were going the 'retainer' route. They charged a patient a set annual fee ($8-10K) and spent no time 'messing' with Medicare or any other insurance plan. I don't know if that worked. I haven't heard anything about it recently.

DH and I are going with AdvantraRX for 2009 after being with Humana this year. Google Medicare Part D ("I'm feeling lucky" to go directly to Medicare site). You can put in all your meds and your zip code, etc., and Medicare will show you all the plans in your area and the costs for each so you can easily compare and decide which plan to go for. We also have a Medicare Advantage plan (not a supplement) for $70 a month, each, for 2009 and no co-pays, no deductibles, 25% co-pay only for radiation therapy with a $1000 stop-loss. It's the best plan we have ever had. You can also check, on the Medicare website, for the best plans for Medicare Advantage which are ususally cheaper than supplement plans. Big variations, however. The first plan my DH had was cheap, but had co-pays with no stop-loss. Didn't think that would be a problem, but he had open heart surgery and contracted MRSA as a result and the co-pays ended up being about $4,000. We are almost finished paying them off, 2-1/2 years later. Learned a very expensive lesson. Make sure there is a stop-loss if you have any co-pays.

Did you look at the AARP plan? My mom and aunt had that one--up till last year, it was a lot less than what you're saying you're paying (I don't know about now), and mom and aunt rarely had to pay anything for their medical needs (I know once mom went to the eye dr. and ended up owing .50!--and the dr. asked for it, do you believe!). When Aunt had an ER visit/hospital stay/rehab stay because of a burst appendix--she paid only $100 for the ambulance ride between the hospital and rehab facility. Medicare and her AARP insurance picked up EVERYTHING else. You do need to speak with someone in your area, who understands insurance, and who is NOT trying to sell you anything. How about contacting your local senior advocacy center--they generally have knowlegeable people who can help you, or can direct you in the right direction to find someone. Good luck.

All states have a State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). The book is written in such a way that it answers questions you didn't know you had. It gives information you didn't know you needed. And, you can read it at your own pace. You don't need to make repeated calls to your state's SHIP.