Well, I feel your pain. Trying to find out answers about insurance is so hard cause you can get 5 different answers depending on who you talk to. I would suggest if you are not getting your answers or understanding call Beth Sufian she is a lawyer who helps people get SSDI , SI and has Medicare hotline to answer questions. She also has CF. Google her and you can get her office number.
Otherwise based on my experience. I have Medicare and I am on a group plan through my husband. My group plan is primary cause the company has over 100 employees. Whenever I go into the hospital my group plan picks up what they pick up and Medicare picks up. I am not sure exaclty why or how it is working but i am ending up paying nothing for hospital. So, with that said Beth Sufian also suggested that a person or I at the time do keep and take Medicare cause if I was ever in a position where i needed a lung transplant and I was having a hard time with my primary or in your case your private insurance, then Medicare does not tell you where you can get a transplant you just go to the hospital and most hospital are Medicare providers. So in essense it is a safeguard if my primary or in your case private insurance ever had a problem with where i was going to go for a transplant then I could drop that insurance and use Medicare as Primary cause Medicare has no stipulations for that. I have also found having Medicare as secondary has really paid alot on my doctor office visits , I don't pay anything unless it is a copay and in that case Medicare does not pick up copays from primary or deductibles. Pulmozyme, TOBI and ALbuterol are also covered under Medicare Part B so if your primary does not cover it or if you can coordinate care with Primary you could possibly end up paying nothing for those drugs after deductibles etc.
Ask to talk to a supervisor at Medicare and talk with Beth would be my suggestions in figuring this all out.
Good Luck
Jennifer 37 with CF and CFRD
Otherwise based on my experience. I have Medicare and I am on a group plan through my husband. My group plan is primary cause the company has over 100 employees. Whenever I go into the hospital my group plan picks up what they pick up and Medicare picks up. I am not sure exaclty why or how it is working but i am ending up paying nothing for hospital. So, with that said Beth Sufian also suggested that a person or I at the time do keep and take Medicare cause if I was ever in a position where i needed a lung transplant and I was having a hard time with my primary or in your case your private insurance, then Medicare does not tell you where you can get a transplant you just go to the hospital and most hospital are Medicare providers. So in essense it is a safeguard if my primary or in your case private insurance ever had a problem with where i was going to go for a transplant then I could drop that insurance and use Medicare as Primary cause Medicare has no stipulations for that. I have also found having Medicare as secondary has really paid alot on my doctor office visits , I don't pay anything unless it is a copay and in that case Medicare does not pick up copays from primary or deductibles. Pulmozyme, TOBI and ALbuterol are also covered under Medicare Part B so if your primary does not cover it or if you can coordinate care with Primary you could possibly end up paying nothing for those drugs after deductibles etc.
Ask to talk to a supervisor at Medicare and talk with Beth would be my suggestions in figuring this all out.
Good Luck
Jennifer 37 with CF and CFRD