I printed them out and faxed them to the clever people.

I was finally able to make contact with Medicare and I have been approved only to the better part of 3 months 

I will of course be liable for paying me premium ($175  month) for the three months I was not covered.

Welcome to the wacky bewildering world of Medicare, Supplemental Medicare Insurance (Part F or G), Part D for your drugs, flexible choice Dental, Vision, and Hearing, and should you go this route:  Medicare Advantage.  I only just got all this figured out as I retired 3 days ago and what a confusing steaming hot pile of B.S.!  The absolute last place you go is to Medicare for information, what I did was talk to three seperate brokers and a couple of friends already on Medicare to figure out the best way to go.  Medicare Advantage is free (not free) but has huge out of pocket limits.  Part F Supplemental, the way I went has a $1,365.00 annual premium but a $240 maximum out of pocket expense.  The math was quite simple for me.  My drug plan costs me about $130.00 per month, not cheap but I take a high dollar drug that runs $400/ month if I had to pay out of pocket.  Good Luck!  You'll need it!

My wife has a fully comprehensive medical plan from where she works, my heart meds cost me a $10 deductible each year. dental, $25/yr, eye exam and glasses 85% coverage every 2 yrs, full coverage for hospital, chiropractic, message, physio, even a shrink if needed. And much more. I think its a co pay through her union, not very expensive at all.

Everything above what Ohip used to cover, Ohip(Ontario health insurance Plan) barely covers breathing any more.

oh and gotta get that supplemental insurance right away as well , and pay for that too 

I France we have a good system. Doesn't seem to be controlled by the big Pharma as much.

What would you guys be paying for an X-ray, on a knee for example?

4 weeks ago I had a problem with my knee and the Dr prescribed an X-ray to see if there's arthritis. The X-ray was multiple images from various angles then a report of finding. It cost 50 Euro ( around 60 US dollar) of which I get about 30 back.

An MRI would be about 120Euro, but we still get most of it covered.

Part by the state and part by the private health insurance.

No arthritis by the way, just a lot of fluid , probably a small ligament damage caused by try a stupid exercise with my daughter. 

 I just received a letter from Medicare telling me they're doubling my monthly Part B premium because "I made too much money in 2023." so I'll be paying approximately the same for healthcare in 2025 as I did in previous years.  I just hope that Medicare is as accommodating as my employer supplied healthcare was.  

If I was still living in Canada I'd probably still be on a waiting list for non-Proton therapy radiation treatments, no PET scan allowed and my aggressive Prostate cancer would have probably mestastized by now.  Palliative care is much cheaper than actually treating a cancer and I'd probably be getting assisted suicide brochures in the mail.  

Thank God I live in the U.S.! 

The highest form of Government control 

Taxes?

Yup.  That's why healthcare isn't "free" in Canada as many like to say, nor is it particularly good.  I paid much higher personal income tax in Canada along with the despised HST/GST/Provincial sales tax plus punitive taxes on gasoline, alcohol, and cigarettes. Out of the top ten modern Western countries Canada ranks dead last for timeliness of delivery of healthcare services.  So much for single payer healthcare.

In Ontario its OHIP this comes off your pay and your employer also pays towards it.

And speaking of time; last weak I got a call from a specialist doctors office to come see him about a gall bladder attack I had. I said when did this occur, 13 months ago. I said thanxs for the timely response and hung up. Thats how long it take an emergency room doctor to pass on info?? Holy smokes I understand how people here are dying to be seen.

Never used to be this way, we`re all doomed.

 i got my wife to sign up and we now have the supplemental coverages for her as well , im convinced she will want to change it next year but thats because mine saved us from huge medical debts last year when i had my heart attack , but it costs much more each year than the option she went with , 

if i had the option se went with it would have cost me a whole lot more last year than what i paid in , as it is it cost me nothing - never got a bill for anything at all , 

she thinks because she is 10 years younger that she doesnt need the coverage yet , her family lives long lives with no health issues but thats no guarantee