I am not sure I agree with your post. I could be VERY wrong and will be the first to admit that my knowledge is limited but I do not think the "book" is customized. Maybe your state has produced one or supplemental information but the "book" is available online at Medicare.gov and therefore, the same for all states.

Secondly, I do not think Medicare is a part of the PPACA. Medicaid is definitely a part of "ObamaCare".

As I said, I could be wrong, but just wanted to express a different opinion.

I respect your opinion and hope my disagreement is not offensive.

Maybe someone will come along with another opinion.

No matter what, Mz Migraine, I still hold you in highest regards.

Just for the record.....
The online book & also the PDF version of Medicare & You 2014 has all the basic information you need. However, the one Medicare recipients get through the mail is personalized for each state, not person. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
The book has all the insurance companies that are allowed to sell "health" coverage in the state of your domicile. Every "health" carrier in the USofA does not afford coverage in every state. The Medicare Book is directly from the MEDICARE, not the "state."

Last summer, I received a letter from SSDI reminding me that since I am on Medicare, I do not need to sign up for "The Affordable Care" a/k/a PPACA. This is what my letter said in part more or less:
"Medicare is health insurance, so beneficiaries do not need to buy anything during the ACA enrollment period that starts on Oct. 1, when the state-run health insurance marketplaces open for business. Seniors on Medicare can change their plans and prescription drug coverage during the Medicare open enrollment period, which is Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. Medicare beneficiaries who are satisfied with their current plans don't have to do anything."
There is also info about this on the Medicare website:

===============

No offense taken. I usually post links to confirm my statements if necessary. Didn't have time when I originally posted.
I am assuming you are not on Medicare? Asking because I receive my Medicare & You book directly from Medicare every Fall. Takes me a full 6 months to read all that stuff about the health ins companies in my state.



HTH

Hi Mz Migraine,

Thank you for your response but I still disagree. First, I [U]am[ /U]on Medicare and I do [U]not[/U ]receive the "Medicare and You" booklet. It is not mailed to everyone automatically that is on Medicare. Cost cutting measures have limited the number of persons receiving the booklet from Medicare. The Medicare produced booklet is 152 pages, and is the same for ALL states.

I do not believe that Medicare produces a separate customized book for each of our 50 states of the union. It is my belief that YOUR state may add to the booklet and send them out. If Medicare produced a "customized" booklet for each state, then why would they not have all 50 online? You can put in your zip code at the Medicare website and obtain the various information for your state but not a "customized" booklet. When you referred to customized, I did not think at any time that you meant customized to an individual. I did understand that you were referring to state customization which is yet another reason why I believe that your "customized" book is produced by your state. The relationship of each state with Medicare may be different.

Totally agree with this statement.

Regarding the letter you received..........

The PPACA requires all persons to have health insurance.
This quote from your letter simply means that you HAVE insurance if you have Medicare so you do NOT need to be a part of the ACA marketplace.

This quote simply means that anyone on Medicare may make changes during the open enrollment period. This has been in effect LONG before the PPACA was ever signed. This is not anything new or related to "ObamaCare".

Just because a program is a FEDERAL program, does not mean that it is handled exactly the same way in each state. The benefits must be the same but how it is administered can vary greatly. I could list numerous items to illustrate. One of which you already pointed out is that there are different insurers that participate in Medicare coverage in different states.

Another example........ when a person is on original Medicare, (NOT a Part C Advantage Plan), their claim is processed by a company selected by Medicare and NOT directly by some central Medicare office. The location of the service and the domicile of the Medicare patient determine where and by whom the claim is processed.

I mean no disrespect to you at all but I disagree with your interpretation of the letter you received and the booklet you get.

Hope we are still friends.

Well, I'm feeling like a schmuck for immediately dumping my 'Medicare and You' booklet in the recycling bin on my way in from the mailbox. I just assumed they would mail us all one every year......and I didn't need this year's copy.

I can't even contribute as to if it was 'personalized' or had info specific to MC enrollees in my state.

I was trying not to add to all of the piles of crapola around my house and I tossed one item that may have come in handy I'll have to console myself with the fact that if I did keep it and "put it away", I wouldn't be able to find it anyhow

Hi Finz,

Loved the paragraph I highlighted in RED. Too, cute and I can relate too much to that statement.

If you are getting one each year, you will probably "continue" to get one each year. You can also go to the Medicare website and ask to be put on the electronic issue and they will take you OFF the mailing list. You can also request that a copy be mailed to you.

I ordered a "paper" copy last night at the Medicare website so it will be interesting to see if it comes with any state "customization".

As long as you have internet access, there is no need to have the "paper" copy "lost" but taking up space in your house. Totally agree with that.

I do not mean to be argumentative with Ms. Migraine, I just seem to have a very different interpretation of her letter and its meaning.

Thanks for your response. I hope more will post their opinion.

Hi Hopeless,
Yes we are still friends. We can all agree to disagree. Ok, down to business.....
Your page count is not correct technically. Pages 148 actually goes to 148L. Pages 149 goes to 149e & pages 151f. My book is a total of 177 pages.
However, starting on page 145, section 12 in my M&Y 2014 book is titled "Compare Health & Prescription Drug Plans IN YOUR AREA. On page 148 is the start of the chart titled Medicare HEALTH PLANS In New Jersey.
Pages 151-152 starts with the Medicare PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLANS In New Jersey.
What does yours show?

My M&Y 2014 booklet came from Balitmore, Maryland. On the back of my book is the statement: "This handbook has special information for NEW JERSEY, Virgin Islands & Puerto Rico."
What does yours show?


As you can tell, my book did NOT come from my State but is personalized for my State.

P.S. I DID NOT misinterpret the letter I received from Medicare. Plain & simple, if you are on Medicare, you do not need to enroll in ObamaCare (or whatever name you want to call it).

Look at those mad skillz putting in pics and adding red highlights !

I'm adding Mz Migraine to my "people who are obviously more computer savy than I am, I'll have to remember to ask them my questions" list

Seriously, it took me over an hour to try to figure out how to send a pic on my phone to my email, pull it up on my laptop and add it to Windows gallery, then use it here as a sig picture.

I failed at trying to get the cropped one to work here at NT.

My useless teenage boys spend more time laughing at me that showing me what I ask them to. Ugh !!!

https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/10050.pdf

Dear Mz. Migraine,

Above is the link to the publication as you will receive if you order it directly from CMS. The product number is 10050. There is NO hyphen with additional numbers. I can only guess that the hyphen -40 indicates YOUR specific area. If you will look at the ONLY publication number at the Medicare.gov website, 10050, there are 152 pages. There are NO additional letters that follow the page numbers as that is the "customization" of which you spoke.

As I said in my prior post, I did NOT get a copy of the booklet so I can not tell you what "MINE" said. I did order one from Medicare which is due to arrive in 3 weeks. It will be identical to the one on the website as it is the ONLY one you can order from Medicare.gov.

I do appreciate that you sent the photos of YOUR booklet. I never doubted that you received a "customized" version. The debate is over the place of origin or who printed the customized portions of it.

Yes, we can agree to disagree. I am just saying that if you are NOT sent one automatically and you order one directly from Medicare (CMS), you do not get a "customized" version. You get one that is for ALL states.

If you would like, I will send you copies of "MINE" when it arrives in 3 weeks.

I did not mean to start an argument with you. I did not say I will send you a copy of mine in a sarcastic way. I meant that I will be happy to share with you. I really do appreciate your sharing with me.

Dear Mz Migraine,

On your picture, at the bottom, it is cutoff, but it appears to say New Jersey State Health ............ can't read the rest as it is cutoff.

We could go round and round and wear each other out on this matter.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I am still in total opposition to your statement quoted below, your sidebar. Plain and simple, if you are on Medicare, you are on Medicare, period. If you are enrolled in ObamaCare, PPACA, ACA, or whatever name you want to use, you are enrolled in ObamaCare, period.

Medicare enrollment is NOT enrollment in Obama Care.

Medicaid enrollment IS enrollment in Obama Care.

They are two distinctly different programs and under different rules.

This statement is valid IF you change the word Medicare to Medicaid.

The letter that you received stated that if you are on Medicare, no need to enroll in Obama Care because you already have insurance through Medicare and do not need to purchase insurance through Obama Care. It does not state that you are enrolled in Obama Care. It says you don't need to purchase insurance as mandated by the law because you HAVE insurance that qualifies for meeting the law. You have Medicare. Period.

Also, yes, I have agreed from the start that if you are on Medicare, you do not need to enroll in ObamaCare, PPACA, or whatever you want to call it.

Medicare enrollment is NOT enrollment in Obama Care. Medicare enrollment meets the requirements of the law that you MUST have insurance. The law does not state that you must have Obama Care, just that you MUST have health insurance that meets the requirements OF the law. Medicare coverage meets the requirements of the law. Medicare coverage means you do NOT need to have other insurance NOR insurance through the market place.

The phone number on your booklet at the bottom is the phone number for SHIP in New Jersey. Check out DHS website for New Jersey. It states THEY produce the information related to New Jersey with funding by CMS.