My situation is the opposite. As a TRS Medicare Advantage participant my monthly payments are less than half of what former colleagues are paying who are still teaching. My annual deductible is only $400 under TRS Medicare Advantage. My benefits are much better as a retiree than they ever were when I was still working.

As a recent example, several months ago I had to have emergency surgery to remove my gallbladder and to have another duct to the liver unblocked. The final total cost the hospital and the seemingly endless other fees billed my insurance (and was paid by United Healthcare Advantage TRS) was $19,671.36 while my personal total cost was about $750. That's all including the ambulance, ER, labs, surgery, everything. To me it was a bargain.