First, how much a person gets in SS depends on a couple of things:
How many years worked/how much was contributed.
When a person decides to take SS Retirement.......as in Early (62), Normal (66 (?) or Late (70).
As for me, I had to take Early, and because I switched jobs too many times during my employment years, didn't have that much in my "bank". With taxes and Medicare taken out, I get $733 a month. Sure isn't much, but my wife makes a descent salary, so that definitely helps.
Second, Medicare:
I became eligible for Medicare last year when I turned 65. I already had VA Medical, but had to pay co-pays because I haven't got a "Service-Connected" medical problem. If I would have waited to get Medicare, I would have been paying more than $104 per month due to a late fee that is charged. Unfortunately, Medicare B also has a $147 deductible that has to be paid before Medicare pays anything for medical service.
Because I was already on SS Early Retirement, SS automatically signed me up for Medicare, but I could have turned it down. Knowing what the VA Medical has been going thru, I sure didn't want to do that. After seeing commercial after commercial about how Medicare only pays 80% of medical expenses, wife and I decided I needed a Supplement. I mean, paying the left-over 20% could definitely be a nice "chunk of change" out of pocket for a medical thing like my upcoming RC surgery later this month. Heck, every Supplement Insurance in the area, and out, was sending me info in the mail on a daily basis saying they were the ones to choose.
Well, after doing some online research and going to a Florida Blue Supplement meeting, we went with Florida Blue as my Medicare Supplement insurance. We pay $134 per month for that, but it sure pays for what Medicare don't.
Then, I had to look for a drug plan. A doctor that takes care of Medicare patients can't prescribe medicine from the VA Pharmacy. Only a VA doctor can do that. So, back to the online research again and we came up with Humana Rx Plan. It had very high reviews and I know people that have it and love it. I get four prescriptions from the VA and for a 90 day amount, it sure wasn't cheap. With Humana Rx, $15 per month, they will only cost me $23 for all three of those every 90 days. The fourth prescription, my Metformin (Diabetes), I will get monthly at a grocery store for free.
My total cost for medical/Rx is $255 per month, but no Vision or Dental with that. I get that with my wife's company medical. I don't have expensive meds, so that definitely helps.
Actually, I was kind of shocked to find out that Medicare costs, but our Government isn't going to "foot the cost" on medical for everyone. A person really has to prove why they can't pay, before this "free" comes into place.
BTW, along with Medicare B, Florida Blue and Humana Rx, also have Medicare A for hospitalization. But, even with Medicare A, a person has to pay a deductible before getting admitted into a hospital. I don't think that goes with an emergency though.
Hope all of this helps.