Medicare Advantage Plans

Medicare Advantage plans or Part C plans are another way to receive medicare benefits. These plans are approved by Medicare and run by private companies. They sometimes offer benefits that aren’t included under original medicare and may be cheaper than certain medigap plans.

Under a Medicare Advantage plan, a private insurance company takes over paying for Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B. In exchange, the insurance company receives payments from Medicare, in addition to the monthly premium you may pay. Some plans even add prescription coverage through the Medicare Part D program.

Unlike medigap plans, a Medicare Advantage plan’s coverage is not the same from plan to plan or company to company. It is important to carefully review the coverages and costs for the plans you are considering. It can also be important to check with the doctors and hospital in your area to determine if they are accepting the plans terms and conditions.

These plans can include Medicare Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans, Medicare Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Plans, Medicare Private Fee-for Service Plans (PFFS), Medicare Special Needs Plans (SNP) and Medicare Medical Savings Account (MSA) plans.

We think Medicare Advantage plans can make good sense for many people instead of a Medicare supplement, but it is very important to compare the following features of each plan.

1) Availability - Not every providor accepts every plan.

2) Network - Certain HMO plans require you to go to their network of doctors. This is usually not a problem with PFFS plans.

3) Cost - Premium for many plans are lower than Medicare Supplement plans.

4) Co-payments - Most plans will require you to share the cost of using your health care services by having co-payments which you must pay.

5) Out-of-Pocket-Maximum (MOOP)- This is perhaps the most important thing to know about your plan. This is the maximum you may be liable to pay each year in co-payments.

Don’t be fooled

There are certain Medicare Advantage plans that are $0 cost to you. Unfortunately, there are many agents and companies aggressively pushing these plans as a substitute for Medicare Supplement plans. They are not the same. Although these plans do make sense for certain people, make sure you completely understand what the plans coverage is prior to enrolling.

We can help.

Each county has different plans available.  Get a free quote for your county by clicking on this Medicare Advantage link.