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What are Medicare Advantage Plans?
Medicare Advantage Plans are Medicare plans that are managed through private insurers. If you have Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B you can get a Medicare Advantage Plan, but you will almost certainly have to pay for it along with your Part B monthly premiums. If you do buy a Medicare Advantage Plan, all of your Medicare health care will be administered through that plan in most cases. Prescription drug coverage can be included in the plan. Types of Medicare Advantage Plans are Medicare Health Maintenance Organizations, or HMOs, Preferred Provider Organizations, or PPOs, Medicare Special Needs Plans and Private Fee-for-Service Plans.Why Get a Medicare Advantage Plan?
A Medicare Advantage Plan allows you to get some of the benefits of a private health plan while still enjoying the low premiums and coverage of regular Medicare. Medicare Advantage Plans tend to provide more benefits and lower co-payments than you might enjoy if you simply have original Medicare. Keep in mind that Medicare Advantage Plans and Medigap policies do not work together. However, you do not need a Medigap policy if you have a Medicare Advantage Plan. Therefore if you have Medigap you may want either not to get a Medicare Advantage Plan or drop your Medigap policy.More About Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare Advantage Plans include not only your hospital and medical coverage like original Medicare and additional benefits not covered by original Medicare, they also generally come with a prescription drug plan. A comprehensive prescription drug program is not offered under Medicare Part A or B, so this can be very appealing to Medicare recipients. Keep in mind that since you will be receiving coverage through a private insurer that may be part of a health management network, you may be required to see in-network Doctors or in-network hospitals to get complete coverage for your health care needs. You do have a choice regarding which Medicare Advantage Plan to enroll in, so it’s a good idea to compare a few plans before making a decision. You can get information on your various Medicare options at the Department of Health and Human Services Medicare site.
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