How to Choose a Medicare Plan

t’s not exactly easy to choose a Medicare Plan. There are many plans to choose from and not having the right coverage can cost you thousands of dollars. When it comes to choosing Medicare Advantage or Medigap Plans as part of your coverage it is important to know some crucial pros and cons of each one to make an informed decision.

It helps to have a licensed Medicare specialist who will work hard for you and represent your best interests. At Turning 65 Solutions, we can compare Medicare plans for you and help you find one that provides the most coverage for the best value.

Tips for Choosing a Medicare Plan

Choosing a plan is an important decision. A gap in coverage can result in thousands of dollars and switching plans outside of open enrollment can lead to further expenses in premiums.

To help you decide between Medicare plans, consider these tips:

Ask your doctors if they accept Medicare Advantage plans or only accept Original Medicare. If you don’t have doctors or hospitals that accept your Medicare Advantage plan it could be a problem if you don’t like to pay higher out-of-pocket costs.
Look at a premium vs. coverage. Would you prefer to pay for the extra coverage or take a chance and pay lower premiums?
If you travel often, a Medicare Supplement Plan could work best for you. It is accepted anywhere that Original Medicare is accepted.

As always, the agents at Turning 65 Solutions can help you make a primed decision.

Choosing a Medicare Supplement Plan

Medicare Supplement plans are commonly known as Medigap plans so don’t let this confuse you. There are ten standardized plans from letters A to N. Each letter provides a different range of coverage. Because they are standardized it means they must provide the same range of benefits (except in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin which have their own rules).

It is. important to know that Medicare Supplement plans can be purchased only if you have Original Medicare. This is because those plans are designed to fill out the gaps that are left of Original Medicare. So, if you have Medicare Advantage you can purchase Medicare Supplement plans as part of your coverage.

Medicare Supplement insurance can be a great option alongside Original Medicare if:

prefer low or even zero out-of-pocket costs: costs are predictable
travel a lot: because most supplemental plans cover all or up to 80% of foreign travel emergencies
want the flexibility of going to any doctor and hospital because there are no network restrictions nor do you need a referral to see specialists
benefits that are the same for everyone who has exact plans

However, the Medicare Supplemental policies may not be the right option for you if you don’t want to pay a higher monthly premium, and you don’t like the fact that if you want dental, vision, hearing, and drug prescription benefits you must purchase stand-alone plans to get covered. Also, you don’t travel often so you don’t think that travel emergency coverage is needed.

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Choosing a Medicare Advantage Plan

Medicare Advantage Plans are sold by private insurance companies like Turning 65 Solutions. When you choose the Medicare Advantage plan it becomes your primary source of coverage instead of the Original Medicare. However, Medicare Advantage plans must cover all the same benefits that are normally covered under Original Medicare. In addition to that, most of those plans include extra benefits like dental, vision, hearing, and drug prescriptions into their plan.

Medicare Advantage plan can be a great option for you if:

you would like to get additional coverage benefits included all in one plan: dental, vision, hearing, gym membership, etc. Also, most of the plans include prescription medications in their benefits so you don’t need to purchase a stand-alone prescription drug plan to get coverage
lowest premiums or even zero costs on additional premiums which you may pay alongside Medicare Part B monthly premium
more types of plan options

However, Medicare Advantage plans are not a great option if:

you don’t like network restrictions: most Medicare Advantage doesn’t provide coverage if you go to out-of-network doctors and hospitals. Some plans allow you to go out-of-network but at higher out-of-pocket costs.
if you don’t like the fact that you need referrals to see a specialists
need travel emergency insurance because you travel often
you don’t mind that costs aren’t predictable

Although Medicare Advantage plans have zero premium costs or low monthly premiums, they can have unpredicted out-of-pocket costs because these plans are not standardized, and each private company can have its own set of rules for provided benefits. For some services, your provider may as for prior authorization to get you covered. However, there is a maximum out-of-pocket cost yearly limit beneficiaries can spend for provided services. When you reach this limit, your provider must cover all costs for the rest of the year. MOOP in 2023 is 8300$.

Our Agents Shop Your Medicare Plans for You

Turning 65 Solutions is a Medicare-contracted insurance broker that helps you find the best plan choices for your financial and healthcare needs. If you still have doubts about which plan type is the best decision for you, people with the most Medicare knowledge are here for you. One of our licensed Medicare agents will get you the information you need to make a wise decision and then shop carriers to locate the lowest price.

Call 830-328-4353 to get help today!

830-217-6711