HTALLEN
Fremont,CA
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Joined: 10/17/2003
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Several months ago I went onto a Medicare Advantage plan....I have a number of serious medical issues and must have continuity with my long term doctors.While they take plain Medicare, they are reluctant to take my Medicare Advantage...they are accepting it for now.However, I am extremely concerned they will change their minds. I have a 45 day window to shift over to a Medigap Plan F.I went to a large regional hospital to ask their insurance specialist what would be best, an Advantage Plan or a Medigap..... after an hour she was completely confused, saying she had to consult with accounting, and never got back to me. Both Blue Cross and United Healthcare (both sell Plan F but not Advantage)say a Medigap is better. Is there anybody out there able to answer this ?
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docj
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Medicare Advantage plans are, essentially, managed care plans. First of all, they require you to use a specific set of doctors, hospitals, etc. You doctors presumably are part of the "accepted group" or they wouldn't have been comfortable with it at all. However, with a managed care plan they have to get approval from the plan for test, specialist referrals, etc and they may not like that as much. Medigap plans are not part of managed care programs.
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runaways
Oregon
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Joined: 04/13/2007
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We just went through this getting my husband setup with medicare. Google SHIBA which is Senior Health Insurance Benefits Advisors. Totally impartial and they will sit down with you one on one to determine which way is the best for you to go and explain it all in plain english.
They set us up with a medigap F policy. My husband was waiting for medicare to have a hip replacement. When we got the medigap card all his doctors said "great", "no problem with billing". Plus we can use any doctor we want.
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runaways
Oregon
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I forgot to mention that while the medigap policy does cost extra, for us it meant no additional out of pocket expenses as the medigap policy pays everything that medicare does not.
Please feel free to PM me if you would like to ask any other questions.
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emzee
california
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Joined: 10/22/2006
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Is SHIBA only in Idaho? I can't see it anywhere else. I might add, Google Senior Health Insurance Benefits Advisors, along with SHIBA or you will get some cute little Shiba Inu pups.
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mockturtle
WA
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The way I see it, Medicare Advantage plans are great unless the managed care company goes belly-up. Then, poof! Your Medicare coverage is gone. Happened to a bunch of folks in AZ and SoCal in the late 1990's.
With MediGap plans, you retain your government Medicare coverage while carrying a supplemental policy.
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ralphpam
Casa Grande, AZ
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I first went on the advantage plan as it saved money. One month later I was diagnosed with both a heart problem (afib) and colon cancer. The bills were killing us. We quickly switched to medicare and a supplement and I no longer see bills. Because I now have a pacemaker I have to test my blood every two weeks and will need yearly catscan for 3 more years all paid for in full.
An advantage plan is great as long as you are healthy but if you ever get a serious problem it can get very expensive very fast.
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tomkaren13
West Central Florida
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We have a AARP supliment program. (Yes don't go on about the Politics of AARP)
It cost us $325 a month for both and we have never paid an additional cent for any of our tests and hospital stays. DH has heart problems with AF and I have pancreatitis. I just got out of a 5 day hospital stay and will be going soon for out patient procedures. Will have no out of pocket expense and never had a Doctor turn us away.
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rexlion
Broken Arrow OK
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Joined: 04/01/2005
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I read a New York Post article earlier this spring, that said Pres. Obama will discontinue funding for Medicare Advantage right after the election. He is propping up the program until then with funds that were earmarked for research.
NY Post article
My older, retired siblings tell me it's no great loss, because they believe that in most cases Medicare Advantage ends up being more expensive overall, not less.
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bsinmich
Holland, MI
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A Medicare Advantage can be OK for a person who is healthy and who likes to stay in the closed network of services and providers they cover. If you go to another state and are out of the network you will pay. If you go to Canada, Mexico or any other foreign country you will most likely be on your own. A Medicare supplement or Medigap Plan F will cover you at most places in the US and provide up to $50,000 per year to a lifetime total of $250,000 in foreign coverage. If an Advantage plan drops your provider from their network you will change to their provider or pay a lot more out of pocket. There is no way to compare rates on the internet because they are different by state and by region. My primary co. here in Mich has 3 different rates to cover the state.
Edited to correct the Term to Advanatage plan dropscoverage.
* This post was
edited 06/11/12 05:44pm by bsinmich *
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