Medicare Supplement OR Medicare Advantage Plan, the good, the bad, the "not so ugly" either way

Medicare Supplement vs. Medicare Advantage Plan, which offers better coverage?

A Medicare Supplement Plan works with Medicare to pay the out of pocket costs that Medicare does not pay for. When you have a Medicare Supplement Plan, you will continue to use your Medicare red, white, and blue card, as well as your Medicare Supplement Card.

A Medicare Advantage Plan works in replace of Medicare. Medicare pays a private insurance company to insure you, with the requirement that the benefits are at least as good as what Medicare offers.  If you choose a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can put away your Medicare red, white, and blue card because you will only be required to present your Medicare Advantage Plan card to use the insurance.

So which is better?

Good news, there is no wrong answer, they both are good, and both probably offer better coverage than you are used too. Below are the good and the bad for each type of insurance, I hope this helps:

Medicare Supplement

                                The Good                                                                                            The Bad

Flexibility- choice of Doctor and/or Hospital	An additional Monthly Premium ($75-$180)
Predictability- very little out of pocket expense	No dental or vision coverage
Pays all hospital bills	Monthly premium increases every year
You and your Doctor decide your care	No prescription drug coverage, you will need Part D
Easy to shop and compare the different prices
No referrals are required, no HMO or PPO
Travels with you, same coverage all over the US
Electronic Billing

 

In summary, a Medicare Supplement Plan is going to cost an additional monthly premium, but it provides coverage that allows you to choose your own Healthcare Providers, and it is easy to budget because as long as you pay the monthly premium, you will rarely get a bill.

Medicare Advantage Plan

                                The Good                                                                                            The Bad

Very low monthly premium, sometimes $0.00	Out of pocket costs up to $3,500 to $7,500
Insurance Company helps manage your care	Doctor / Hospital Network: HMO or PPO.
Some dental and/or vision	Requires referrals
Includes prescription drug coverage	Annual Contracts, can only change 10/15-12/07
	Coverage is limited to your County
	Insurance Company decides your care

 

In summary, a Medicare Advantage Plan operates like group health insurance that most of us have had our whole life, and has a low monthly premium. However, if you are retiring and your income is being reduced, it may be more difficult to have health insurance that is impossible to budget for because you do not know how much you will use the Plan each year.

 

Candid MedicareBob: I assist roughly 100 people per month with choosing which Medicare Coverage is the best for them, and 70% of the time, the choice is a Medicare Supplement Plan. This does not mean that I do not like Medicare Advantage Plans, to me it really comes down to the pricing that is available for the Medicare Supplement Plans in your area. If a Medicare Supplement Plan F, G, or Plan N is $100 or less per month, than a Medicare Supplement makes a lot of sense for most people. This being said, I do have clients that cannot afford a Medicare Supplement, this is when I assist them in choosing the right Medicare Advantage Plan for them. As I mentioned previously, both Medicare Supplement Insurance and Medicare Advantage Plans typically offer better insurance than you have had while you were working.

YOU SHOULD KNOW: The only time that you are guaranteed approval for any Medicare Supplement Plan is when you first turn 65 years old, or within 6 months of when you start Medicare Part B.

How do I, a licensed insurance agent/broker that sells Medicare Supplements and/or Medicare Advantage Plans make money?

This is a fair question, and I am happy to share this information with you. My services; Medicare education, telephonic enrollment, and customer service, has no additional cost to you. I get paid by the insurance company, not by you. 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A SHORT VIDEO: Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement, which is better? 

Medicare insurance question? Want quotes from 20+ Medicare Supplement Companies? Want a chart of the available Medicare Advantage Plans in you County?

Call me, Robert W. Bache aka MedicareBob: 1-800-525-0299. 

Robert W. Bache aka “MedicareBob”

President / Producer

Senior Healthcare Direct

Direct Toll Free: 1-800-525-0299

Company Toll Free: 1-855-368-4717

www.srhealthcaredirect.com

Learn more about Robert aka “MedicareBob”

MedicareAdvantage Plans are Changing

Medicare Advantage Plans are Changing

Obamacare includes some changes to the Medicare Advantage program:

• Starting January 2014, Medicare Advantage plans will be held to a minimum loss ratio of 85%

• Requires restructuring the funding levels to Medicare Advantage plans in order to reduce payments closer to traditional Medicare (i.e. remove the 14% “overpayment” to Medicare Advantage)

            1)  Congressional Budget Office estimates this will cut $145 billion over 10 years

           2)  The payment restructuring was designed to be implemented in 2011.

• However, in 2012 CMS expanded “quality” payments to Medicare Advantage plans through a demonstration program (outside of Obamacare) that effectively mitigated most of the impact of the Medicare Advantage funding cuts from Obamacare.  The demonstration program is targeted to continue through 2014, at which time the additional bonus payments will end unless other measures are put in place.

MedicareBob’s explanation:

Medicare Advantage Plans are receiving less money from the Government, therefore the insurance companies are going to have to do better with less money. I look for the smaller Medicare Advantage companies to either go out of business, or be purchased by one of the bigger insurance companies.

Examples: Care Improvement Plus has been purchased by United Healthcare, and Coventry has been purchased by Aetna.

What does this mean to people one Medicare Advantage Plans?

·         Less options

·         Less benefits

·         Maybe more of a monthly premium

The days of paying a $0.00 premium and receiving a rich Medicare Advantage Plan are ending soon. However, when you compare the benefits and premium of a Medicare Advantage Plan to an Employer or Private insurance Plan, Medicare Advantage Plans are still typically going to offer better coverage. Medicare Advantage Plans over the next few years should still offer good benefits for a low monthly premium.

 

I posted a 1:20 video on YouTube about this topic as well; "Is Obamacare Destroying Obamacare?"

Robert Bache aka “MedicareBob”

Cell Phone:1-800-525-0299

www.MedicareBob.com