trad.medicare or medicare advantage-which is better. Whats your preference (medical, plan)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Poll which is better Medicare advantage or traditional Medicare with part a part b part d and a supplemental. What your preference and will traditional medicare become too expensive. Heard a lot of doctors don't like Medicare advantage and there narrow doctor list. Which is cheaper in the long run.
I have part a,, b , d and AARP Medicare supplement plan f. Live in NY. The Medigap in NY is getting expensive but I like freedom to go to any doctor but miss not having dental. Hate having narrow doctor list with referrals
Which is better Medicare advantage or traditional Medicare with part a part b part d and a supplemental. What do you have and are you happy with narrow doctor list with referrals. I hear a lot of doctors don't take medicare advantage. So more choice vs cheaper prices narror doctor list.
I have part a,, b , d and AARP Medicare supplement plan f. Live in NY and the Medigap is expensive in NY and price going up. I don't have dental or vision so just thinking about Medicare advantage but I hate HMOs with limited doctor choice. My whole life on a ppo plan from job.
So please give me some of your thoughts on this.
My husband has a Blue Cross advantage plan & he's happy with it. Mercy and Hill Medical physicians are on the provider list as well as some private practice docs who are not affiliated with a major medical group, but we live in Sacramento County and there are a lot of doctors here. His plan is an HMO but he has absolutely no problems getting referrals and he considers his care to be top notch. He has no monthly premium I think his physician co-pay is $5 or $10 and a 3 month refill of generic drugs is $10.
If there is a Kaiser facility near you, you might want to look into their medicare advantage plans, there are always plenty of doctors and it's a "one stop shop" so if you need to see a specialist it's usually in the same facility as your PCP. Another nice thing about Kaiser is that you can email your doctor and you usually hear back within a day - and you can change your PCP online you can doctor shop for physicians accepting new patients read their biography, see their picture and select one, if you don't like them you can change again the same way
From what I understand, if you have serious health problems and you don't initially get a supplement plan you can be denied later, it's a little complicated and I'm not an expert https://www.mymedicarematters.org/af...o-re-evaluate/
Poll which is better Medicare advantage or traditional Medicare with part a part b part d and a supplemental. What your preference and will traditional medicare become too expensive. Heard a lot of doctors don't like Medicare advantage and there narrow doctor list. Which is cheaper in the long run.
I have part a,, b , d and AARP Medicare supplement plan f. Live in NY. The Medigap in NY is getting expensive but I like freedom to go to any doctor but miss not having dental. Hate having narrow doctor list with referrals
So please give me some of your thoughts on this.
Essentially, if you can afford it, a Medigap is preferable exactly because of provider flexibility. No networks. However, in NY, depending on where you live, Medigaps are very expensive. AARP is community-rated - so probably is the most affordable among the plans offered.
If you're healthy, a high-deductible Medigap F is the way to go - it pays 80% of Medicare costs, you are responsible for the 20% up the $2,200 deductible. You'd need to incur $11,000 in Medicare-approved charges for that 20% to = $2,200. You would need to keep your Part D.
Many here have the high-deductible F, including Mathjak who lives in Queens, NY. Mathjak has a high-deductible Medigap F through Humana for $90/mo. per person, which includes a Silver Sneakers membership worth at least $30-$40/mo., which he uses. In other states, depending on your age, an hd-F w/o the Silver Sneakers can cost as little as $30/mo. up to $100/mo. Average is about $60-$70.
If you can find a medical system similar to Kaiser in your area which offers Advantage, that might be all right - assuming you like its doctors. If I ever join a traditional Advantage again, it would be sponsored by one of our local medical systems when and if offered. Much easier to get approvals and bills paid when the money is kept in-house. Right now, I have an MSA (a form of Advantage, zero premium, but no provider network - see any Medicare doctor anywhere - plan not available in most states), discussed, here:
MSA has worked out just fine for me, so far. Since that thread began, for 2017 I switched to Security MSA which has a higher deposit $2,520 and lower deductible ($4,500). I rarely doctor, so the MSA deposit is spent on chiropractor and dentist - with money left over.
Last edited by Ariadne22; 09-18-2017 at 10:58 PM..
Essentially, if you can afford it, a Medigap is preferable exactly because PROVIDER FLEXIBILITY. No networks. However, in NY, Medigaps are very expensive. But, if you're healthy, a high-deductible Medigap F is the way to go - it pays 80% of Medicare costs, you are responsible for the 20% up the $2,200 deductible. You'd need to incur $11,000 in Medicare-approved charges for that 20% to = $2,200.
Many here have the high-deductible F, including Mathjak lives in Queens, NY and has a high-deductible Medigap F through Humana for $90/mo. per person, which includes a Silver Sneakers membership worth at least $30-$40/mo., which he uses. In other states, dpeneding on your age, an hd-F w/o the Silver Sneakers can cost as little as $30/mo. up to $100/mo. Average is about $60-$70.
If you can find a medical system in your area which offers Advantage, that might be all right - assuming you like its doctors. If I ever join an Advantage again, it would be with one sponsored by one of our local medical systems when and if offered. Much easier to get approvals and bills paid when the money is kept in-house.
In Northern California I think all of the Advantage plans include a free membership to Silver Sneakers, my husband has one through Blue Cross and so do I, through Kaiser.
If you're healthy, a high-deductible Medigap F is the way to go - Medicare still pays 80% of costs, you are responsible for the 20% up the $2,200 deductible. You'd need to incur $11,000 in Medicare-approved charges for that 20% to = $2,200. You would need to keep your Part D.
In New York, Medigap plans are guaranteed issue by law. There should be no obstacles to obtaining one even if you develop a health condition. They are also community rated, which means that everyone in your area will pay the same rate for the company's plan, regardless of their age or gender.
In NYC, AARP generally has the lowest rates for any plan they offer, but they do not sell HDF. In addition to Humana, look at Globe and at Bankers Life for HDF.
Status:
"Mistress of finance and foods."
(set 12 days ago)
Location: Coastal Georgia
49,966 posts, read 63,265,686 times
Reputation: 92398
We had a few different advantage plans and you get what you pay for. Now, we save $$ by paying a premium for an F and D supplimental. We had some difficulty finding medical care that accepted our advantage Plan, and were actually embarrassed a few times, by how little they pay the providers. Unless you are truly poverty stricken, don't get an advantage Plan.
If you do not get into a supplimental within 6 months of eligibility, you run the risk of not being accepted into a supplimental later. If you have a chronic illness, you must get into a supplimental asap.
I would keep that combo you have... Medicare, Medicare Supplement & PDP. I believe open enrollment is coming up which allows you to switch your plans around a little. Here is a website that has a list of all the Medicare enrollment periods. https://www.medicarefaq.com/faqs/typ...lment-periods/
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
