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Many doctors and hospitals don't love Advantage and many refuse to take them because of slow pays and no pays and restrictions on care. The picture is not as rosy as the for-profit Advantage insurers would like everyone to believe.
When you are looking at Advantage plans, make sure to get a PPO, not an HMO. The premium is still $0 and you will find a wide variety of doctors in the network. You can just go to a specialist--no referral necessary. These plans are great if you are in relatively good health for your age. If you have a lot of prescriptions, maybe not--depends. Some have found they get better deals with Goode RX than their insurance. The pharmacist will use whatever you want.
In addition, most doctors love those plans. There is no hassle--it's Medicare--the best kept secret in the country. No hassling with insurance companies (which costs physicians money) and they know they will get paid and how much. Physicians and hospitals love Medicare - Advantage Plans or Original.
Not true for everyone about the premium - it varies by state.
I did a lot of research on this and at the time said we would not go on an advantage plan. I had hopes to travel, but that never happened. But we still go out of state to visit people and it is nice not having to worry about coverage. So we went with Medicare and a UHC F supplement + a part D. Even though we haven't travelled a lot life happens and in January of 2017 I had a health problem develop. First hospital visit I had Aetna ACA silver plan and had all kinds of problems getting the bills paid. July of that year I went on Medicare + supplement. In the interim I have had 3 major surgeries and another non-surgical hospital stay and so far other than premiums we have not gotten a bill for anything. Last surgery I went to a highly rated specialist and needed no referral, even though I did get one just for an "in" with the practice. They asked about my insurance and I told them, she woman smiled and said "no problem". I have checked out my Medicare EOBs and this last surgery and hospital stay was billed at close to $175K (not that Medicare paid near that) with no problems, so far.
The moral is...…..plan for the future because you never, ever know what is going to happen.
Don't worry about the part D as you can change every year. So far I have had Humana/WalMart, Aetna and now WellCare. I compare each year and choose the least overall cost. Never had a problem changing plans or pharmacies.
Yes Advantage plans are cheaper but you need a referral to see a specialist or go out of network if needed. Some people have died waiting for permission.
Not if you have a PPO Medicare Advantage plan. You just have to pay your fee to see a specialist and your primary care doctor is in network you pay $0. And like a HMO you still have to stay in network.
Not if you have a PPO Medicare Advantage plan. You just have to pay your fee to see a specialist and your primary care doctor is in network you pay $0. And like a HMO you still have to stay in network.
Again - this is not true across the board! It depends on your specific state/area plan.
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