Just a side note for those who are thinking of opting for or already have chosen a Medicare Advantage plan, vs. a Medicare Supplemental plan. Advantage plans can be great when you're healthy. The RX plan is included (vs additional with a Supplemental), and you sometimes get gym benefits, dental, some hearing aid coverage, etc., all at a very low cost.
But just know that there are drawbacks when you start to really need medical care. I just went through this with my Mom (now deceased), who got talked into switching from a Supplemental plan to a MA plan. She lived in the Villages, and ended up having to go to the hospital several different times during the last year of her MA plan. Each time she had to pay out-of-pocket for the first 3 or 4 days as an in-patient. Lots of other co-pays from doctors, too. It was terrible, and she didn't have the income to support it. Had she been on the Supplemental, the overwhelming majority of these costs would have been covered. I believe she had to hit $6K or more in out-of-pocket costs on Medicare Advantage before they would pick up the entire tab.
There's a Villages Medicare Advantage plan that many here probably know about that she was on when all of these medical conditions arose. Ugh.
The thing about Medicare Advantage plans is that if you want to switch back to a Supplemental, there are only a few ways you can do so and still get "guaranteed issue". In other words, the companies that sell these Supplemental plans don't have to cover you if you're switching back from MA outside of the guaranteed issuance guidelines. You would have to get a medical evaluation, and then they would decide whether to sell you the plan. I would not want to be in that position. If you have a lot of pre-existing conditions, you could be out of luck.
Here's a snippet from Medicare.com about switching back from MA to traditional Supplemental plans:
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Once you’ve returned to Original Medicare, you can apply for a Medicare Supplement plan anytime you want – but your acceptance into a plan isn’t always guaranteed. For example, if you have health problems, the insurance company can base its decision on your health history in a process known as medical underwriting. The company can decide not to sell you a plan, or to charge you more because of your health condition.
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As for my Mom, she moved from the Villages to Crystal River, FL, to an assisted living facility the last year of her life. Moving outside of a Medicare Advantage plan's coverage area are DOES qualify as one of the ways you can still get guaranteed issue from a Supplemental plan provider without medical underwriting (a physical exam). Since the Villages Medicare Advantage plan was a "regional" plan, and Crystal River was outside the region, it allowed her to switch back and still get on a Supplemental plan without having her health evaluated. Thank God. We went with Plan G, as it was the most comprehensive other than F and had a fairly small yearly deductible.
Anyway, don't take my word for it. Please visit this page from Medicare.gov about what's involved with switching from Medicare Advantage to Medicare Supplemental, and how you can get bit under some circumstances:
Changing from Medicare Advantage to Medicare Supplement
Good luck.