[LoriAnn]

You are correct! Medicare Advantage is an HMO or managed care program. The primary concern with managed care is that it limits your options. In most cases you are completely unaware of the limitations. The payment for services offered by a managed care is always less than traditional Medicare. That is the point. Managed care was created to reduce cost. There are health care providers that do not accept Patients with a Medicare managed care because of the reduced payment. When you need a referral for specialized services the person arranging the referral can only choose from the providers that accept your particular managed care program. That is how your choices are limited. Often the best or most respected specialist/providers are so in demand that they cannot accept every referral that is offered. The managed cares are the first to be rejected. Some Medicare managed care programs have a repeated pattern of non-payment. In some parts of the country it is difficult to find a hospital that is willing to accept Medicare managed care patients. Traditional Medicare is accepted by all providers in all situations. They are a reliable payor and make the billing process easy for the provider. That is good news for the Patient. I would avoid managed care at all cost. The commercials look great but there are undisclosed drawbacks. The scope of services available is limited and the best health care providers are often unavailable. Even with less available care to the consumer, the cost of Medicare managed care programs are much higher than traditional Medicare. The additional cost is not for services but for administration of the programs. The insurance companies that provide these programs have soaring profits while the participants have less services. Those commercials are not cheap after all.