[lawgolfer]

Originally Posted by JWish

We just moved to The Villages from another state, and I just started in Medicare in December. All was set up for the other state as original Medicare, as I had researched Medicare extensively and heard lots of negatives about Advantage plans.

We are now working with a local Medicare insurance broker in The Villages, who is telling us that Advantage plans are totally different in Florida than the rest of the country, and that Villages Health is a different and amazing care system than normal care providers.

Sounds too good to be true as we would save a significant amount of money on a Florida Advantage plan, but I don’t want to fall for a sales pitch and regret it later.

Is this a different animal in Florida? Any challenges finding providers around The Villages for Advantage Plans? Any challenges finding providers accepting new patients? Does the UHC Advantage Plan travel provision really work? I’m hesitant to voluntarily join an HMO, but maybe the PPO version would be a better fit for a skeptic.

Looking for real-world experiences with it, especially from those who have been on it awhile.

Thanks for any feedback!

The "freebies" from an Advantage Plan are not worth the hassle and danger of not being able to easily go to a doctor outside the Plan. We have a friend who was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. The next day she flew to Houston, checked into M D Anderson, and has been there for two months with Medicare and United Health paying the bills. She could never have done that in an Advantage Plan.