[billethkid]

"advantage" type plan from other carriers?

Is there an "advantage" over just maintaining medicare Parts a,b,c &d?

I suspect it is a version of HMO of days of old. Which means there are limitations...what doctors/hospitals/meds/services/etc. ANd if one is not "in the area" has an effect also?

Thanx in advance for the responses.

BTK

[KayakerNC]

I have Standard Medicare A & B and BCBS Standard (FepBlue), Part D is not required with the BCBS coverage.
Medicare is primary, and so far, I have not had to pay any co-pays or Deductible.
From what I've read, the "advantage" plans have ended up costing the government more than the standard Medicare Plan.

[Carla B]

We have traditional Medicare A&B - meaning we can use any provider that accepts Medicare. I wouldn't trust the Advantage plans because of the limitations. As long as we can afford to pay the premium, we'll stick with Medicare A&B. The only problems we have are with our secondary insurance carrier. They seem to think that Medicare sometimes remits too much to the provider and therefore they decline to pay their 20%.

[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.

[billethkid]

supplemental. And I must say we have yet to reach in our pocket yet and that includes my wife's bout with breast cancer. No complaints. I inspired by the daily barrage of material in the mail as well as in the paper....full page ads almost daily.

Thanx again.

BTK