Medicare Advantage
 

Just arrived at our new home! : )
Just found out that I will lose my CT Medicare Advantage plan with Aetna on Apr 1.
So, I need to figure out what I am going to do fairly quickly and my head is spinning from our move. No furniture until Wed etc, etc.

Maybe a crazy question to ask but ......... I am healthy, take no prescriptions and in CT it was best to get a Medicare Advantage plan. Got extra dental benefits, $45 of goods from CVS for free each quarter. .........

Any suggestions what Medicare plan to choose here in the Villages. I have no idea about any of the hospitals, who our doctors will be etc. I feel very lost and am still dealing with the move and a number of other things that we need to accomplish right away.

Any help would be really appreciated.

I have The Villages United Health Care Advantage and couldn't be happier. You don't need a PCP referral to see any specialist and you can get in the same day at the VHC medical center for serious issues. May see a PA but you will get in. Highly recommend.

WELCOME! so glad you made it down. :pepper2:

Contact SHINE, for unbiased information on original medicare and supplemental and medicare advantage plans.
Website: SHINE - Home, and they have local ono on one meetings, typically advertised in the Daily Sun.
We have found them to be very useful.

Go to The Village Hospital and get educated really fast.

Thanks so much. I put an email out to them! : )

UHC = A total winner for us. Give them a call. 866-627-7806

medicare advantage plans
 

suggest you contact Ron Heath at Guided Medicare, office is on route 44 near Brownwood, phone 352-446-1455, very simple when working with Ron, extremely helpful.

comingfromct...go see a SHINE ( Servicing Health Insurance Needs of Elders) representative at a several rec centers ( Eisenhower, Lake Miona for example). They are medicare specialists ( NOT insurance people). THEY will guide you to the plan best for you. The advantage plan is good as long as you are healthy. BUT, who knows how long that will be? I can go to any doc, no co-pay, no deductible, no referral ANYWHERE in the country....YOU cannot.

Why are you losing Aetna? I have Aenta Massachusetts PPO and have had no issues.

Humana working here ok
 

So far no problems

Thru the advice of our Medicare Advisor in NJ, my husband is in an Aetna PPO plan. My husband has always had an advantage plan. He advised me to stay with my supplement which is Transamerica. I have no medical issues. A supplement still offers the best coverage in the event something happens. Easier to maneuver thru. I have WellCare prescription plan. He is licensed to NJ and Fla.
Its important to use an unbiased advisor.

Freedom Medicare Advantage. Zero premium. Covers everything. Dental, vision, medical and pharmacy. Plus you receive $50 each month toward over the counter medications and vitamins.

I spent entire career in health care in Ohio. We never had anything that compares.

Former AETNA employee, in same boat, similar good health. contact me directly if you need more info.
Bottom line for me: UHC Med Advantage, thru a broker; there are several good ones down here, you pay nothing directly for their services...there ARE several UHCare Med Advantage plans however: choose one specific to your needs (I could elaborate further).
recommending you contact: Cheri Harper-Tate (352) 516-1910 / I'd like to talk to you though... so reach me.

I live here and I have Aetna, as my Medicare supplement. I think the fact that it's CT Aetna is the problem, since you no longer live in CT. I get it through Continental Life in Brentwood, TN.

there is SO LITTLE information in that statement "Go to The Village Hospital and get educated really fast", as to be useless to someone who has not read the past history. I won't elaborate here, as it requires a small book for a glimpse of the past stories, some even factual.

Not Medicare age yet, but researching and doing homework in advance of turning 65 in a few years. My take is “advantage is great until it isn’t’. The supplement monthly premiums are reasonable in my opinion, and the flexibility of doctors, and not fearing a procedure will be denied makes it a no-brainer for me. Currently I am in a PPO and hate it. My doctor insists I need injections for spinal degeneration that is causing pain. Insurance company says no - wants me in a very expensive (at my cost) physical therapy regiment for a year first. These things are common when an insurance adjuster, and not a doctor is guiding your healthcare.

Aetna has Advantage plans here check with them and United Health care have advantage plans also Good Luck

Go to a Villages Health site near you and take a tour. If you like the facility, most sites also have an on-site insurance specialist that you can make an appointment with and will talk you through the options.

There are five advantage plans that Villages Health takes, and there are 9 Villages Health sites for your PCP, lab work, and other small things outside of emergencies and specialists. See Health care Providers - The Villages Health for details.

The five plans that Villages Health takes are:
AARP
Humana
FloridaBlue (Blue Cross)
United Villages Advantage
United Villages Focus

United Villages Advantage was the first available, then they added the others. United Villages Focus is brand new this year. There are slightly less doctors in network with Focus. ("Focus" plan's Provider Directory is only 752 pages long, vs 790 pages for the United Villages Advantage plan). You might not want Focus if you go back and forth to Connecticut I believe - someone told me that United Villages Advantage is better for being covered by any United doctor country-wide.

We recently dropped FloridaBlue for my father-in-law because the Skilled Nursing Facility near him only took the United plans, and dental coverage was poor. He is now with Focus.

You mentioned $45 per quarter at CVS.

The "Focus" plan is $230/quarter, and not just CVS but multiple places including Walmart!! AND a $500/year pre-paid card for glasses and dental work.
The regular United Villages Advantage is $75/quarter and no additional pre-paid card for vision/dental.

However, with Focus you need referrals for specialists, but this is not a big deal. My father-in-law writes an quick note on the Patient Portal saying "I would like an appointment with a urologist" and they schedule him one.

Medicare.gov is good for researching and comparing all plans available in your new zip code. The site will tell you how much money you will pay with each plan, given your specific medications. Once you decide on a few plans, I would advise downloading the "Evidence of Coverage" document for the ones you are comparing, and make a line-by-line comparison.

We have a Humana gold plan which we are happy with.

Best bet go visit Shine for very unbiased info.

++++ re Freedom. Have it for 7 years now. Zero issues. Great benefits and huge savings. Never let me down. Excellent phone service with any questions. They are headquarter in FL. At least check them out.

UHC Advantage has been great - no need for a referral for a specialist. I have never had anything turned down as far as tests or procedures, and there have been a lot of those.

Question is, will this plan cover you outside of the area. If not this is not a good plan for many. I haven’t seen any advantage plans yet that do.

False information. With UHC, you can go to any dr in the country that accepts Medicare and UHC. Medicare Advantage plans have an out of pocket cap. There are Medicare advantage plans in the villages that do not require pre authorization! And you get Part D included, dental, OTC drugs and gym membership.
Traditional Medicare-pay at the front end
Medicare Advantage-pay at the back end

Florida Blue has worldwide emergency coverage. If you don’t know about something, you really shouldn’t be spreading misinformation.

If you were on Medicare with a supplement would the injections be carte blanche ?

Then wait until you get Medicare. Whether it’s traditional Medicare or an Advantage plan, Medicare becomes your primary and dictates what is acceptable and what is not!

We chose UHC Adv. Villages plan.There is an office at LSL for all your questions. There are non village Drs. on the plan. $75 quarterly non RX credit. Just show your ins. card. $2,000 allowance for dental. We are very pleased w the plan. No referrals needed.

We are from CT. Welcome to the Villages.😊

Aetna has been in a steady downward spiral for almost a decade. while we still lived in Ct., the major office building in the industrial park off 72 in Cromwell was shut down, leaving many jobless. the office in Hartford was cutting back to bare essentials, & 1 of my buddies was forced to work from home. i'm surprised it's still standing, lol. @ 1 time it was the best coverage a person could get, i loved it-but the economy caught up with them & this is what we have now

Aetna found that I was moving and told me I had until Apr 1 to choose another plan with them or I would no longer be covered. Obviously, since I moved I can choose anyone but will lose my present coverage by Apr 1.

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I have Florida blue Medicare advantage. Dental. Vision. Hearing. No copay for primary care. 20$ copay specialists. It is an hmo so I do need authorization to go to specialist but I have had no problem getting those. They usually give 6 at a time good for 6 months. 2700$ out of pocket max.

You may be healthy now that usually changes the older we get. If you want the insurance company to manage your health care get an advantage plan. If you don’t t believe me then ask the people in the doctors office if your insurance company oks everything

And don't ask "if they take your insurance" (they all take insurance) ask "are they in your net work."

Original medicare with a supp you will be better off overall numerous agents have repeatly told me this.........

YES Lots of utube channels out there to explaining things most agents I talked with said original is the way too go you cant always get off a advantage plan all that easy most times you are stuck with them

SOOO TRUE !!!! I am a year out most agents actually ALL the agents have told me to NOT go in advantage plans........they will be in control of you if something goes wrong. You need surgery and they just might deny you stating you need therapy first........also it can be harder in other states to get coverage........they also can change DRS on you for no reason already saw that happen with my own folks plans............NOPE original for me it will be PLUS you are able to go to MAYO clinic in Jacksonville they only take original NO ADVANTAGE plans same with MOFFITT center in Florida just a FYI

YOU are CORRECT

That is not true. You can always go back to regular Medicare. The problem will be getting a supplement plan.