anyone in preferred partners advantage medical plan
 

am checking into advantage plans for medicare, particularly preferred partners in the villages. they have 2 plans, one with no co-pays and one you receive monies back each month. does anyone have preferred...how do you like that medical plan. is there anything better that does not cost...?anna

Advantage Plan
 

Yes, we went with Preferred Care Partners Advantage Plan at the beginning of the year. This is the plan that returns your Medicare Part B premium and there is no premium for the plan, either. There ARE small co-pays for specialists and other co-pays for some tests. The mail order pharmacy has no co-pays on generics and we now have routine dental care for a very low co-pay on cleanings, exams, and some other services. I think that, after being on the "Advantage" plan for 6 months now we have decided that we are going to switch to the "Gold" plan when open enrollment begins in November. We will have to return to paying the Medicare Part B premium but that is a small price to pay for more peace of mind. You DO have to stay within a network of doctors and hospitals, etc. but that seems workable to us considering the savings we have realized in supplement insurance premiums that we no longer pay.

I have been on the Preferred Care Gold Plan since January. I chose the plan with no copays so I still have the medicare taken out of SS. The plan is excellent. I had a biking accident in the beginning of May and had to have surgery on my ankle. I had to pay a $50 copay for the Emergency Room and $150 to the hospital. That's all! No charge for X rays, pain meds, preop blood tests and follow up visits. The Villages hospital and Leesburg hospital are in the network. This is an excellent plan and there are many Doctors to chose from in the network. I would highly recommend this plan.

I am in the one that you still have to pay your Part B premiums, and so far so good. I checked with my doctors before enrolling to make sure they accepted the plan and all did except one. All my drugs are generic so my copays are nothing, as is physician office visit. The only copay I have paid this year is $100 for a colonoscopy. The key to making these plans work for you is if your doctors are in network. Preferred Care has been a lot better for me than the Blue Cross plan I was on previously.

All the more reason for us to switch to the Gold plan!! We will be doing that later this year.......I agree, this is an excellent company. We will save $7200 this year alone, in medical premiums, $4800 next year when we are on the Gold plan. (Savings based on the premiums we were paying with an AARP supplemental policy, plus Medicare Part D premiums for drugs.) I surely don't mind paying a few co-pays for that kind of savings!

We're just starting to get educated about Medicare - could someone point me to the correct preferred care web site?? (I Googled them, but got a lot of different hits):shrug:

thanks,

The web sit is www.mypreferredcare.com. Good luck and keep in mind there are representatives from SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) in The Villages several times a month who can answer any and all questions you have about Medicare, all supplement plans, Part D and Medicare Advantage plans. They are at Chula Vista Rec Center on the 1st and 3rd Friday from 3 to 5:30 and Lake Miona Rec Center on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday from 9 to 12. They can compare plans and explain all benefits and help you enroll in the plan you select. Good luck!

Thanks for the information.....:wave:

Preferred Care Gold
 

My husband switched in January from a Med Supp he'd had since he was 65, over five years ago, to Preferred Care Partners Gold (very few copays, still pay Part B), and I signed up for the same plan when I turned 65 last month. We've both been very pleased. I am an insurance agent here in The Villages and had a choice from the Med Supps, and other Medicare Advantage plans that I sell. I chose Preferred Care. They are the only 5 Star rated Medicare Advantage company in our area! The Annual Enrollment period starts in October 15th this year. Send me a private email if you'd like to know why I chose Preferred Care.

Why?

[QUOTE=Jethro;364694]am checking into advantage plans for medicare, particularly preferred partners in the villages. they have 2 plans, one with no co-pays and one you receive monies back each month. does anyone have preferred...how do you like that medical plan. is there anything better that does not cost...?anna[/QUOTE

I have the plan with the co-pay and my husband has the gold plan. Both plans are good, but I am thinking to switch to the Gold plan.

[quote=Shirleevee;388244]We are switching from the Advantage Plan to the Gold Plan for next year. We decided that we like the coverage better on the Gold Plan. We have been VERY happy with this insurance. The Advantage Plan that we have now does have some co-pays. We get our Medicare part B premiums returned in our Social Security benefits. For the most part those co-pays will disappear, but not entirely, when we are on the Gold Plan. On the Gold Plan we will go back to paying the Medicare Part B premiums. You have to check out the coverages for both plans and then decide which is best for you. There are no premiums for either plan. You do have to stay within your network of providers but that is easier every year, given the choices we now have. I am currently in Maine and needed urgent care a few days ago. There was no problem with the center accepting my insurance. I have yet to find a Medicare Advantage plan that costs less or pays better than these plans. The Advantage Plan that we have now has no premiums and we get the Medicare Part B premiums back. This is about as close to free as I can imagine!! PLUS, we now have dental coverage for the first time in 13 years! We rarely pay anything for drugs since our meds are generic and there are no co-pays on generics. If you find a better plan I hope you will post it here! I can't imagine anything better than this!

It's good to hear all the favorable comments about Preferred Care Partners. My husband is on the Gold plan and so far is pleased. I have Original Medicare, but am thinking about changing to the Gold plan in 2012. The one thing that holds me back is I had breast cancer in 2003 and was treated at Moffitt. Should anything like this happen again, I feel I would have the best care by Moffitt doctors. Hopefully, Moffitt will be in Network for 2012.

I've been doing some research between the 2 preferred care plans. It looks like with the point of service plan, I can have my annual visit to Moffitt. May have to pay a little more, but this should more than be covered by the fact my ss part B will be given back to me

Just a thought: The main reason we are switching from the Advantage Plan to the Gold Plan is because of the possibility down the road that we might need chemo drugs. I am a 10-year breast cancer survivor and my husband is now 14 months out from prostate cancer surgery. At this point we are both doing fine. BUT, I started thinking about the "what-ifs" and decided to take a closer look at the coverage for chemo drugs, should we ever need them. The Advantage plan pays 80% of the cost of these drugs where the Gold plan pays 100%. I know that a 20% co-pay, if I stay with the Advantage plan could be a lot of $$$, as these drugs can be very expensive. For us, the peace of mind will outweigh the Medicare Part B premiums that we will start paying again, come January.

I can not find any providers on their website that I have ever heard of so I am a bit leary of trying this plan. I also use WalMart and Sams pharmacies because of their availability while traveling and they don't seem to be listed in the network either.

Pet Scan
 

I also was a cancer survivor but now back in some heavy duty stuff. Question is do you know how many Pet Scans can are covered in a year?

My insurance (just thru luck) covers all but the hospital just told us how lucky we were since most only cover two or three a year. I'm doing stem cell right now and Pet Scans are taken quite offten.

Thanks and good luck at beating your cancer and hope you never see it again.

aj

That's a very good point!

Chain pharmacies in network are: CVS, Publix, Sweetbay, Walgreen's, WalMart, WinnDixie.

A provider my husband likes is Dr Shaktawat AKA Dr Jay. He is board certified internal medicine. Dr Jay is in the Villa Group. Has two offices, one near the hospital and the other on Wedgewood Dr. The group also has their own Urgent Care open 12 hours a day 7 days a week. If you are a patient, the urgent care will have access to all of your records.
Http://www.villamedicalgroup.com

You may want to read the testimonials.

I am looking at the Gold book. I don't see any limit on Pet Scans. It does say for Pet Scans you will pay a co payment of:
0 at primary care physicians office
$100 at in network specialists office
$100 at freestanding in network diagnostic and imaging center
$150 copayment at an in network hospital facility as an outpatient

Remember there is a $3400 out of pocket limit with the Gold plan.

I'm interested in PCP...my healthcare provider currently isn't in the system. I saw him today and asked what was up with this. I was told that they had their paperwork in and were waiting to be accepted. That PCP only takes a certain number of providers in their enlistement period. I don't know if this is true or not...they had told me at the end of last year they'd submitted their paperwork (still waiting) and my chiro. had done the same thing and was already "in" a few months ago. I'm wondering if anyone here can shed some light on this??!!! It's kind of scarey to be already established with someone you trust and like then have to change into the "great un-known"!!

Wendyquat: The website gets outdated very fast as to participating providers. Half the ones I go to are not listed. I calland ask the doctor's offices if they are providers for PCP and most are , more being added each day.

Sometime when you are in Sumter Landing, stop by the Prefferred Care office. They are near the AAA office. Maybe someone can answer your question about your doctor.

Thanks
 

Thanks, that is a help for me for sure.

aj

Oh yeah, I forgot about the office in Lake Sumter. They are very helpful, in fact I was in there three times in the past two weeks, they helped solve my problems with the referral process. Can't believe I forgot to mention them !

I was there last week and presented the question and the woman I spoke with didn't give me a clear answer. Perhaps I need to go in again and present it again. Thanks for the response!

I'll be sure to check it out before Open Enrollment. Thanks

Preferred Care Partners is good for me.
 

It suits me because I'm healthy and it saves me from having to pay the medicare premium and a premium for part D drugs. I only go to the doctor twice per year: Once for a general check up and then for a flu shot.

I've been with them for 3 years and this year everything is within walking distance! The lab is near publix and the doctor's office is on Laural Manor Drive across from the recreation center. It's a time saver.

Preferred Care Partners suits me
 

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