Medicare Advantage Plans

I think it's important to be able to use the health care network within your reach ... as in close to you. Using a broker like eHealth can wade through the choices with you. HMO or PPO makes a difference and your health coverage isn't always about the bottom line. As your needs change you can also change providers/coverage every year going forward. Don't stress about this too much.
 
I just went thru this. Medicare school helped me. They have many Utube videos . I called a few different brokers who tried to get me to go with a advantage plan. Afte talking with Medicaare school I went with A&B with AARP prescription plan and G plan. I see a lot of specialists. The advantage plans have way to many restrictions.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=medicare+school+youtube
 
I'm on an Aetna Advantage plan. Mine has $0 premium. Compared to the alternative I was considering (a supplement plan, a prescription drug plan, and other insurance to cover dental, vision, and hearing), I figure that I'm saving about $8k per year. Doesn't take too many years for that to add up to some serious bucks. I'm happy with that.

It's a pain, and takes a fair amount of effort, but you really need to invest the time to examine the alternatives, consider your health needs, and compare the available options. Good luck!
 
The Gov't employee retirement BCBS is excellent, actually usable world wide. It now has a link-in to Medicare Part D for drugs with reasonable costs. Mind you I did work for Uncle Sam for close to 25 years. Dave_n
 
While the Senior Health Insurance brokers can offer some guidance, I would take the information and comparisons they give and review it carefully before you make a decision. I was forced to go through a particular broker by our retirement system (if we wanted to take advantage of a retirement system monthly stipend, we had to use a particular broker in order to get the stipend). After reviewing the various plans and options as provided by the broker, it became very obvious that they were "guiding" me towards a certain Medicare Plus plan and I was not interested due to the steep out of pocket and deductible costs. While the agent would not confirm it, I strongly suspect they were getting paid differing amounts by different plans and they naturally want to guide you towards the plan that pays THEM the most. Just be cautious and do your own comparisons and honest evaluations of what you want to pay out of pocket.

Edit/add: I also stuck to regular Part A/Part C Medicare coverage with a separate Drug (Part D) plan and a Supplemental Part G plan after talking to several physicians.
 
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I did have a chat with a broker associated with my wife's insurance who normally helps retiring teachers. She directed me to three plans that she thinks work well here in Southern Nevada. Sadly, two of them don't have my eye doctors in them.:(
 
Yes, Medicare Advantage programs can be a NIGHTMARE to figure out.

We’ve been on one for 12 years and it has been excellent.

The service options are outstanding and the customer service is excellent.

Every year we get bombarded with programs that I have no idea how to compare, so we are NOT switching.

We have Allwell Wellcare – Wellcare Medicare Advantage

Home | Wellcare

I believe they cover Nevada.
 
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Personally, I have not had an issue after being retired for 10 years.

I initially looked at the offerings for the largest local Advantage carriers. They all publish a booklet with the various plans, identifying the cost and benefits for each version.

Took the plan that was optimum for my particular health situation. Easy peasy.

I do it again every year, and have stayed with the same company because it suited me.

Five minutes to request the literature and 30 minutes to read the booklets.
 
Amen.

Fortunately for me, my company retirement includes a retirement benefits consulting company. When my coverage for this year had to change (Humana dropped my old plan), the consultant company helped me. I was on the phone with them for 3 HOURS, over several days. And that was with professional help.

If I didn't have professional help available, I'd go to Humana's web site to get started. I am impressed with their overall offerings. Teasing out best plan for you could be hard. Perhaps they will help.

Also, some people find supplement plans better than MC Advantage plans (sorry for that unhelp).
 
Retired 4 years ago, Docs said keep A&B, pay supplement. AARP UHC supplement + "D"= total $336/mo + $100 for RXs + $20 mo for routine teeth cleanings+ $20 co-pay Dr visit, $50 specialist. Deductible was $235/yr= very good. $5400+/yr cost.

Last 2 years, "Humana Gold Plus PPO" No PC co-pay, $30 specialist. $0 drugs, 2 cleanings, no premium. $4600 max out of pocket/yr. I keep $5K aside just for this, saved it the 1st year.

Get what you want, you never know how "good" insurance is until you need it. Joe
 
pharmer said:
Retired 4 years ago, Docs said keep A&B, pay supplement. AARP UHC supplement + "D"= total $336/mo + $100 for RXs + $20 mo for routine teeth cleanings+ $20 co-pay Dr visit, $50 specialist. Deductible was $235/yr= very good. $5400+/yr cost.

Last 2 years, "Humana Gold Plus PPO" No PC co-pay, $30 specialist. $0 drugs, 2 cleanings, no premium. $4600 max out of pocket/yr. I keep $5K aside just for this, saved it the 1st year.

Get what you want, you never know how "good" insurance is until you need it. Joe
Click to expand...

Whollly Mackerel. Those prices are outrageous!!!.

My monthly fee is ZERO. Doctors Visits are ZERO. Annual Eye and Semi-annual Dental are ZERO. Specialist is $40. Scripts tier 1 are ZERO, tier 2 are 10-20. We both had cancer treatments in the past 4 years and the total oop was ONLY in the hundreds.

Alls I can say is it must be state related.
 
pharmer said:
Retired 4 years ago, Docs said keep A&B, pay supplement. AARP UHC supplement + "D"= total $336/mo + $100 for RXs + $20 mo for routine teeth cleanings+ $20 co-pay Dr visit, $50 specialist. Deductible was $235/yr= very good. $5400+/yr cost.

Last 2 years, "Humana Gold Plus PPO" No PC co-pay, $30 specialist. $0 drugs, 2 cleanings, no premium. $4600 max out of pocket/yr. I keep $5K aside just for this, saved it the 1st year.

Get what you want, you never know how "good" insurance is until you need it. Joe
Click to expand...

Whollly Mackerel. Those prices are outrageous!!!.

My monthly fee is ZERO. Doctors Visits are ZERO. Annual Eye and Semi-annual Dental are ZERO. Specialist is $40. Scripts tier 1 are ZERO, tier 2 are 10-20. We both had cancer treatments in the past 4 years and the total oop was ONLY in the hundreds.

Alls I can say is it must be state related.

PS - OTOH I reread the post. I see "AARP". THAT may be the problem. I have known to avoid them in the past.
 
I had POA for my mother, she had regular Medicare and a United Healthcare Supplement Policy. In the 2-3 years I handled her finances before she passed she was in and out of the hospital constantly and I never got a bill for anything but ambulances. I'm going on Medicare June 1st and thats the route I'm going.
 
Onomea said:
It can cost the consumer zero because the government pays the Medicare Advantage plans $800 a month to administer medicare on its behalf.
Click to expand...

Lots of zero premium plans in NV. Apparently, we are a healthy state. Yeah, I wasn't the only one to the lady the "Whaaat!?!?!" look.
 
glowe said:
How can insurance cost zero?? Either somebody pays or you get really poor care is the only way I see it?????
Click to expand...

Not only do we pay zero for All Well, they pay us $149 every 90 days to buy whatever we want at Walgreens, Amazon, or Walmart that is listed in OTC products, EVERYTHING from Alka-Seltzer to Zyrtec. :D
 
As a side note to you Advantage Plan people: You know those phone calls/emails you get about "Free" wellness check home visit? Heck my current plane even pays you $100 to do it. There was an article in the WSJ about them.

Don't fall for it. The insurance companies are allowed to do this under the premise that they can help find health problems that are missed. But guess what? they abuse it. Must be lucrative if they can afford to send a PA or NP to your house for zero cost.

If they "find" something the insurance company gets paid for it from Medicare. Even if it's never treated. I really don't want to pick up a diagnosis for something that's not legit. Who knows what complications that might cause down the road.
 
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