Which choice is best for you for Medicare? Medicare supplement or Medicare advantage plans? Let’s use the bus driver analogy while we discuss this. When you are on Medicare you have the choice of two bus drivers. You can either use Medicare or an insurance company.
Options:
- The “Bus Driver” is regular aka Original Medicare: Very Predictable, you can go to any doctor that accepts Medicare. Also, if you get a Medicare Supplement plan to go hand in hand with regular Medicare then most or all of the 20% Medicare Part B out of pocket costs are covered. The bus will follow the same route all the time depending on the medical condition. No bells and whistles but you know the bus is going to get where you need to go. With all Medicare supplement plans, the insurance company is just riding “shot gun.” The insurance company has no say on whether they pay or not, it is all based on where Medicare is “driving” or paying. This option usually has higher premiums, no extra perks, but little or no co-insurance and co-pays.
- The “Bus Driver” is an insurance company: Once a year you can make a decision to fire your bus driver and hire a new one (the insurance company). Medicare hands the keys of the bus to the insurance company, (AKA Medicare Advantage Plan). With this option the insurance company pays the hospital and doctor bills. In many cases, you can only go to hospitals and doctors that the insurance company is contracted with. This option comes with incentives to get you to sign-up; dental, vision, $ givebacks, but these are not always available in all areas. If you have cancer or a stroke this “bus driver” may take a slightly different “route” then Medicare would take. There may be more copays or co-insurance, you might also need referrals and your doctor may accept the plan this year, but not next year. This option has lower premiums and extra perks.
Which choice is best for you for Medicare?
Bottom line, this is not a one size fits all. You need to be aware of the pros and cons of each “bus driver” and figure out which is best for you. This is what we love doing. Helping you figure out which is best for YOU, YOUR Health and YOUR situation. Give us a call today.
Check out video about these two kinds of bus drivers for Medicare.