Senior Health Insurance

If you are 65 or over or are a younger Medicare beneficiary, you have probably heard about the new Medicare Advantage plans. You may wonder whether you should get your health care paid for with the help of a Medigap or one of these newer policies. The information you need to make a decision is below.

Original Medicare (Medicare Part A and Part B) requires a Medigap supplemental health insurance policy to approach full coverage. Even with a supplement prescriptions will not be covered.

A Medicare Advantage plan can combine the benefits offered by all three of the above. It can provide the benefits of Original Medicare, a Medigap policy and it can cover prescription drugs. (Not all policies cover prescription medications. You may need to supplement your policy with a prescription drug policy.)

A Medicare Advantage policy can also have a lower premium. It can be a cheaper way to cover your costs for doctors than a combination of Medicare and a Medigap policy. Since this is the case, you would think that in the battle of Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage the Medicare Advantage policy will always win.

This isn’t necessarily the case. Although the Medicare Advantage policies are better for most Medicare beneficiaries, they aren’t the best insurance plans for all.

Original Medicare (Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B) and Medigap have one big advantage over the MA policies. They can be used all over the United States for both routine care and emergency care.

If you have an MA policy you will be able to get emergency care outside of your policy’s servicing area, but you will need to go to local doctors for your routine care. This means that if you have to go to an ER while on vacation, your MA health insurance policy is likely to cover the costs. However, if you need routine care when away from home, you may need to pay for it out of your pocket.

Switching to a Medicare Advantage policy may mean that you have to switch doctors. You may need to go to a different drug store or hospital also. Your health insurance company will have a network of providers that they want you to use. Except where the information in the contract says otherwise, you will need to go to those providers for your routine care if you want them to pay for the care you receive.

Which is better Medicare and Medigap Supplemental medical policy or a Medicare Advantage policy? Your health and the amount of time you spend living or traveling away from home will be the factors that determine which types of plans are best for you.