Medicare Advantage (or Medicare Part C) was created in the late ’90s to help provide personalized care options for seniors and potentially help them save money in the face of rapidly rising medical costs. To accomplish this, the government turned to private companies for the development of plans that would meet certain criteria established by Medicare. Essentially, these criteria sought to protect seniors from companies using deceptive business practices. Before any Medicare Advantage plan can be marketed, it must receive approval from Medicare.

All Medicare Advantage plans must provide the services covered by traditional Medicare (Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B). They may, however, offer a number of additional benefits. Some of these plan benefits may include:

• Dental care coverage
• Eye care coverage
• Hearing care coverage
• Worldwide urgent care and emergency coverage
• Mail-order pharmacy program
• Wellness and fitness programs 24/7 nurse line

As with any other product or service, the real issue here is how much help you can afford. No matter which type of Medicare coverage you select, you are required to assist with the costs of the plan. As you figure your budget, there are two major items you need to watch:

• Deductibles: your out-of-pocket costs for health care coverage (Once you reach your deductible, your plan will start to help pay for some of your health care costs.)

• Premiums: your monthly contribution to participate in the benefits of your plan.

In traditional Medicare, premiums and deductibles are set amounts that tend to vary only according to the cost of care where you live. Medicare Advantage plan premiums and deductibles can fluctuate significantly, depending on the specific plan. Two other tools Medicare plans and other forms of insurance use to help manage your healthcare costs are:

• Copays: the amount you pay each time you use a service

• Coinsurance: the percentage youpay for your health care costs and what the plan pays. (For example, you might pay 20% of your costs, and the plan would pay the remaining 80%.).

Part A copays kick in only after a certain number of days you’ve spent in the hospital. Part B copays and coinsurance amounts are set by Medicare, so they’re usually the same for everyone. Some Medicare Advantage plans don’t have a copay, and some have a high copay. Similarly, some plans will use coinsurance and some won’t.

Value = Getting the Most for Your Money

All too often when people select a healthcare plan, they look at only dollars and cents and neglect value. While on the surface it may look as though you are saving money, down the road, you may find that the additional benefits associated with a more-expensive plan would have saved you money. Some plans may provide too much value, and you may not use the extra benefits. In that case, scaling back may be in order. At the end of the day, we want to make sure you get the most for your healthcare dollar.

Contact Flaherty Insurance Group today. We’re ready to review the advantages and disadvantages of these plans with you and help you pick the plan appropriate for your healthcare needs.

Medicare set up MediGap plans with specific sets of defined features. These plans may offer help with some or all of the items below:

• Medicare Part A Deductibles
• Medicare Part B Deductibles
• Coinsurance and excess charges from your care provider
• Blood transfusion expenses
• Hospital stay costs above and beyond what Medicare Part A covers
• Coinsurance for hospital and skilled nursing facility stays
• Preventive care benefits
• Foreign emergency medical benefits
• A certain amount of prescription drugs your care provider gives you