Medicare Advantage Plans

[Owen Densmore]

For the elder amongst us: I may be forced to sign up for Medicare  
Advantage due to screwups that cost me my Medigap/Supplement plan.

Anyone with experience with the Advantage plans?  Have they been OK  
for you?

They're actually supposed to be better in terms of cost/coverage, but  
I'm spooked because apparently you can't go back to Medicare if you  
convert to Advantage.  I hope I'm wrong!

     -- Owen



============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org

[Russell Gonnering]

Owen-

I can give you insight from the viewpoint of a physician and a patient.  At least in Wisconsin, there is no negative side for a physician to accept straight Medicare versus Medicare Advantage, so your options as a patient should not be limited from that standpoint.  My mother switched to a Medicare Advantage plan about 3 months before she developed significant health problems.  The plan was absolutely wonderful!  She had a $25 deductible for hospitalization.  Even had a $25 deductible for a 120 mile ambulance ride in the middle of the night.  In home nursing care was covered, and although her illness proved to be her last, the 7 days she spent in hospice were  covered with no questions.  From out view of paying the bills, it was an incredible stroke of luck that she had listened to her insurance agent and switched when she did.

I am not sure of the terms of the plans in your state of residence, but these plans are definitely worth looking into.  Of course, these are precisely the plans that the Obama administration wishes to end, for reasons that I certainly cannot understand.  They offer more than standard medicare, probably cost the government more, but less than the public option will.  I do not know if they will be offered in the future, but if Obamacare goes through, all our choices will be limited anyway.  Final words of advice--discuss the plan and the terms with your insurance agent.  My mom's plan was Anthem Smart Value Enhanced, offered by Blue Cross.

Russ Gonnering

Russell S. Gonnering, MD, FACS, MMM, CPHQ

[hidden email]

On Dec 1, 2009, at 11:08 PM, Owen Densmore wrote:

For the elder amongst us: I may be forced to sign up for Medicare Advantage due to screwups that cost me my Medigap/Supplement plan.

Anyone with experience with the Advantage plans?  Have they been OK for you?

They're actually supposed to be better in terms of cost/coverage, but I'm spooked because apparently you can't go back to Medicare if you convert to Advantage.  I hope I'm wrong!

   -- Owen



============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org