{"id":583,"date":"2014-07-08T17:43:08","date_gmt":"2014-07-08T17:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/satisfyou.com\/jmd_client_sites\/flnav_wp\/?p=583"},"modified":"2020-10-03T01:37:28","modified_gmt":"2020-10-03T01:37:28","slug":"selecting-a-medicare-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/2014\/07\/health-care-2\/selecting-a-medicare-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Selecting a Medicare Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Medicare 2015<\/b><\/span><\/span>
\nSenior Savvy<\/b><\/span><\/span>
\nBy Robert Goodman, MSW<\/b><\/span><\/span>
\n 
\nThe time has come to evaluate your Medicare coverage for 2013. From <\/span><\/span>October 15 to December 7<\/b><\/span><\/span> you will have the option of joining or changing your Medicare Advantage Plan. You have several choices. <\/span><\/span>
\nYou can stay with original Medicare and\/or buy a supplemental (Medigap) policy. If you want prescription drug coverage, you must also join with a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D).<\/a><\/span><\/span>
\nYou can choose to join a Medicare Advantage Plan<\/a> Medicare Advantage Plans are a type of Medicare health plan offered by a private company that contracts with Medicare to provide you with all your Medicare Part A and Part B benefits. Medicare Advantage Plans include Health Maintenance Organizations, Preferred Provider Organizations, Private Fee-for-Service Plans, Special Needs Plans, and Medicare Medical Savings Account Plans.<\/span><\/span>
\nIf you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan, Medicare services are covered through the plan and aren’t paid for under Original Medicare. Most Medicare Advantage Plans offer prescription drug coverage. You must take the drug coverage that comes with the Medicare Advantage Plan. <\/span><\/span>Some plans offer additional benefits, such as vision and hearing screenings, disease management, and other services not covered under Original Medicare. Medicare Advantage Plans must offer emergency coverage outside of the plan\u2019s service area (but not outside the U.S.).<\/span><\/span>
\nA Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plan is a health care plan in which you generally must get your care and services from doctors or hospitals in the plan\u2019s network, and you may need a referral to see a specialist. <\/span><\/span>
\nA Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan you can generally obtain health care from any doctor or hospital you want within their network. You have the flexibility to go to any doctors, specialists, or hospitals that aren\u2019t in the network, but it will usually cost more. Monthly premiums and how much you pay for services vary depending on the plan.<\/span><\/span>
\n 
\nQuestions to ask Medicare Advantage Providers<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Is there a monthly premium and how much is it?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. What doctors can I see and <\/b><\/span><\/span>how much it will cost me <\/b><\/span><\/span>to see a doctor.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. What hospitals can I use and <\/b><\/span><\/span>how much it will cost me <\/b><\/span><\/span>to use a <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    hospital (either as inpatient or in an emergency).<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. What happens if I am traveling and need to see a doctor?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    2. How much it will cost me <\/b><\/span><\/span>for outpatient procedures.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Is there a monthly drug premium and how much is it?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    4. H<\/b><\/span><\/span>ow much it will cost me <\/b><\/span><\/span>for your medicines over the course of a year.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       
      \nMedicare beneficiaries can qualify for Extra Help with their Medicare prescription drug plan costs. The Extra Help is estimated to be worth about $4,000 per year. To qualify for the Extra Help, a person must be receiving Medicare, have limited resources and income, and reside in one of the 50 States. For information go to http:\/\/ssa.gov\/prescriptionhelp.<\/span><\/span><\/span>
      \nThe source for much of the information in this article is from <\/span><\/span>www.Medicare.gov<\/span><\/span>. You can find information on Medicare; look for a Medicare plan in your area, or compare Medicare Advantage Plans.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Medicare 2015 Senior Savvy By Robert Goodman, MSW   The time has come to evaluate your Medicare coverage for 2013. From October 15 to December 7 you will have the option of joining or changing your Medicare Advantage Plan. You have several choices. You can stay with original Medicare and\/or buy a supplemental (Medigap) policy. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[141,142],"class_list":["post-583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-care-2","tag-medicare","tag-medicare-plan"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1929,"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583\/revisions\/1929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}