Medicare Supplement Plans
The best time to check into a Medicare Supplement Plan is before you are eligible for Medicare. If you are nearing age 65, the choices you make now can help you in the future. But choosing the correct supplemental insurance to meet your needs can be confusing and overwhelming. Fortunately, our trained certified resident expert is committed to helping you sort though all the options available.
Everyone 65 and older is entitled to the basic Medicare coverage, but typically it only covers about 64 percent of the annual health-care costs. Added to the expense not covered by Medicare, there are deductibles, co-payments, and coinsurance to pay. This is why many choose Medicare Supplement Plans and at Mid Michigan Health Insurance Advisors LLC, we can assist you in your medicare coverage options.
David R. Newbill, CFP®
Medicare Specialist
Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare Advantage is a health insurance program within Part C of Medicare. Medicare Advantage plans provide a managed care plan such as a health maintenance organization (HMO) as well as a preferred provider organization (PPO). People interested in Medicare Advantage plans must first sign up for both Parts A and B of Medicare. All three of these Parts of Medicare A, B and C are administered by private insurance companies.
Medicare Part A provides payments for in-patient hospital, hospice and skilled nursing services, excluding those of physicians and surgeons. Part B provides payments to physicians and surgeons in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, as well as for medically necessary outpatient hospital services such as ER, laboratory, X-rays and diagnostic tests, certain preventative medical services, and certain durable medical equipment and supplies.
Part C health plans, including Medicare Advantage plans, not only cover the same medical services as Parts A and B but also typically include an annual physical exam and vision and/or dental coverage of some sort not covered under Original Medicare. Less often, hearing and wellness benefits not found in Original Medicare are included in a Medicare Advantage plan. The most important difference between a Part C health plan and Original Medicare is that all Part C plans include a limit on how much a beneficiary will have to spend annually out of pocket; that amount is unlimited in Original Medicare.