09/22/2021
Medicare Advantage Insurance for 65+
Medicare Advantage plans are composed of hospital coverage, office visits to physicians, and prescription drugs insurance coverage with some add-on features. These plans are annual contracts between insurance carriers and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Qualified healthcare providers enter into annual contracts with insurance carriers to provide discounted rates of medical services, and with pharmacies for the supply of prescription drugs which are characteristically a fraction of providers' billings. These contracts bind the providers for acceptances of payments approved by insurance carriers without any supplemental billing to the beneficiaries.
If you are entering 65 this year, you can enroll three months before your birth month, and the coverage begins on the first of your birth month. If you are above 65, and already have Medicare insurance of any kind, you can buy Medicare Advantage insurance during the open enrollment period of October 15th to December 7th for next year starting January 1st. If you run into a special event in life, you can pretty much enroll in Medicare Advantage any time of the year
You are at advantage for discounted rates of service if you go to healthcare providers who are in network of the insurance carrier. If you buy a plan which is HMO, (Health Maintenance Organization), your freedom is highly restricted due to geographical limitations and for availability of physicians. However, if you enroll in a PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) plan, you can pretty much go to any physician in the network nationwide. If you go to an out-of-network provider, be prepared to pay more, either full of partial of provider's fees that insurance may not pickup.
You are at advantage for discounted rates of service if you go to healthcare providers who are in-network of the insurance carrier. If you buy a plan which is HMO, (Health Maintenance Organization), your freedom is highly restricted due to geographical limitations and for availability of physicians. However, if you enroll in a PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) plan, you can pretty much go to any physician in the network nationwide. If you go to an out-of-network provider, be prepared to pay more, either full or partial of the provider's fees that insurance may not pickup.