MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLAN WARNING!
Today, I got a call from a lady in Ohio saying that she had a salesman coming out to her house to enroll her on a Part D Plan. I would bet you dollars to donuts that he is coming to her house to enroll her in a Medicare Advantage Plan with a built in drug plan called an MAPD. The commission for a salesperson on a Part D plan is very small. I don’t know of a salesperson that would drive all the way out to your home just to talk about a drug plan. Medicare Advantage Plans have the highest commission rate of any kind of Medicare Health Coverage.
Please be careful that you don’t get confused by this and sign up on something you don’t understand. batman returns divx If you already have a Traditional Medicare Supplement
and you can afford the premium and you know your Doctor and Hospital will accept your supplemental insurance, you are better off to KEEP
your Traditional Supplement. THEN, just enroll in a stand alone drug plan.
Medicare Advantage Plans will sound good for you because in some cases they have a much lower premium or no premium at all. However, you will have co-pays and many times your Doctor will not accept the terms of payment from these plans. I have heard many stories from people who had an ongoing illness, and they had been seeing the same Doctor for years. After they switched coverage, they had to change Doctors and had no choice who they could see. One man had a heart surgery scheduled and changed his coverage to a Medicare Advantage Plan and his Hospital would not accept the payment.
These salespeople will tell you that an MAPD is better than orignial Medicare. They say this because they may add in some minimal vision or dental coverage, but truly they are not better than Original Medicare that pays 80% of your doctor and hospital costs and your Traditional Supplement that pays the other 20%.
Remember, if you join an MAPD and are not happy with it or feel you had been misled or did not understand the plan, YOU CAN CANCEL IT AND GET BACK ON YOUR TRADITIONAL SUPPLEMENT WITH NO UNDERWRITING, within 12 months. If you stay on the MAPD over 12 months, you must go through the underwriting process to be able to get back on a Traditional Medicare Supplement. This may cause you to be turned down for coverage because of your health conditions.
If you ONLY WANT A STAND ALONE DRUG PLAN, STICK TO YOUR GUNS!! Remember as I said before, YOU ARE THE BOSS OF YOU!!
There are some people that could use a Medicare Advantage Plan and it would be a good decision for them. Many people on Medicare Disability could use a Medicare Advantage Plan before they become fully vested in the Medicare Health Benefits. If you absolutely cannot afford the premium on a Traditional Supplelment and you know your doctor will accept the plan, or you have very few health issues and don’t expect to have any, an MAPD might be right for you. Remember, your Doctor can refuse to accept the terms of an MAPD at ANYTIME.
If you would like more information, please read my other blogs listed in the left hand categories on Medicare Advantage Plans or call me, Karyn Blake.
toll free 866-752-1795.
