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Medicare

Medicare and You Book

Medicare, medicare advantage, Medicare Supplement, Part D / By

The 2023 Medicare & You Guidebook is available and you can download it here.

When downloading the digital version, it will open in your Acrobat document reader, or in your browser. A tip for finding what you want, instantly, is to hit the Control and F button at the same time on your keyboard. This will bring up the FIND feature in your reader. 

Then, type in a word or phrase you are looking for. The reader should show you how many instances of that word or phrase exist in the entire book and you can click the down arrow to move from the first to the second, and so on.

This is how we zero in on things such as the Special Election Periods, Trial Right scenarios, Guarantee Issue Periods, and more. 

The 2023 Medicare & You book is slightly less controversial than those in the past.

 CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) has been leaning more and more toward promoting Medicare Advantage plans and this bias has started to come through in their Medicare guide book.

In 2018, the non-profit Medicare Rights Center, in a joint letter with the Center for Medicare Advocacy and Justice in Aging, wrote a letter to the Administrator of CMS urging corrections in the proposed guidebook for 2019. 

They stated, “First, in several places, the Handbook suggests that Medicare Advantage is the less expensive alternative for beneficiaries. This is an overstatement. There are many variables determining whether enrollment in a Medicare Advantage plan may be more or less expensive for any particular Medicare beneficiary…. The repeated suggestion that Medicare Advantage can save beneficiaries money does not fairly represent these realities.”

The letter went on to point out that various descriptions throughout the book give the false impression that the benefits of Original Medicare are the same as the benefits in Medicare Advantage.

When the guidebook was first read by many of our clients, they found it to be confusing, contradictory, and inaccurate to their experience with Medicare. This again points to the benefit of using an independent Medicare professional who can interpret the realities of Medicare and how it works in the real world. This only comes from experience.

We are here to help and our service is always free.
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Diabetes and Medicare Advantage

Medicare, medicare advantage, Medicare Supplement, Part D / By

Differences between Original Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage

If I have diabetes, should I choose Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage?

The answer to this question depends on how important individualized care is to you.

Medicare Advantage plans are typically bundled, all-in-one plans that are made as a ‘one size fits all’, with a prescription drug plan included.

However, Original Medicare is set up for you to choose a supplement plan along with a prescription drug plan tailored to your individual needs.

The American Journal of Managed Care published a study pertaining to the difference in treatment of diabetes between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

In the study, they concluded that in order to achieve savings, Medicare Advantage enrollees are more likely to be treated with cheaper medications, such as Metformin and Sulfonylureas, rather than receive costly, newer medications, compared to Original Medicare. This means Original Medicare affords you the opportunity to have the drugs that might best suit you.

In this video, we review the study and explain some of the differences between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. We also discuss why this decision is so important if you or someone you know has diabetes and are searching for the best plan.

If you would like help finding the best Medicare plan for you, please reach out. Our help is 100% FREE to you.

How to Leave a Medicare Advantage Plan

Medicare, medicare advantage, Medicare Supplement / By

In the first quarter of every year, seniors often discover that the plan they signed up for during the Annual Enrollment Period does not suit them.
Their doctors may have already left the network. Hospitals they thought participated might have dropped out already.

Still, some seniors have now had the time to review the Summary of Benefits and looked closely at how chemotherapy is covered by Medicare Advantage.

This is often quite a shock, when, not only must they use only network providers (in the case of the HMO), but the plans typically only pay 80% of the cancer treatment costs.

That’s the “Advantage” they’ve been sold for the often-zero premium.

Regardless of the reason, Medicare says that the first quarter is the opportunity to go back to original Medicare or change to a more-appropriate Medicare Advantage plan.

Steps to Cancel a Medicare Advantage Plan

From January 1 to March 31, Medicare now calls this the “Open Enrollment Period.”

A more appropriate name would be the “Disenrollment Period“. Those without a plan cannot obtain one, so it is not open by any stretch.

If you wish to go from Medicare Advantage to a Medicare Supplement, here are the steps:

  1. Apply for a Medicare Supplement
  2. Wait for the Underwriting Approval from the Supplement company
  3. When approved, make an application for a Part D plan.
  4. When the Part D plan starts, it automatically cancels the Advantage plan

This process ensures that you do not prematurely cancel the only insurance you may be able to qualify for. By using an independent Medicare broker, like the Senior Savings Network, you can find out what Medicare Supplement companies will likely approve your application and guarantee that you will not be paying too much for the same coverage that is offered by all of the Medicare Supplement companies.

Careful: Do Not Act in Haste!

Far too often, we get calls from seniors telling us that they became angry with the details of their Medicare Advantage plan and have already called their company and told them to cancel it. This is the wrong move.

In a worst-case scenario, that Advantage plan MAY be the only insurance you can have and, having something is better than nothing at all. So let an independent professional advise you on which plans are available in the market and which ones are most likely to approve you.

We would be happy to help with this process.


You can contact us securely here or by calling us at 1-800-729-9590.

1-800-729-9590

What’s Covered App for Medicare

Medicare, Medicare Supplement / By

It is now easier than ever before to find out what is covered on original Medicare by using a free app for your smartphone. While this app is not perfect, it is continually being updated by Medicare.

It is important to note that this application will not work for anyone on a Medicare Advantage, otherwise known as a Part C plan. Why? Because Medicare Advantage plans are not “original Medicare” but are private insurance whereby original Medicare is waived for the period that you are on the “Advantage” plan. 

Medicare Advantage plans can have more restrictions and limitations and require referrals and plan approval before many procedures can be approved. So, if you are on original Medicare, or using original Medicare with a Medicare Supplement, or Medigap plan, this app will come in handy, should you wish to check to see which procedures are covered by Medicare.

At the Senior Savings Network, we help seniors with their Medicare plan choices from coast to coast with our free broker services. 

If you would like help picking the best Medicare insurance plan for you, call us at 1-800-729-9590.

 
Try the “What’s covered” mobile app!

 


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The app is an official program from Medicare. This website, the Senior Savings Network, and its employees, are a private organization not employed by Medicare and offer licensed advice and support for seniors in 46 states.

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