Standard Medicare or Medicare Advantage????

[RetMD21]

I doubt that they don't take Medicare that sounds like a misunderstanding. MA doesn't pay anybody more.

[Free To Canoe]

I am also looking down the medicare decision barrel this year. Being able to get back on medicare should I move was the one thing I was worried about. Thanks MBSC.

Both mother and mother-in-law were frequently hospitalized in recent years. Both had Advantage plans. Neither had very little out of pocket expenses. What is really surprising is that there is very little paper work / bills to deal with in the Advantage situations (in my observations). Another simplification is that Advantage plans usually include the part D drug coverage. Most people really cannot deal with the paperwork complexity when they are past 80 years.

[Katsmeow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Free To Canoe Both mother and mother-in-law were frequently hospitalized in recent years. Both had Advantage plans. Neither had very little out of pocket expenses. What is really surprising is that there is very little paper work / bills to deal with in the Advantage situations (in my observations). Another simplification is that Advantage plans usually include the part D drug coverage. Most people really cannot deal with the paperwork complexity when they are past 80 years.

Last year I watched two different situations with long hospital/rehab stays. One person was on traditional Medicare with Plan G and with a part D. The other was on Medicare Advantage. The one with by far the simplest situation was the one with traditional Medicare. One big, big factor was not having to worry about a network. Finding a rehab place was simply getting recommendations and seeing if they had space. For the one with Medicare Advantage it was also finding one that was in network. When one place didn't work out, it was difficult to switch to another. Adding networks on top of everything else just added so much complexity.

[BeachOrCity]

The only time you can get a medigap plan without it being individually underwritten is when you first enroll at 65. So if you go Medicare advantage you should plan on not being allowed back into medigap for an affordable price.

IMO advantage plans take advantage of people’s desire for a few low cost freebies like a free pair of glasses and dental cleanings, and in exchange people get limited choices and care in the unlikely event they really need it (cancer etc). For me I would not take that trade off.

[Sunset]

I am so glad this is being discussed, as I had no idea there was any issue with switching from one to the other as desired.
It's still a few years away for us, but now I know it's something to look at very very carefully.

[ziggy29]

Another thing to keep in mind is that you may have little or no choice if you live in rural areas. While I'm only 53 and a lot can change in 11+ years, I'm seeing a lot of insurers for MA plans pulling out of more rural counties and concentrating only on serving big city folk. (It is similar with what is happening to a lot of ACA/Marketplace offerings.)

In fact, in the county where I live (Clatsop, OR) -- not *that* remote and unpopulated and 75 miles from a major metro area -- there were seven MA providers in 2009 and only ONE today, and its options are quite limited. DW's employer group has a Medicare advantage plan that looks pretty good (assuming she makes it to retirement at 60 and it's still available when we're 65), but it is not available in our county. We'd pretty much have to move back toward Portland.

So for some folks, if they want more than original Medicare will pay for, they may have to go for a Medigap plan. For me, well, too much can change in 11+ years to start planning yet but it's still good to survey the landscape once in a while.

[RetMD21]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeachOrCity The only time you can get a medigap plan without it being individually underwritten is when you first enroll at 65. So if you go Medicare advantage you should plan on not being allowed back into medigap for an affordable price. IMO advantage plans take advantage of people’s desire for a few low cost freebies like a free pair of glasses and dental cleanings, and in exchange people get limited choices and care in the unlikely event they really need it (cancer etc). For me I would not take that trade off.

Not the only time according to post 16 in this thread. I still like the traditional medicare + medigap myself

[Sunset]

^^^^^^ Yes, but you have to move in order to change, which is pretty extreme.