Can you return from Med Advantage to Traditional Med

[nwsteve]

A friend who is about ready to sign up for Medicare recalled me mentioning some time ago that if you start Medicare with a Medicare Advantage choice it might be difficult to return to Traditional Medicare.

My friend said she talked with a Medicare person who told her that that was no longer true. Given the "variability" one can get from a Medicare phone rep, does anyone know if this return risk is still in place? If so any resource link I can send to her for reference would be appreciated

Thanks
Nwsteve

 

[Running_Man]

I assume you are actually talking about a traditional Medicare Supplemental plan as you can always drop Medicare Advantage and go with vanilla Medicare. Once you have spent a year on Medicare Advantage you cannot go to let’s say a Plan F without being rated by insurance companies and possibly having pre-existing conditions not be covered.

https://www.medicareinteractive.org/get-answers/overview-of-medicare-health-coverage-options/changing-medicare-health-coverage/changing-your-medicare-advantage-plan

 

[haha]

A friend who is about ready to sign up for Medicare recalled me mentioning some time ago that if you start Medicare with a Medicare Advantage choice it might be difficult to return to Traditional Medicare.

My friend said she talked with a Medicare person who told her that that was no longer true. Given the "variability" one can get from a Medicare phone rep, does anyone know if this return risk is still in place? If so any resource link I can send to her for reference would be appreciated

Thanks
Nwsteve

You can return to traditional Medicare. What you ordinarily cannot do except under specific circumstances is buy a Medicare Supplement, also called a Medigap Policy

Ha

 

[MBSC]

You can return to traditional Medicare. What you ordinarily cannot do except under specific circumstances is buy a Medicare Supplement, also called a Medigap Policy.

To clarify, if you voluntarily return to Original Medicare you can buy a Medicare Supplement if you are still healthy enough to pass the medical underwriting. The underwriting requirements vary by insurer. Medigap plans are year round guaranteed issue in NY and CT.

The "specific circumstances" apply to MA plans that leave your area. If you choose to return to Original Medicare in this case, you can apply for any Medigap plan if you are healthy. If you are in poor health, you have a guaranteed right to any Medigap Plan A, B, C, F (includes HD-F) , K, or L sold in your area.

Reference: https://www.medicare.gov/find-a-pla...staticpages/learn/rights-and-protections.aspx