What Are My Medicare Choices during Open Enrollment?

If you’ve just discovered another Medicare Advantage plan designed “just for you,” it’s the time of year when Americans over 65 choose how to pay for their healthcare. Every year, during a period called open enrollment or annual enrollment, seniors decide among traditional Medicare plans and Medicare Advantage plans. Instead of trying to figure it all out yourself, rely on an experienced insurance agent, such as the experts at Lanford Insurance, to help you select the best plan for you.

The federal government provides traditional Medicare, Parts A & B — often referred to as original Medicare. Private insurance companies, regulated by the federal government, offer Medicare Advantage, or Part C. Both plans provide many of the same benefits, but each offers distinctive benefits as well. Knowing which plan fulfills your needs is the key to making the right choice.

What Do Traditional Medicare Plans and Medicare Advantage Plans Provide?

With both Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare, you’re likely to pay premiums, deductibles and copays. Each of these plans also offers many of the same benefits and services. Both are likely to cover:

• Emergency and urgent care nationwide
• Inpatient hospital services
• Skilled nursing services
• Doctor visits
• Outpatient services

These are the services provided with plans A, B and C. But even though the costs and services are similar, the plans offer important differences, too.

How Do the Two Plans Differ?

While both plans provide many of the basic health services, each contains unique benefits. Your advisor at Lanford Insurance explains these differences before you make a decision. For example:

With the Medicare Advantage plan, you:

• Use a network of doctors and hospitals within the plan
• May add services for prescription drugs, dental, hearing, vision and fitness
• Use services in the U.S. and worldwide

With the traditional Medicare plan, you:

• Use any doctors or hospitals that accept Medicare
• May add services for prescription drugs
• Use services only in the U.S.

The plans differ primarily in the types of services and the location of services. Digging more deeply into each one helps determine how they may affect what services you can receive and what you pay for them.

Which Plan Is Best for You?

In the past, more people enrolled in traditional Medicare plans. In recent years, the number choosing Medicare Advantage plans has climbed. While the same types of people are using both plans and having similar experiences, those in Medicare Advantage plans experience a higher level of managed care. To determine which plan is the best for you, typically you need to consider issues such as:

• Deductible costs vs. plan costs
• The amount you travel within and outside of the U.S.
• The need for supplemental services, such as dental, hearing and vision
• A desire for specific doctors or hospitals

Whether you choose traditional Medicare or Medicare Advantage plans, no decision is set in stone. You are permitted to change your health care plan each year during the open enrollment Medicare period. No health plan fits everybody’s wants and needs. You need to survey the options that each offers to discover which is the right fit for you — for your budget, your health and your peace of mind. For the best outcome, call an experienced agent at Lanford Insurance for expert guidance.