subject: Finding the Best Senior Medical Insurance Plan [print this page] Finding the Best Senior Medical Insurance Plan
If you are a Medicare beneficiary looking for health insurance, you have a lot of choices today. You may find that having so many choices leads to confusion. This article is here to help to help you make a decision.
Medicare now has Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D. Each component insures you in a different way.
Parts A and B are considered Original Medicare. Part A pays for medical care in the hospital primarily. Part B provides benefits in the doctor's office.
Even if you have both Part A and B your is not complete. For better protection, you may want to purchase a Medicare Supplement policy.
Medicare Supplement is also known as Medigap. A Medigap plan can to a great degree lower your exposure to the things that Medicare will not cover. These policies can pay for your deductible in the doctors' office. They can also pay some of your coinsurance and copayments. None of the policies sold at this time will cover any of your drug costs.
You can get insurance for prescriptions. Part C will sometimes cover drug costs. Part D is a standalone policy that only covers prescription costs.
Part C is not a supplement. It is designed to cover much of the same health expenses that are covered by Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B and a Medicare supplemental policy.
Unlike Medicare Part A and B, the benefits are not provided by the Medicare. Medicare Part C benefits come from private medical insurance companies.
Medicare Advantage is another name for a Part C policy. Currently these policies are less expensive than most other options and are a great choice for many Medicare beneficiaries.
The one major drawback of purchasing a Medicare Advantage contract is that it doesn't cover you well if you seek care from out of network providers. You will be covered if there is a medical emergency when you are outside the network, but routine care will only be covered in rare situations.
Medicare Part D is Rx drug coverage. These policies provide much needed coverage for Rx. Before these policies became available the plans that covered prescription medicines were over priced and inadequate for many.
Rx insurance is not included in Medicare Part A or Medicare Part B. None of the currently sold Medicare Supplement policies provide this coverage. You can get prescription insurance through some Part C policies.
There are two ways recommended ways to get insurance that will take care of most of your health needs. You can have Medicare Part A, Medicare B, a Supplement and a Part D Rx plan. Alternately, you can have a Part C policy that provides the same basic coverage.
Each option has its benefits. The best option for you may not be the best alternative for your neighbor.
For many Medicare beneficiaries, it comes down to how well the Part C network works for you. Part C is almost always the cheaper option, so other criteria must be used to determine which option is best.
Since routine care isn't usually paid for if you seek care outside of the network, the network is a very important issue when making a selection. If your doctor is not in the network of a Medicare Advantage policy, you may want to keep Original Medicare and stay away from a part C plan. If you spend a lot of time away from home and will need routine care in an area not serviced by your contract, you may want to keep Original Medicare.
Once you have decided on what type of plan you need, you can go through the process of getting prices and determining which carrier and which plan will give the best combination of price and value. There are many websites that provide instant senior medical insurance rates.
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