To help pay the costs that original Medicare does not cover, you can enroll in Medicare Advantage Plans (also called Medicare Part C).

Under Medicare Part C, the federal government contracts with private insurance companies to administer Medicare benefits. Advantage plans for Medicare will provide all of your Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance) coverage. Many plans include additional benefits such as coverage for extra days in the hospital, vision, dental, hearing, preventive services like annual physicals, coverage of emergency services while traveling, or health and wellness programs, and Medicare prescription drug coverage (Part D).

Different Types Of Medicare Advantage Plans

The benefits, rules and premiums will vary depending upon the plan you choose. Your plan may have out-of-pocket costs or certain rules for how you can get medical services, e.g. that you need a referral to see a specialist. The most common types of Medicare Advantage plans are Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Plans, Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Plans or Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) Plans. But no matter which you select, you are always covered for emergency and urgent care, and the Advantage plan must cover all services covered by original Medicare – except hospice care, which is always covered by Medicare.

Some Advantage Plans for Medicare even offer additional health coverage at zero additional cost over your Part B premium!

You can join a Medicare Advantage plan:

• When you first get Medicare (Initial Enrollment Period)
• During certain times each year (Annual Enrollment Period)
• Under specific circumstances (Special Enrollment Period)

Insurance Companies offer a wide variety of Medicare Advantage Plans – so before you join, make sure to compare the benefits and premiums of the plans that are available in your area!

What Are Medicare Supplement Plans?

Traditional Medicare (Part A and B) does not provide 100% coverage for medical expenses such as deductibles, co-payments, and co-insurance. Therefore Medicare Supplement Plans were designed to help pay the costs that Medicare does not cover. Medicare Supplement is also referred to as Medigap. A Medigap policy is a type of private insurance that helps you pay for some of the costs that Original Medicare does not cover.

The Difference Between Medicare Supplement Plans and Medicare Advantage Plans

While most Medicare Advantage Plans offer additional benefits, a Medigap policy only ‘supplements’ your original Medicare benefits. If you decide to get additional coverage with a Medicare Supplement plan, Medicare will first pay its share of the Medicare approved amounts for your covered health care costs, and then your supplemental insurance policy will pay its share. You as the enrollee are still responsible for any co-payments as described in each plan’s summary of benefits.

Medigap policies are regulated by Federal and State Laws in order to protect you as a consumer and have to be clearly labeled as ‘Medicare Supplement Insurance’. The policies are standardized for each State and every supplemental policy must follow Federal and State laws. In most states you can buy one of ten standardized Medigap policy identified by the letters A through N.

Attention: While each standardized Medigap policy must offer the same basic benefits, no matter which insurance provider is offering it, the private insurance companies are free to set their premiums. This means, costs may vary between companies, and you should always compare quotes for Medicare Supplement Plans offered by different companies in your state!