I’m in New Jersey and currently planning on buying an individual insurance plan for myself. I am choosing between Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage. Which do you think is better and why?
A Medicare Supplement plan (also known as Medi-Gap) usually provides little or no out-of-pocket costs on covered services that accounts for its higher premium. Moreover, this premium may likely increase with your age. That is, the older you get the higher your monthly insurance cost may become regardless of the company’s rate increase. This policy may depend on the state where you’re at and the Medicare Supplement plan you have purchased. However, you may want to buy a Medicare Part D plan (prescription drug insurance) as a support to a Medicare Supplement plan, since this doesn’t usually cover prescription drugs. On the other hand, a Medicare Advantage plan generally offers less or no premium at all in exchange of meager co-pays when utilizing benefits. This premium amount depends on the coverage of this plan which generally has very limited choices of doctors and medical providers for a lower premium amount. Nevertheless, this premium rarely increases as you age, in contrast to a Medicare Supplement. Depending on your location, insurance policy options such as HMO, PPO, PFFS and MSA are also available on a Medicare Advantage plan. The most preferred are HMO and PPO due to lower premiums, since these plans have their own network of service providers. Take note also that many Medicare Advantage plans include Part D coverage. As an advice, however, consider very carefully the premium and co-pay costs for these medications as you choose this type of policy. Medicare Supplements may lack certain privileges that a Medicare Advantage has, like having world wide coverage for ER, urgent care and annual physical checkups, to name some. However, most Medicare Supplement plans have a somewhat related provisions mentioned earlier in a deductible and co-insurance term. In addition to this, you can use out-of-network service providers with co-pay unlike with a Medicare Advantage plan. Medicare Advantage plan would be the best choice if you are relatively healthy and rarely use medical services. However, if you need constant medical attention and requires specialized services then you may choose a Medicare Supplement plan. You may require the aid of an independent health insurance agent to assist you in sorting out your options and choose the right health insurance for you. Answer by general public - June 19, 2009 @ 6:45 pm No CommentsNo comments yet. Leave a comment |
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Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement have their own perks and drawbacks. Choosing which of these Medicare plans is good for you depend on the person’s relative health condition, location, and budget. Considering these and the cost and benefits of each, helps you to arrive on that decision.
