Medicare Supplements (Letter Plans – aka: “Medigap Policies)
- Keep the doctors you have built a connection with if they accept Medicare.
- Most beneficial of the three choices due to freedom of choosing doctors, pays most of out pocket expenses, and based on plan selection you may not have co-pays for certain office visits and procedures.
- Works with Medicare Part A (In-patient or hospital insurance) & B (out-patient or physician insurance) to cover extra costs. Pays secondary to original Medicare, to cover extra costs.
Medicare Advantage (Part C)
- Low cost
- Works with Medicare Part A & B. Offers coverage that is comparable to Part A & B coverage. Works as your primary source of coverage.
- These plans may also come with a regional network of doctors and hospitals, meaning coverage from your plan will not travel with you. Additionally, your current doctor may not accept the plan as coverage if they are not within the plans network.
- Medicare Advantage plans must offer the same benefits you get from Original Medicare and can also include additional benefits. However, these other benefits vary from plan to plan. When you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan, you agree to pay higher out-of-pocket costs through cost-sharing in exchange for a lower monthly premium.
- Often, Medicare Advantage plans include prescription drug coverage. While not all plans offer drug coverage, most Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO plans include this additional benefit.
Part D (Prescription drug plans)
- A plan’s list of covered drugs is called a “formulary,” and each plan has its own formulary. Medicare drug coverage typically places drugs into different levels, called “tiers,” on their formularies. Drugs in each tier have a different cost. For example, a drug in a lower tier will generally cost you less than a drug in a higher tier.
- A Part D prescription drug plan (PDP) – or “stand-alone prescription drug plan” – is one of two main ways Medicare beneficiaries can enroll in Medicare coverage for prescription drugs.
- The Medicare Part D benefit is offered through private insurers, either as a stand-alone Part D plan (PDP) or a Medicare Advantage plan that has prescription drug benefits (MAPD). As of 2019, about 46 percent of Part D enrollees are enrolled in a PDP and another 39 percent have an MAPD.
- A PDP can be purchased by beneficiaries with Original Medicare coverage (with or without a Medigap plan) and – in some cases – by Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries who don’t have a prescription drug benefit included in their MA plan.
Disclaimer:
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or (800) MEDICARE to get information on all your options.
