Health Care

4 Myths About Medicare Advantage Plans

Published by Hailey Ploski

Medicare Advantage plans are Medicare plans offered through a private company that contracts with Medicare to offer Part A and Part B benefits. Many Medicare Advantage plans also offer prescription drug coverage in addition to covering most Medicare services. These plans are a versatile way to get excellent healthcare, but there are numerous myths about them that end up confusing patients and preventing them from getting the care that they need.

4 Medicare Advantage Plan Myths

1. Medicare Advantage Plans can alter your benefits or coverage without notifying you of the changes.

Every year, Medicare Advantage patients receive an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). This annual notice is sent before the Open Enrollment period begins (October 15-December 7) and it includes a list of changes in plan benefits that will take place during the following year. This gives you enough notice to decide whether or not you want to change to another Medicare Advantage plan if the coverage will be inadequate.

2. If you choose a Medicare Advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage, (MA-PD), there is not any information available on the cost of prescriptions under the plan.

When you are enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can also choose to add a prescription drug plan (Part D). We suggest that you work with Secure Benefits Alliance or use the online Medicare Plan Finder tool to find the right MA-PD plan for your circumstances. The Plan Finder can use your current prescription drug information to make it easy to compare the cost of prescriptions under numerous different plans.

3. When you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan, you don’t have Medicare any longer.

In reality, enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan means that you still have Medicare. Medicare Advantage is known as “Part C” and is merely another way of receiving Medicare benefits.

4. Medicare Advantage plans are too expensive for many seniors to utilize them.

When you are looking at both Medicare Advantage and more traditional Medicare plans, you should carefully weigh out-of-pocket costs and premiums. In some cases, seniors will also choose to purchase another supplemental policy known as Medigap. Secure Benefits Alliance can help you to find the right Medicare Advantage plan for your situation and budget, as well as explore Medigap plans.

Understanding Medicare Advantage Plans with Secure Benefits Alliance

Secure Benefits Alliance is proud to be Medicare problem solvers for thousands of patients throughout the greater Baltimore area. There is no cost to use our services and take advantage of our wealth of Medicare knowledge. To have your Medicare or health insurance questions answered by our knowledgeable team, contact Secure Benefits Alliance today by calling 443-912-5467 (TTY: 711).