How a Medicare Advantage Plan Helps You Stay Healthy and Save
Choosing a Medicare plan is an important decision. To get the right coverage for the road ahead, you may need a Medicare Advantage plan.
Why Medicare isn’t enough
When you sign up for Medicare, you are signing up for Part A and Part B, which is provided by the Federal government. Medicare consists of 4 separate parts:
- Part A (part of Original Medicare offered by the Federal government)
- Part B (part of Original Medicare offered by the Federal government)
- Part C (Medicare Advantage plans offered by private insurance companies)
- Part D (drug coverage offered by private insurance companies)
Many people discover that Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) doesn’t provide enough coverage. Original Medicare only covers about 80% of expenses. The remaining 20% is your responsibility and could add up to thousands of dollars each year.
Plus, Original Medicare:
- Doesn’t include Part D prescription drug coverage
- Doesn’t have a limit on the annual medical expenses
- Doesn’t include routine vision and hearing exams, and other services
Get an advantage
In order to have enough coverage, many people choose to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C) that includes prescription drug coverage (Part D). Medicare Advantage plans are one of the fastest growing Medicare plan options. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare Advantage plans have doubled to more than 20 million enrollees (one-third of Medicare beneficiaries) since 2010.
HMO or PPO?
Both are Medicare Advantage plan types, and have similarities and differences:
HMO and PPO similarities
- Offers everything Medicare covers plus additional benefits
- Available with prescription drug coverage
- Can help you save with monthly premiums as low as $0
HMO and PPO differences
- HMO - you choose a primary care provider (PCP) to be your main doctor who keeps track of your care and refers you to specialists if needed
- PPO - you can access any doctor or hospital, but you don’t have a PCP and are responsible for coordinating your care
Which is right for you?
CarePartners of Connecticut offers several HMO plans and a CarePartners Access PPO plan. No matter which you choose, you can get more coverage than Original Medicare and a monthly premium as low as $0. But which is right for you? CarePartners of Connecticut has a team of Medicare Agents to answer all your Medicare questions and help you find the plan that’s right for you. Just call 1-844-388-6591 (TTY: 711).
You can also compare plans on our website.