The Medicare Decision: Choose Your Plan
The Medicare program is a hugely important part of the United States healthcare system. Millions of Americans are on the Medicare plan, and it can be difficult to choose which one is best for you or your loved ones. There are many different factors that go into choosing the right Medicare plan, including medical needs, income level, and other personal preferences. Medicare expert can help you decide which one to choose.
The first step in choosing the right Medicare plan for you or your loved one is finding out which type of coverage they qualify for; there are four types: Part A (hospitalization), Part B (medical insurance), Part C – also known as “Medicare Advantage” where it’s an alternative to Parts A & B) and D – prescription drug coverage. Each person who qualifies must choose between these four types of coverage based on their personal preferences. The two parts that make up part A and part B are mandatory- everyone needs at least one of those two services!
Each person with medicare should get supplemental insurance policies to cover the gaps in coverage left by Medicare.
Part A: covers health care costs after someone has paid a certain amount for hospitalization- usually enough to pay deductibles and coinsurance.
This type of plan is offered as Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage (offered through private insurance companies).
Medicare Advantage plans are cheaper monthly premiums but offer less benefits than original medicare, so it’s important that you fully understand what your needs will be before choosing this option!
Original Medicare offers more comprehensive coverage with lower monthly payments because those who use it don’t have any copays or other out-of-pocket expenses for services like doctor visits and lab tests (except for prescription drugs) during their first six months of coverage.
Medicare Advantage plans can charge copays for doctor visits, lab tests and other services during the first six months a person is on their plan; so if you want to avoid paying anything out-of-pocket, original medicare is your best bet!
The most important thing about all of these Medicare options is that they use different “metal” levels: bronze (worst), silver, gold or platinum (best). The higher the metal level that you have, the more benefits are available to you at no cost. For example, free checkups with an in-network provider every year as long as there’s no deductible required would be included within those Platinum Level Benefits but not Bronze Level Benefits.