Will Medicare Advantage plans go away under Obamacare? Will my doctor accept my Advantage plan? Are MAPD plans superior to original Medicare and a Medigap plan? Is there anything wrong with $0 premium Medicare Advantage plans? Why are they called Medicare DIS-Advantage plans?
Will Medicare Advantage plans be eliminated by Obamacare?
Advantage plans will change and taxpayer funding for those programs will be cut over the next few years. Many of the cuts would have occurred without Obamacare. But Obamacare will accelerate the cuts.
What do funding cuts mean to you?
Insurance carriers will have fewer dollars to work with which translates into higher premiums, higher copay’s, higher deductibles and more out of pocket expenses for you. Combine that with reduced funding for doctor reimbursement and you will have a harder time finding doctors willing to treat you.
Will my doctor accept my Advantage plan?
Only half the doctors in Georgia are willing to take ANY Medicare Advantage plans. Of those that do accept Advantage plans, most doctors only accept 1 or 2 carrier plans and your Advantage plans may not be one of them.
One other consideration, Medicare Advantage plans run on a calendar year basis. If your doctor accepts your Advantage plan now there is no guarantee they will continue accepting that plan for the entire year.
Are MAPD plans superior to original Medicare and a Medigap plan?
To paraphrase President Clinton, it depends on your definition of superior.
If superior means lower premium, the answer is “yes”.
If superior means less total out of pocket, more doctor choice, the guarantees of original Medicare, then the answer would be “no”.
Is there anything wrong with $0 premium Medicare Advantage plans?
What could be better than paying $0 for health insurance?
Ask yourself this. How many times did you get something for free that actually delivered as promised?
Zero premium Advantage plans simply mean you pay every time you use the plan.
Doctor visit?
You pay.
Lab test?
You pay.
You get the idea. You pay nothing up front but every time you use the plan you pay, and pay and pay . . .
Why are they called Medicare DIS-Advantage plans?
Well, if you have to ask . . .
Moving parts, networks, claim appeals, plan you have now may not be available next year, high out of pocket. The list goes on.
Most people would be much better off with Medigap plan N or even Hi F. With either plan you can use any doctor anywhere in the U.S and have less out of pocket than ANY of the Medicare Advantage plans in Georgia.
