Medicare Advantage Plans all have different monthly premiums, copays, hospitals, doctor groups, and other benefits. Here are some suggestions on how to find the best plan for YOU.
Exclude Plans that do not fit your needs.
- Review physician networks and eliminate all plans that do not include your preferred physicians and their network
- Do any specialty plans apply (Chronic Conditions, Giveback, Dual Plans)?
- Do you qualify? Verify eligibility with the plan
- Review the other (non-specialty) coverage in plan
- What features would make this specialty plan advantageous for you?
For the plans considered, verify your prescriptions are covered, using Medicare’s Plan Finder.
HICAP has prepared instructions on how to use the Plan Finder tool on Medicare’s website.
Review the additional plan benefits, for example hearing aids, fitness benefits.
Are you likely to use these benefits and will they be effective in reducing your costs? (Note: the dental coverage in most plans is quite limited).
Contact your physician’s office to confirm that they are in the plan network.
For example, not all John Muir physicians participate in plans which indicate John Muir doctors. PPO plans can be even more of a challenge as they contract with individual providers, not doctor groups. Provider directories can be hard to use and are not always accurate. If the office does not know, call the plan and ask.
Decide and Enroll.
The fastest and most reliable way to enroll in a plan is to use Plan Finder and your Medicare account. Locate the plan you want, then use the ‘Enroll’ button for the plan. It will take less than 5 minutes.