{"id":6732,"date":"2023-05-10T10:03:42","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T14:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/news\/medigap-or-advantage-how-do-you-make-a-good-choice\/"},"modified":"2023-05-10T10:03:43","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T14:03:43","slug":"medigap-or-advantage-how-do-you-make-a-good-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=6732","title":{"rendered":"Medigap Or Advantage? How Do You Make A Good Choice?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>It\u2019s not an easy choice for retirees hitting 65: Do you stay with traditional Medicare or choose Medicare Advantage?<\/p>\n<p>Since Medicare doesn\u2019t cover everything, Advantage plans often cover more, but with lower or no premiums. There\u2019s always a catch, though. Nothing is entirely free. Advantage plans, offered by private insurers, restrict which health care providers they will cover.<\/p>\n<p>According to a recent report by the Center for Retirement Research (CRRC), you need to weigh the pros and cons of each plan carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdvantage plans are complete insurance policies that operate much like employer health plans with copayments and deductibles,\u201d writes Kim Blanton for CRRC. \u201cThey have been heavily criticized for becoming increasingly profitable and costly for the federal Medicare program, which reimburses insurers for retirees\u2019 care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How do you make the right choice that works best for you? Here\u2019s what Blanton and other experts suggest:<\/p>\n<p><strong>How is Your Health?<\/strong> \u201cAdvantage plans \u201care great if you\u2019re healthy,\u201d Dr. Edward Hoffer in Boston commented in a recent blog. \u201cThey often offer extra benefits such as dental coverage or gym memberships. Be wary if you are ill, as they offer limited access to top hospitals and specialists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><fbs-ad position=\"inread\" progressive=\"\" ad-id=\"article-0-inread\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><\/fbs-ad><\/p>\n<p><strong>How Much Can You Pay Out of Pocket? <\/strong>\u201cMany Advantage policies have zero premiums, which are a big selling point. The other option is Medigap, which rarely puts limits on where retirees can go for care \u2013 but has much higher monthly premiums than Advantage policies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do You Need the Extra Coverage and Insurance?<\/strong> \u201cUnlike Advantage insurance policies, Medigap is an add-on to traditional Medicare and covers the medical bills that Medicare does not. Medigap not only has higher premiums than Advantage plans but retirees, in all but a few states \u2013 Minnesota is one \u2013 have to buy a separate Part D plan to cover their prescription drugs. Despite the upfront additional costs, some studies show that Medigap plans may have lower out-of-pocket costs over the long run, though the evidence isn\u2019t compelling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How do you work through the decision making process? Ask someone you know whom you trust who has signed up for Medicare. Local areas on aging also have Medicare counselors.<\/p>\n<p>A note of caution: Avoid Medicare \u201cconsultants\u201d sponsored by insurance companies, health care systems and financial brokers. They are more interested in selling a product on commission and won\u2019t give you unbiased advice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/johnwasik\/2023\/05\/10\/medigap-or-advantage-how-do-you-make-a-good-choice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s not an easy choice for retirees hitting 65: Do you stay with traditional Medicare or choose Medicare Advantage? Since Medicare doesn\u2019t cover everything, Advantage plans often cover more, but with lower or no premiums. There\u2019s always a catch, though. Nothing is entirely free. Advantage plans, offered by private insurers, restrict which health care providers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-6732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Medigap Or Advantage? How Do You Make A Good Choice? | iFintechWorld<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s not an easy choice for retirees hitting 65: Do you stay with traditional Medicare or choose Medicare Advantage? 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