As mentioned in earlier posts, the time period October 15, 2014 to December 7, 2014 is just the annual Part C/Part D enrollment period ... not a Medicare enrollment period (unless you are shortly turning 65 or just turned 65). But it's worth a refresher course on what you can do or have already done -- and why -- before thinking about Part C and/or Part D.
So, first, it is important to remember why you bought supplemental Medicare insurance in the first place and then, second, look at the first major decision you faced on the Medicare decision tree (see image above and on page 17 of the "Medicare and You, 2015" booklet). Whether you realize it or not, if you don't have group retiree insurance, you selected between:
- A private Medigap supplement (left hand side of the tree) or
- Public Part C Medicare Advantage health plan (right hand side of the tree)
If you are on Medicare and under 70 (probably even if you are under 75) this choice is the same one that you faced every year at work. The major differences from your point of view are:
- Private Medigap supplemental plans are accepted by any provider that accepts Medicare (which is almost all), anywhere in the country (but not usually outside the United States -- even in an emergency -- unless the Medigap policy specifically says so)
- Public Part C Medicare Advantage plans are typically accepted only by providers in a network in your region (but sometimes you can use it anywhere in the region and pay a much higher co-pay and -- as with Medigap -- you are always protected everywhere in the United States in case of an emergency)
In other words, remembering back to open enrollment when you worked, it's like the old Aetna (or Cigna or Blue Cross or Prudential or...) vs the local HMO choice. It's like that but not exactly the same so the key questions to ask are:
- If you have a favorite doctor or hospital, does it accept any Medicare Part C health plans? If not, that makes the decision for you.
- If you spend a lot of time away from your primary residence each year (often called a snowbird), do you need to be able to go to the doctor at the other place on a regular basis (remember: emergencies are covered either way)?
Of course, this is the government. There are some other little nits to look at. For example, another thing you need to know is that all the propaganda in the United States about private vs. public healthcare insurance is pure politics. Fuggettah abouddit! All Parts of Medicare -- including private Medigap plans -- are highly regulated by the government1. All Parts of Medicare are administered by private insurance companies. Private vs. public? It don't matter!
1In the case of private Medigap plans, they are regulated by both the Federal and state government.
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