(For previous steps see Step 1, Step 2 and Step 3 at links. For some of the preliminaries before beginning the four steps laid out on the Medicare Plan Finder, see links noted in the Step 1 post.)
In Step 4 of using the Medicare Plan Finder, you begin looking at and comparing the available public Part C Medicare Advantage health plans in your county.
The informtion in the red circle (see image) shows how many plans are available to you maxium (in the example, there are 14 available but this differs county to county). All of them might not apply to you because some are only for special needs situations or people on Medicaid. Typically you can choose one from among the following
- National insurance companies such as AARP, underwritten by United Healthcare, or Humana (United Healthcare might also offer a plan in your county on its own unaffiliated with AARP)
- Your state's Blue Cross franchisee, which most likely offer preferred provider organizations (PPOs)
- One or more local or major "historically true health maintenance organizations (HMOs) such as Kaiser, especially in the Western United States, or Tufts and Harvard in Massachusetts)
The choices will almost always be generically between HMOs and PPOs. The major difference between those two types are network breadth and availability to out of network providers. PPOs typically cover out of network doctors but at a much higher copay.
Simplistically, some of the choices are more expensive than others primarily because they have lower annual out of pocket medical-cost limits (the highest allowed by law is $6700) and/or they have broader "networks". Secondarily some are less expensive because the insurer is trying to "buy" market share.
All the plans have been approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the beneficiaries are getting 85% of the premiums back in medical value -- AS A GROUP. (Of course, ideally, you INDIVIDUALLY don't want to get all your premiums back; it would mean you were sick or injured.)
Some plans include no built-in drug coverage. You can only choose one of these plans if you have "creditable coverage" from a former employer, union, the VA or a similar source. You cannot mix and match Part C plans with no drug coverage from one insurer with another insurance company's Part D plan.
This blog will delve into the finer points of some of these differences during November. You are under no rush to sign up; you have until December 7 but I would suggest doing it before Thanksgiving so that you have all your material in hand and can make one more review before the window closes. Even if you make a decision in mid November, you can still change it up until December 7.
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