Medicare Advantage Plans

[anonyme]

I’ve been trying to navigate the jungle of Medicare plans and getting nowhere FAST, despite having experience in medical administration and management. I’ve spent so many hours online and on the phone that I can’t see straight. Medicare has become a maze of traps and penalties, and I will now have to pay for health premiums INSTEAD of health care – but that’s another rant for another day.
I need a $0 premium Advantage plan as I don’t want to pay for the mandatory Part D coverage, and that’s the only way I can figure out to do it without paying penalties later. It looks like the Humana Community HMO plan is the best(?) choice(?). However, the provider list on their website is not sortable by geographic location, and most of the providers don’t list addresses. It also appears that most of them are located at the fringe edges of King County, far beyond bus lines. Does anyone have a local primary care provider that they like – and who accepts this particular plan?

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[JanS]

Premera Medicare Advantage has a zero premium plan. A question to ask before you sign on the dotted line…because of a contract problem with Providence/Swedish, they will no longer do business with that hospital, etc, after the end of the year. It sucks big time, as that is where my transplant team is. I will opt to go back to Original Medicare, and now looking for a 0 premium Part D. I know Wellcare used to do that…but they all make it so damned confusing, because they all like to make money. The SSA/Medicare sight has info about that.

BTW…the Premera MA plan only services the PNW…

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[JTB]

I had the AARP Medicare Complete (Advantage) program for several years and didn’t have any issues with using providers in the Swedish network which included Minor and James. Since it was technically and HMO, I just needed a referral from my primary physician which in many cases was obtained by a phone call.

I changed to a Medicare Supplement plan after I had an appendectomy with a one day hospitalization under the Medicare Complete and my costs were equal to what my monthly premiums would have been under the Supplement plan. Since I knew I would have a number of procedures for various issues in the coming year, I changed plans to the Supplement in order to keep my costs down.

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[Rags]

Anonyme, you need to contact Shirley Von Nostrand, Advantage Insurance Benefits, phone 206 612-5463, email shirleyv@advantageinsurancebenefits.com. She’s located in Seahurst, and she and her sons are experts on the different plans and what would be right for you so don’t hesitate to contact. They’ll be doing seminars in Burien and SeaTac in the coming months which are very popular. There is no charge to you and they are compensated the same regardless of the plan you use so there is absolutely no bias in their recommendations. I’ve been a client for the past couple of years and am so impressed with their expertise and customer service, and I’m sure you will be too.

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[anonyme]

Wow. Thanks all of you for your excellent information. I met with a SHIBA rep, but it wasn’t very helpful.

Jan, so far I haven’t found a zero dollar Plan D, or I’d be going that route as well…let me know if you find one.

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