Medicare Advantage Plan

A Medicare Advantage Plan is a type of Medicare health plan offered by a private company that contracts with Medicare to provide you with all your Part A and Part B benefits. Medicare Advantage Plans include Health Maintenance Organizations, Preferred Provider Organizations, Private Fee-for-Service Plans, Special Needs Plans, and Medicare Medical Savings Account Plans. If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan, Medicare services are covered through the plan and aren’t paid for under Original Medicare. Most Medicare Advantage Plans offer prescription drug coverage.

Medicare Supplement Plans (Medigap)

A Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policy, sold by private companies, can help pay some of the health care costs that Original Medicare doesn’t cover, like copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles.

Some Medigap policies also offer coverage for services that Original Medicare doesn’t cover, like medical care when you travel outside the U.S. If you have Original Medicare and you buy a Medigap policy, Medicare will pay its share of the Medicare-approved amount for covered health care costs. Then your Medigap policy pays its share.

A Medigap policy is different from a Medicare Advantage Plan. When a person is signed up with an Advantage plan, he or she is assigning their Medicare benefits over to the insurance company, while a Medigap plans supplement their Original Medicare benefits.

Low Income Subsidy (Extra Help)

Anyone who has Medicare can get Medicare prescription drug coverage. Some people with limited resources and income may also be able to get Extra Help to pay for the costs—monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments—related to a Medicare prescription drug plan. The Extra Help is estimated to be worth about $4,000 per year. Many people qualify for these important savings and don’t even know it.

To qualify for Extra Help:

• You must reside in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia;

• Your resources must be limited to $13,640 for an individual or $27,250 for a married couple living together. Resources include such things as bank accounts, stocks and bonds. We do not count your home, car or any life insurance policy as resources; and

• Your annual income must be limited to $17,655 for an individual or $23,895 for a married couple living together. Even if your annual income is higher, you still may be able to get some help. Some examples where you may have higher income and still qualify for Extra Help include if you or your spouse: —Support other family members who live with you; —Have earnings from work; or —Live in Alaska or Hawaii.

Retirement Plan Options

Group Benefits, Union benefits, Original Medicare, Medicare Supplement Plans, Medicare Advantage Plans.

Prescription Drug Plans (PDP Plans)

Each Medicare Prescription Drug Plan has its own list of covered drugs (called a formulary). Many Medicare drug plans place drugs into different “tiers” on their formularies. Drugs in each tier have a different cost.

A drug in a lower tier will generally cost you less than a drug in a higher tier. In some cases, if your drug is on a higher tier and your prescriber thinks you need that drug instead of a similar drug on a lower tier, you or your prescriber can ask your plan for an exception to get a lower copayment.

A Medicare drug plan can make some changes to its formulary during the year within guidelines set by Medicare. If the change involves a drug you’re currently taking, your plan must do one of these:

• Provide written notice to you at least 60 days prior to the date the change becomes effective.
• At the time you request a refill, provide written notice of the change and a 60-day supply of the drug under the same plan rules as before the change.