YOUR MEDICARE CHOICES
MEDICARE alone
Part B Premium: $96.40 in 2009
Part A covers hospitalization.
Part B covers medical services.
Part A Deductible: $1,100 in 2010
Part B deductible: $155
Part B pays 80% of doctor bills, lab tests, x-rays, emergency room charges, urgent care. You pay 20%.
To cover the Medicare deductibles and 20% co-insurance,
many people add a………
MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT
to cover the gaps in Medicare. (Also called Medigap plan.)
COST: $90 – $175
depending on age, plan chosen, insurance company
You also need a…….
PART D Rx PLAN
COST: $17-$45/month premium
Or……
you can enroll in a……
MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLAN
-Usually includes Part D Rx plan.
-Can offer additional benefits such as dental, hearing aids, free gym membership.
-$0 monthly premium for many plans.
-Requires co-payments for hospital stays, doctor visits, lab tests, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, x-rays, MRIs, CT scans.
-Co-pays can add up, so study them carefully.
Because there are many choices for your Medicare coverage, it is important to talk to an agent who represents several companies. By talking to an independent agent, you will be able to get coverage and a plan that best suits your needs- whether it is with a Medicare Supplement or a Medicare Advantage plan.
CALL MEDICARE CHOICES OF ARIZONA 520-820-8639
Hi I am currently on Mercy Care Advantage plan and was wondering if there is a better plan I could be on. I am low income….under $1000 a month and was wondering if any of the plans would cover a free gym membership or acupuncture or chiropractor for my back injury? I have been in physical therapy 3 times and was wondering if any plan covers pain management. Also does any plan cover Naturopathic therapy. I had non steroidal injection in my spine and it helped with inflammation and pain. I know if I want to change plans now is the time to do it. So if you could tell me what is the best plan or if I should just stay with Mercy Care Advantage. Thanks for you help. Theresa Paul
It sounds like your income is around $900 per month which qualifies you for AHCCCS. Mercy Care Advantage probably coordinates care with your AHCCCS health plan, which is probably Mercy Care – so you don’t have to worry about staying in both your AHCCCS plan network and your Medicare plan network. All the Medicare Advantage plans are similar in terms of what they cover. What they cover is generally what Medicare covers. I don’t know of a Medicare Advantage plan that is offering any special pain management or acupuncture or naturopathic therapy.
Was the injection of a “non-steroidal injection” covered by your current plan? If it was not covered, I doubt that any other plan would cover it – because they all follow Medicare guidelines.
Health Net used to offer free gym memberships for its Amber plan, but they will discontinue it next year.
So, where does that leave you? I’m sorry to say that I don’t think any Medicare Advantage plan will offer much more than what you have with Mercy Care. The only additional services they sometimes offer are dental and vision. APIPA offers $1500 per year of dental. Health Net’s Amber plan also offers $1500 of dental per year. I think both offer vision and eye glasses benefits as well. It sounds like you need or want services that are not covered by Medicare because they involve “alternative medicine”.
You also have to be careful if you sign up for another Medicare Advantage plan because it might allow you to go to doctors in their network – but then the if the doctors are not in your AHCCCS plan network, you could have problems with your AHCCCS plan paying your 20% co-pay. If your AHCCCS plan is Mercy Care and you have Mercy Care Medicare Advantage, you can only see doctors in their network – so you won’t run into the problem of going “out of network”.