According to Paul Precht with the Medicare Rights Center, “If you join a Medicare Advantage plan and are getting additional benefits and you are not paying the premium that’s because the government is paying the premium directly to the plan through a subsidy.”

More on that here: Medicare Supplements

A new bill called The Medicare Prompt Pay Correction Act has been introduced by the U.S. Senate. This bill is a companion to HR 1392. HR 1392 has 45 co-sponsors currently. Senator Arlen Specter and Pat Roberts introduced the bill. It is meant to correct medicare reimbursement problems connected with cancer drugs.

You can get more information about Medicare Part A B C in the link provided.

It is not true that the Medicare Part B monthly premium of $93.50 will be payable to the insurer providing a Medicare Advantage plan when a Medicare beneficiary chooses a Medicare Advantage plan. That premium continues to be paid to the Medicare administration.

Medicare Advantage plans rearrange the benefits provided under the regular Medicare plan. While each one is different, generally the plans eliminate the annual deductible amount for medical services and they provide for a co-pay amount upon each doctor visit, also eliminating the bill for 20% of the fee approved by Medicare. (That’s good for the doctor, and it’s also good for the patient.)

Medicare Advantage plans generally provide for lower deductibles for hospital stays covered under Medicare Part A, and they provide better benefits for catastrophic events. They also provide benefits for those who travel outside the USA, and some even offer free gym memberships to help their members stay healthy. Most also include the Part D prescription drug benefit.

Medicare Advantage plans are provided by insurance companies. These insurers get their money mostly from the Medicare administration, perhaps as much as $800 a month per person, and they charge a small extra amount per month (under $100) to their Medicare Advantage plan customers.

These insurers generally use insurance agents to sell these plans, but Medicare beneficiaries don’t need to use an agent. The premium is the same whether an agent is involved or not.

There are enough Medicare Advantage plans to make life confusing, and their availability can vary from county to county. Here, in Fayette County, the main ones in 2007 seem to be those of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia and of Humana. Blue Cross even has one with a zero extra premium, but that one offers no drug coverage (the drug coverage can be bought separately from someone else).

Medicare Advantage plans should not be confused with the so-called Medigap plans which offer to pay supplemental benefits which fill the gaps from the regular Medicare deductibles and the 20% co-payments. Medigap plans are not needed and not permitted for people with a Medicare Advantage plan.

It is easier to pick an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen than it is at Baskins-Robbins, because Baskins-Robbins offers so many flavors and it’s hard to decide. Same story with all these Medicare plans. There are many flavors to choose from, but the freedom of choice is, on balance, wonderful.

Medicare Advantage plans are managed by insurance companies in the private sector, though under fairly strict controls by the Medicare administration, and our federal government believes this can bring about more efficient management. These plans are thus favored by the government, and the insurance companies receive subsidies which enable them to provide better benefits for their clients and to make profits too.