When it comes to making your Medicare decision, the hardest part is deciding whether to choose Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage.
As a reminder, with Original Medicare, you can get care from any doctor or hospital who accepts Original Medicare. While with Medicare Advantage, you can usually only see doctors in their network.
To decide which program fits you best, it’s going to depend on the doctors you want to see. This is why I always recommend you start your Medicare process by knowing what type of Medicare your doctor accepts.
Unfortunately, this is also where people usually make their first mistake and is why people regret their Medicare decision.
It’s common for an insurance company to approach you with a Medicare Advantage plan first. They do this because Advantage plans make them the most money (which insurance companies share in their financial reports). Since it makes them the most money, they will do everything they can to sell Medicare Advantage before any other product.
This is why insurance companies frequently pay salespeople more money to sell Medicare Advantage plans. These companies also put other perks in the Advantage plans like vision, dental, and silver sneakers to make them even more appealing.
Let me repeat this because it’s important, insurance companies are incentivized to sell you Medicare Advantage plans, so they tell you about all the perks, but don’t necessarily tell you the full story.
Most importantly, they rarely if ever tell you about the doctors you can, or cannot see on Medicare Advantage plans.
This is why you must pick the right program for your situation when you first join Medicare. Medicare has strict rules that can make it hard, if not impossible, to switch Medicare programs in the future.
So please ensure you understand the Medicare program and plan you pick before you finalize your decision. You may not get a second chance.
Medicare is complicated, and there are so many rules and plans and letters to choose from; it can be hard to figure out what is best for you. The good news is, you’re not alone. The Medicare Coach is here to help you make the RIGHT Medicare decision the first time. We want to protect your health care and your savings.
To easily make your right Medicare decision, you can join our Medicare Enrollment Concierge by CLICKING HERE and work one-on-one with one of our Medicare coaches.
