Medicare: Your Choices

• Original Medicare includes Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance).
• You can join a stand alone Medicare drug plan to get (required) Medicare drug coverage (Part D)
• You can use any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare, anywhere in the U.S.
• To help pay your out-of-pocket costs in Original Medicare (like your 20% coinsurance), you can also buy supplemental coverage (Medigap).

Original Medicare does not cover everything!

Supplemental coverage or Medigap is extra or additional insurance that you can purchase to help pay for services and out-of-pocket costs that Original Medicare does not cover such as deductibles and co-insurance. 

Medigap policies are standardized , and in most cases named by letters, ie., Plans A-N. You will need to compare these plans to find which one best fits your needs.

Find policies in your area. Price is the only difference with the same letter sold by different companies.

How do you find the policies in your area? Call TBrown Insurance, with no obligation and no cost to you!

• Medicare Advantage is a Medicare-approved plans through private insurance company's that offers an alternative to Original Medicare for your health and drug coverage. These plans combine Parts A and B, and usually Part D.
• In most cases, you'll need to use doctors who are in the plan's network.
• Plans may have a lower out-of-pocket costs than Original Medicare.
• Plans may offer extra benefits that Original Medicare doesn't offer - like vision, hearing, and dental services.

All plans must cover a wide range of prescription drugs that people with Medicare take, including most drugs in certain protected classes. A plan’s list of covered drugs is called a “formulary,” and each plan has its own formulary. Many plans place drugs into different levels, called “tiers,” on their formularies. Drugs in each tier have a different cost. For example, a drug in a lower tier will generally cost you less than a drug in a higher tier.

Example:

Tier 1 - lowest co-payment: preferred generic drugs

Tier 2 - medium co-payment: most generic drugs, some brand name

Tier 3 - higher co-payment: preferred brand name drugs

Tier 4 - higher - highest co-payment: most are brand name drugs, some are specialty

Tier 5 - highest co-payment: specialty drugs

Some plans have a 4 tier system and some may go as high as 6 tiers.

We can look at adding a Medicare Supplement Plan to Original Medicare with a stand alone Prescription Drug Plan.

Maybe straight Original Medicare will work for you with a stand alone Prescription Drug Plan.

We can also look at Medicare Advantage Plans that combine the health and, in most cases, the Prescription Drug Plan. MAPD's come with some extra benefits like dental, vision, hearing, over-the-counter drugs and more.

It's your choice but perhaps you need a little help. Speaking to someone to help talk you through this dynamic process is a free service to you. And remember, this is not a call center but an independent agent that will focus on your unique medical and financial needs to help get you the right coverage.  

And it doesn't stop there. TBrown Insurance will be there after you choose the right plan to answer any questions you may have. It all starts with a phone call!