What Is Medicare Advantage and Is It Available Where I Live? Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are designed to act as a replacement for Original Medicare (Parts A and B), providing all of the same benefits (and often more) as Original Medicare. Many seniors find that Medicare Advantage plans better meet …
What to Do if You Missed the Medicare Open Enrollment Period?
Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) runs from October 15 – December 7 every year. During the AEP, seniors can enroll in a Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plan, change an existing plan, move to a new plan, or disenroll from Medicare Advantage and switch to Original Medicare (Parts A and …
How to Appeal a Medicare Advantage Plan or Drug Plan Denial
In our last post we discussed how to appeal a claim decision made by Original Medicare. In this post we’ll outline how to file an appeal if you disagree with a coverage or payment decision made by your Medicare Advantage plan or Part D prescription drug plan. Note that while …
How to Appeal a Medicare Part A or Part B Claim Decision
If you have Original Medicare, your doctors and other health care providers send bills for your care directly to Medicare. You will later receive a statement called a Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) from Medicare—one for Part A, and one for Part B—outlining all the services and/or supplies that were billed …
What Is Medicare Part D and Do I Need It?
Medicare Part D is a federal-government program introduced in 2003 to help eligible Medicare recipients get subsidized prescription drug coverage. The plans are sold through private insurance companies (approved by Medicare) and often have an additional premium. There are two ways to get drug coverage—as a standalone plan coupled with …
What Is Not Covered by Medicare?
Medicare provides vital health insurance to seniors age 65 and over, but it’s important to know that Medicare doesn’t cover everything. This post will outline what Medicare does not cover and will highlight some alternatives that can help fill in some of the gaps of Original Medicare (Parts A and …