Since the beginning of the year, open enrollment into and out of Medicare Advantage plans has been in full swing. The key to making a good choice is to understand how Advantage plans operate.

In the 1980s, health professionals began to offer HMOs - a package of health care services to individuals and companies in exchange for one standard monthly or yearly fee, regardless of services actually used. Medicare Advantage plans work off this same premise. When you choose an Advantage plan, you sign a contract which assigns your Medicare A (hospital) and B (doctor) to a third party health plan which agrees to provide all Medicare medical services. You will continue to pay your monthly Part B premium and will likely have an additional premium from the company offering the Advantage plan.

Advantage plans usually cover supplementary services not offered through Medicare Parts A and B. They also may require you to stay within their provider network in order to have coverage, or make regular co-payments and deductibles on some services. Advantage Plans may or may not include Part D prescription drug coverage. If they don’t, you can’t add Part D as a separate stand-alone plan to most types of Advantage plans.

Advantage plans may be a good choice for your situation or they may not fit your needs. There are five types of Advantage plans in Minnesota, and some types are very different from others. Regardless of how you choose, it’s far more important that you make your choice with the full knowledge that Advantage plans are not an additional benefit to Part A and B coverage. Advantage plans transform Part A and B (and frequently D) into a combination package.

The Minnesota Senior Federation’s publication, Health Care Choices for Minnesotans on Medicare, describes how types of Medicare Supplement and Advantage plans work in Minnesota. Refer specifically to pages 20 to 21 of the 2009 edition, or call our Health Plan Information Center at 651/783-5045 or toll-free at 866/783-5045. The publication is sent free to Federation members who request it; the cost is $10 for shipping and handling for non-members.