Maybe in urban counties. Insurers are abandoning MA (Part C) plans in droves in rural counties. Our county hasn’t had any since 2019.

@@ziggy29drives? What does that mean?

@@suzanneemerson2625 That should have said "droves". Fixed it.

Not all Advantage Plans are insurance companies. Mine isan HMO, and was my mother's Advantage Plan before itbecame mine 7 years ago. It's always at least 4 star rated, and covers 7 counties, some rural.

Whereabouts you located?​@@ziggy29

It's a marketing ploy implemented early on to attract more customers. Med Advantage is the biggest scam perpetuated on our senior citizens. Carriers make almost double per customer lifetime vs a supplemental plan. A lot of seniors love them because they save money up front. Nothing could be further from the truth long term. Biggest issue with these plans is the quality of care recieved and the delays due to their denial strategy. Dont be fooled. These plans are responsible for premature deaths daily. Ask your health care professionals what they think of these plans from a patient perspective. Yes I'm quite bitter about the Advantage Plans. Had a family member drop her supplemental plan at the urging of an insurance rep who promised her that she would recieve identical care and save money. Nothing could have been further from the truth. It's a scam that favors the insurance industry and builds there profits considerably.

Right. They make this look shiny while putting restrictions on approving ur heathcare needs. No approvals needed with traditional Medicare

Thst's because those MA advettisements are ONLY offerring that for MediCAID eligible patients, who are dual eligible for Medicare. Those that do this false advertising are disingenuous.

@@commonsense6967 not true. Some non medicaid plans have it as well.

Advantage plans see these benefits as part of getting you healthier of keeping you healthy. Money for utilities, rent/mortgage will free up money for copays and coinsurance for visits, labs and meds.

That's the million dollar question!

@@GiardiniMedicare I have that $0.50/mo PDP right now with W. I actually looked at the parent company's (C) transcript of their financial meeting that you provided in your links. They did talk a little about PDPs but I didn't really get any gist of their direction from that transcript. Oh well, time will tell all.....🤔

That information won’t be available before October

Thanks for watching!

The primary time to enroll in Medicare Advantage is during the fall Annual Election Period from October 15th to December 7th. Other than that, other special enrollment periods may allow you to make that change, but they will depend on specific life events.

Dont do it. Hard to go bk to traditional w supplement

@@joannejohnson85Who can afford traditioal, with premiusskyrocketig eachyear, while Advantage Plan goes down in premium?

Not bad at all.

$167!? What county are you in?

@@JulianGonzalez1974 Ramsey County,, Minnesota (St. Paul)

Wouldn't medex be better at that point?

Do you think Medicare Advantage will become more or less popular as more people retire?

​@@GiardiniMedicareany videos on Plan L? It has an out of pocket maximum and if a person can reach that, then plan L can be just as good as any plan. Even though I personally prefer Plan G in my opinion.

@@Direct.injection212 We will likely make one in the future, but it's not a popular topic at the moment. Currently Plan L is not very competitive or appealing due to the premiums that companies offer it for, compared to Plan N and Plan G. Time will tell if insurance companies decide to put more effort into selling plans like Plan L.

@@GiardiniMedicareMore popular, definitely!

@@commonsense6967 Agreed

The Medicare Advantage plan would create networks and prior authorization requirements that you don't have with just Medicare and Tricare for Life. In rare cases, you may also have to file your claims with TFL directly if your doctors don't understand how to bill your MAPD and TFL. If you are okay with those restrictions, then you can certainly enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan without prescription coverage. I would at least lean towards a PPO with all of your providers in its network.

@@GiardiniMedicare Thank you for the quick and informative reply. Yes, I would only consider a PPO plan and would never want to be subject to the limitations of an HMO. And yes, I know that there are providers (like my one specialist) who is not participating in my preferred Medicare Advantage program and I know that I'm subject to the $40 copay (only to be reimbursed), but I've been led to believe that since the PPO plan allows me to choose ANY doctor who takes Medicare without referrals, this will work almost exactly the same as regular Medicare in harmony with my Tricare for Life. I just have to cough up the $40 and wait for reimbursement. Can you think of any service that would NOT be covered under my Medicare Advantage AND TFL that is currently covered under my "classic" Medicare and TFT? Again, thanks for the great videos and your responsiveness!

@@alavinsky1 1. You can see any provider that is willing to accept your PPO. They do not have the accept your plan or you as a a patient outside of an emergency, so this is not the same as having Original Medicare. 2. Having a PPO does not stop the prior authorization requirements that often come with Medicare Advantage plans. With that said, many people with TFL still choose a Medicare Advantage plan, but it will absolutely open you up to potential restrictions not present with Original Medicare. As long as you are aware of pros and the cons, that's all that matters! You can always disenroll from the MA plan later if you find it isn't meeting your needs.

Yeah who can afford traditional Medicare?! I can't- it's not even an option.

@@terrimobley6067 It really depends where you live. In some states, Medigap plans such as Plan G or N are very reasonable, and by the way, you have to pay the Medicare annual deductible regardless of whether you go with traditional Medicare or Medicare Advantage.

Thanks for the feedback! I can only cover so much in each video, but I plan on diving into the problems with Medicare Advantage in the future. Just know that many Medicare Advantage enrollees do not face the issues you are talking about.

@@GiardiniMedicare , however, every single Advantage plan on the market DOES face the issue that the insurers offering these plans have the authority to deem whether a procedure or treatment is medically necessary. I, for one, do not want to inject another bureaucracy into deciding if I can get a treatment. Every single Advantage plan works this way. While the plans themselves have to cover everything Medicare does, that doesn't mean *you* will actually be approved for treatment. Yes, you can appeal, but sometimes appeals are costly to one's medical treatment. I would be more than happy if you could prove me wrong.

@@robannmateja5000 You're correct that it is a possibility, and there is certainly more hoops to jump through with Medicare Advantage plans, but we feel it's disinegnous to say that a majority of people with Medicare Advantage plans face issues, since that is not the case.

Advantage plans are OK until you develop a chronic illness and require long term treatment. Then you have an insurance carrier bean counter ultimately deciding the protocols that they will pay for or deny. Do u want your health care professional treating you or a clerical worker. The denial process is a nightmare. It delays treatment and ultimately forces old protocols for treatment and subpar drugs on the patients.

⁠@@JohnJohn-wr1joThat hasn't happened to me, or to my mother before me, but my Plan is an HMO. In fact, I'm frequently pushed to have too MANY unnecessary tests, biopsies, extra mamograms, etc., and the cost for these is $0 or msybe for biopsy, $100. Because HMOs, at least mine, unlke insurance companies, don't charge you for whatever your PCP recommends, other tha co-pay, as long as it's in network. However, HMO may then send me a letter asking me to share the fact that they do not pay the PCP for whatever it was, under the circumstances, and to let her knowthat. (She cannot bill me, either.) But the real issues with mine have to do with PCPs and the HMO optometrists wanting to refer you for (unnecessary or necessary) procedures to ONLY a specialist of their own choice, not yours. (Network for both, so that's understood, of course.) This, to me, reeks of kickbacks. HMO not concerned, though!

Can't say we disagree!

@@RonMac08 also people who have access to a more expensive Advantage plan. My plan is $167 and the co-pays are very reasonable. I still have to be in a network but my network is superb. No one seems to talk about Advantage plans like this. They're not all zero or minimal premiums. You get what you pay for.

💯💯

I disagree. Thankfully, it's my decision. And my MA plan, an HMO, is only $26 per mo., with extra bennies.

@@commonsense6967 How often do you utilize the medical services? Most people love their MA plan as long as they are healthy. It’s when they get seriously sick or injured that they realize that they don’t have the coverage they expected.

Working on an HDG video as we speak👍

HDG is a great choice , especially if you have a well funded HSA plan from previous employment. I never touched my HSA while employed and now I can use it to pay any additional costs not covered by my HDG and can take the money tax free for covered medical expenses.

@@robannmateja5000 For sure! Having an HDG is all about having the funds to cover the potential expenses that are associated with the higher deductible the plan comes with.

@@robannmateja5000 especially if G gets eliminated like J and F before it because they feel that people don't have enough skin in the game. Then N will become the Cadillac and only comprehensive plan and the rates for that will go up like plan G has. N is a great option now as long as G exists. In NY HDG is the only thing that makes sense. If it didn't exist at all The only thing that would make sense are advantage plans because G and N rates are unaffordable.

HdG? Apparently you don't understand "not having money"... Medicare advantage let's dirt pour old people have insurance. My husband has been in the hospital twice this year and his MA plan has covered everything with very little portion set aside for our copay. A total of $174,000 of the two hospital bills and they paid a major part of it like 168,000. So I don't know what all this hullabaloo is about, but the idea of traditional Medicare is undoable for some really poor people. And by really poor I don't mean wow I'm going to have to spend part of my retirement on this. No like we don't have retirement My husband got cancer when he was 40. So no sometimes life is s*** and there's no planning ahead because in the middle of planning you get really sick. I'm so tired of listening to people say Medicare advantages a stupid idea and people should go back or try the high deductible idiocy. Hello? POOR!

We make more money from Medicare Advantage🤷‍♂️ and we definitely don’t hate them

I've heard the opposite. I believe insurance agents make more on Advantage plans and sometimes encourage people in that direction. I'm going with a Medigap plan N & hoping I don't eventually get priced out. Plan N typically doesn't go up as much as plan G.

@@rxcatsone The reality is that we often make more selling Medicare Advantage, but our commissions for both Medigap and Medicare Advantage are pretty similar for the first few years. Very rarely have I seen a broker push Medicare Advantage just because of the commission, but it can certainly happen... Plan N pays us the least compared to Plan G and Medicare Advantage.

Very unprofessional for you to advise people to STAY AWAY from MAPDs. My business is 75% MAPD and my clients are very happy with them. No product is perfect.