Medigap, also known as Medicare supplement insurance plan is quite different from the Medicare Advantage insurance plan in very many ways. However, both insurance plans explore the Medicare parts which are named alphabetically from A to D, though some of these parts are going to be abolished in the Medicare supplement plans for 2020, which will be rolling out in January 2020 for the citizens in the United States of America. You need to know the differences between these two insurance plans for you to know which one can be suitable for you if you want extra benefits away from what Original Medicare is offering, some of these differences come in terms of;
- Cost.
When it comes to cost, the Medigap plan is more costly compared to Medicare Advantage, they have more expensive premiums although expensive premiums mean there is less than you use from your pocket compared to lower premiums. For Medicare Advantage, they have relatively low priced premiums which have even more services than what Medicare Supplementary plan has; this can be a good consideration when picking up your plan.
- Flexibility
The very important thing you should not miss to consider when making a choice of a plan is that you will need to check on flexibility, is your plan flexible? Can it allow you to move around? Well for Medicare Advantage, you cannot go too far outside specified region, this means that if you get out of the region you may have to incur medical bills even if you are insured by this plan, this can be very inconvenient and even turns out to be more expensive. For the Medigap it is more flexible because it allows you to access many regions, for instance, there are some Medigap plans which gives you chance to access their services even if you traveled out of the United States of America because it is present in more than 50 countries.
- Choice
When it comes to choice, the two plans have very different choices; Medicare Advantage really limits a lot when it comes to the choice of doctors and the facilities that are of your preference. Among its plans not all of them will allow you to be treated out of their network care, this can be so limiting because you will have a problem if you needed a specific medic you trust they can deliver better services to you. As for Medigap, the matter is that you will need to go to any facility or doctor who or which accepts Medicare, so simple, so if the doctor or the facility of your choice accepts Medicare, you are good to go. Just as long as the benefit you seek to get has been covered by your insurance.
- Benefits
When it comes to the benefits each plan offers, there is a difference too. For the Medigap plan there are fewer benefits you get to enjoy since it only covers supplementary benefits that are lacking in the Original Medicare, that is in parts A and B. this makes it lacks the very basic benefits that a common beneficiary should benefit from, when it comes to Medicare advantage you will realize that it has all the benefits contained in parts A and B and even more than that, it includes part C and part D too which Medigap lacks that has the benefit of drug prescription.
In conclusion, when you make a choice about these plans you should be very keen on the very small details that can make you not comfortable in the plan you are using. First as always you will have to check the affordability of the plans, if you find the more affordable one then you can compare with other aspects like, the benefits of your plan, also you will need to check on the variety of choices that the plan has because it can be a very limiting factor when you want to be free with your choices of facilities or doctors. Finally, always choose what is comfortable with you.
