There are different Medicare choices, it is always wise to review them and choose the best one. Do you stick to your original Medicare, health insurance or do you go for a Medicare advantage plan? There will be some changes on the Medicare advantage plans for 2020, you should keep that in mind. You can also lower your Medicare costs in some of the ways we will be discussing in this article. Check them out.
Lower your Medicare costs by avoiding penalties
A lot of people out there incur penalties because of late enrollment and by far this is the easiest way to lower your lower Medicare costs. Take your time and get to understand when you are supposed to enroll for Medicare part A and part B and also make sure not to pat excess money for coverage because it is not necessary.
The Medicare part A is usually free for most beneficiaries and you usually have a period of 7 months for you to enroll. Why should you be late? And if you are not eligible for the free Part A and you fail to purchase it on the time given, you will incur a 10 percent penalty the moment you enroll. The penalty is imposed twice the number of the months you were supposed to enroll for part A and failed to do so.
The Part B penalty is imposed 20 percent per year (12 months) that you were supposed to enroll for the coverage but failed to enroll. You should also keep it in mind that you the penalty for part B late enrollment is recurrent and it will be there forever so it obviously means you will have to pay more.
A penalty for part D is also there! I know it sounds ridiculous as it is supposed to be voluntary but the Medicare wants you to have the prescription and drug coverage or you will have to pay a penalty for the amount of time you went without prescription drug coverage.
You can avoid this by enrolling for Medicare advantage plan but if you are not 65 yet, you might find things a bit different as from next year when the Medicare advantage plans for 2020takes effect. You can also avoid the penalties for late enrollment penalty for part D by making sure you apply for a drug plan once you are eligible, keep records showing that have creditable drug coverage and make sure you notify your plan.
Lower your expenses with a Medigap plan
The Medicare beneficiaries who are enrolled on Medigap plan usually pay lower amounts of money when they are getting services from the healthcare providers. You will be required to pay the part B premiums and the monthly can be higher than the Medicare advantage plan but it will still lower your costs. There are 10 different types of Medigap plans so it will be wise if you choose the plan that perfectly suits your needs and you can be sure of lowering your medical out of pocket expenses by over 2000 dollars per year.
Have proper insurance
If are using the original Medicare and you have even went a step ahead and added a supplement plan then we can say you enough coverage. But because no one knows the future, it will be wise to purchase another plan just in case you get diagnosed with a very serious illness. The indemnity plan is going to pay you the amount agreed upon diseases for the negotiated amount of time. You can be sure to use the help of your agent to help you go for the best indemnity plan for your protection.
Conclusion
For the beneficiaries who just have the original Medicare for their coverage, the costs can quickly escalate and that’s why you need more than just that. It is either you pay now or you will pay later. Make sure to enroll early for your Medicare to avoid late penalties or at least have a Medigap plan.
