I was recently helping out a client with his Medicare decision, and he is excited to use Medicare. Now that he’s made his decision, he asked me how he gets the most out of his new benefits.
This is a great question and we discuss this with our clients every day, so in this blog post, I am going to cover you get the most out of your Medicare benefits once you’ve joined.
There are three factors to consider.
1. Which program did you join? Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage?
These two are very different types of Medicare and have different types of benefits.
Sometimes Medicare Advantage will have extra things like dental & vision coverage, a free gym membership, and things like that. Original Medicare can have those too and they are usually inside your Medigap plan.
I don’t recommend that you pick a program simply based on those free perks. However, if you have the extra benefits make sure that you’re getting the most out of them.
Pro Medicare Tip: Everyone on Medicare has access to free preventative services. Through the Affordable Care Act, there’s been a list of preventative services that you can get completely for free. Things like annual exams and cancer exams are good examples. To see a comprehensive list of the preventative services covered under Medicare, click here!
2. Confirm which type of Medicare your doctor accepts.
One of the most important things for getting the most out of your Medicare benefits is making sure that your provider actually accepts your Medicare benefits. If you go to your doctor who’s not actually accepting your Medicare plan, you’re not going to get the most out of your benefits.
I know that this sounds simple, but I’m always shocked by how many times people come to me and they say, I had no idea that my doctor did not accept Medicare, why am I getting this huge bill? Can you fix it for me?
In order to get the most out of Medicare at the lowest cost, you need to be 100% confident that the doctor you’re seeing accepts your Medicare plan.
3. Understand the extra services that Medicare covers.
Amongst the preventative services I mentioned above, Medicare also covers a lot of surprising services. Some of those include certain chiropractic care, as well as certain acupuncture.
The reality is Medicare is really fantastic health insurance as long as you:
You pick the right program and plan for you.
You understand how the benefits work, what benefits are included, and how to get the most out of Medicare.
You’ve worked so hard for your Medicare benefits and I want to make sure you get the most out of it at the lowest costs.\
Give me a call or fill out a contact form and I’ll get in touch.
Disclaimer: "We do no offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1 800 medicare to get options avalible in your area.“
Sincerely,
Barb Scott “The Health Insurance Expert”
(815)230-9516
bscott@myhst.com