Part B premium and deductible changes for 2017 to increase costs Every year about this time The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announce the Medicare Part B premium and deductible for the coming year. They also address changes to the Part A premium although this affects very few people.  Most of the media in a move to drive traffic ...

Are you happy with your Medicare Advantage Plan? Nearly a third of people on Medicare are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan and a large percentage will allow their current plan to renew for the following year. But this could be a big mistake. In order to know why it may be a mistake you’ll need to understand how Medicare ...

What determines the top 5 Medicare Advantage plans? I receive a fair amount of emails asking my opinion on which Medicare Advantage Plan to enroll in. The fact that I offer a mini-course helping someone choose their best plan type makes me a likely target for such a question. But my mini-course is about making a choice between Medigap and ...

Don’t rule out the possibility of your 2015 Medicare Advantage Plan undergoing significant change Shortly after the 2014 Medicare Advantage Plans became effective it seemed like every media outlet was scrambling to get AARP MedicareComplete members on camera telling their story about how they were no longer able to see their providers who were previously in network. And I received ...

The key to finding the best Medicare Advantage Plan is easier than you think People enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan fall into two camps… those who are happy with their plan and those who are not. Taking a few minutes to read some of the comments left by readers on this site will prove that to be true. Do ...

United Healthcare Medicare provider network shake-up Some Medicare beneficiaries  are getting  bad news related to Medicare Advantage Plans offered by United Healthcare. All across the country, doctors are receiving notice that they will not be part of the United Healthcare Medicare provider network for Medicare Advantage Plans. This of course means that if your doctor has been terminated from the ...

Medicare Advantage enrollment checklist The Medicare Advantage Enrollment period is a time of many opportunities. There is the opportunity to change Medicare Advantage Plans or maybe enroll in one for the first time. But, without proper planing there is also the chance that you could enroll in a plan that is less than suitable for your situation. Following is a ...

Medicare Advantage enrollment by the numbers If you’re overwhelmed by the number of Advantage Plans available it may be helpful to take a look at what have been the most popular Medicare Advantage Plans. Although a plan’s popularity is no guarantee that it will necessarily be your best option, there may be good reasons for its popularity and it may ...

Care Improvement Plus offers people with Medicare specialized care Some Medicare Advantage Plans may be more appropriate for your specific needs than others. Care Improvement Plus from United Healthcare is one of those plans. The vast majority of Care Improvement Plus Medicare Advantage Plans are Special Needs Plans (SNP). These SNP’s are designed for Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure, COPD, ...

Why you don’t want to enroll through the official Medicare website The official Medicare website is a great resource for people entitled to Medicare.  You can learn what Medicare covers, download government publications and file a complaint. You can even enroll in a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.  But should you? We’ll take a look at best practices when ...