Choosing Arizona Medicare Plans

Starting your journey with Medicare in Arizona requires a lot of difficult decision making. Your first choice sounds like a simple one, however with every decision you make there’s bound to be another one to make shortly after. To start the process, you must choose either Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage.

Sounds easy right? But here come those additional choices.

If you believe Original Medicare is the right choice for you, you are then also able to get a Medicare Supplement if you see fit.

Medicare Supplements

Medicare Supplements in Arizona act as your safety net. Original Medicare covers 80
% of your Part B expenses, while you are responsible for the remainder 20%. When you choose to have a Supplement, most plans will be billed for that 20% instead of you!

Any of these plans let you choose your own doctor!

Ultimately you have ten plans to choose from. However, Plans F, G and N are found to be the most popular.

The only difference between Plan F and Plan G (besides their monthly premiums) is that Plan F covers your Part B deductible of $183 while Plan G does not. Other than that, Plan F and Plan G covers 100% of expenses that could potentially be billed to you.

You might find Plan N to be more attractive because of its lower monthly premium, but keep in mind that with Plan N you will be responsible for paying both your Part B deductible AND any possible Part B excess charges. Some examples of excess charges are, doctor visit copays, lab work, and surgeries.

In addition to the choosing a Medicare Supplement, you’ll also need a Prescription Drug Plan as well.

Medicare Advantage Plans

If you are looking to save a little money from month to month you might want to consider a Medicare Advantage Plan, these can also be called Part C. A good way to look at Medicare Advantage Plans is to think of it as a blanket. Most Advantage plans include nearly all parts of Medicare.

For example, if you choose to apply for a Medicare Supplement, you will also need to apply for a standalone Part D plan if you want prescription coverage. While a Medicare Advantage Plan usually includes your Part D.

Another difference between a Supplement and an Advantage Plan in Arizona is that you have designated networks with Advantage Plans unlike Supplements. Advantage networks are usually either HMO or PPO plans.

This means that you will need to make sure that your desired doctors are in your network or else you either won’t be able to use them, or you might be able to use them, but you will have to pay more when they aren’t in your network.

Keep in mind that Medicare Advantage plan vary by state, so for example Virginia Medicare Advantage plans will have different networks and benefits than those in Arizona.

Conclusion

Like I said, there are plenty of choices to be made on the type on path you want to take when beginning your Medicare journey. There isn’t one choice that is right for everyone.

Each person will have different needs and wants when looking into Medicare. That’s why Boomer Benefits is a good advocate to use because we will be able to analyze those needs and wants of yours.