What Are The Best Medicare Advantage Plans For 2022?
Comparing The Best Medicare Advantage Plans can be difficult. The average Medicare beneficiary has 33 different available MA plans to compare. Good luck! Calling a toll-free number will likely connect you with an agent who favors just one or two plans. Here are the top Medicare Advantage plan companies based on 2021 enrollment.
- UnitedHealthcare – 7.2 million
- Humana – 4.8 million
- BlueCross/Blue Shield – 3.8 million
- CVS Health (Aetna) – 2.8 million
- Kaiser Permanente – 1.7 million
- Centene – 1.1 million
- Cigna – 0.6 million
- All others – 4.5 million
Finding Local Medicare Advantage Plans
Click here to access the Medicare Agent Directory
Comparing plans is well worth doing. While Medicare is a national program, Medicare Advantage plans can be very local.
That’s why it pays to speak to someone familiar with plans specific to your area.
The Association makes available an online directory listing local Medicare insurance agents. Their description will identify those who market Medicare Advantage plans.
Access is 100% free and 100% private. You see their information. Only enter your Zip Code to access.
Click the link to access the Medicare Insurance Agent Directory.
Information To Help You Compare Medicare Advantage Plans
There are different types of Medicare Advantage Plans.
- HMO plans. Health Maintenance Organization or HMO plans only cover you when you go to doctors, providers, or hospitals in your plan’s network. The exception is urgent care needs or emergencies. They may require referrals from the primary care doctor if you want to see other doctors or specialists.
- PPO plans. Preferred Provider Organization or PPO plans provide a network of approved caregivers. They will generally cover you outside the network. But expect that you will be required to pay a higher out-of-pocket cost.
- PFFS plans. Private Fee-for-Service or PFFS plans are most like Medicare. With a PFFS plan you can go to any doctor, provider, or hospital if they accept the plan’s payment terms.
- Special Needs Plans provide specialized health care for specific groups of people. An example would be individuals with both Medicare and Medicaid (MediCal in California). Also people who might be residing in a skilled nursing home.
Some Medicare Advantage Plans Today Are Free; How Come?
Free this. And press that. The television ads shout free, free and more free. How is that possible?
Indeed, some Medicare Advantage plans are free. That is because Medicare pays the insurance company (Aetna, Cigna, Humana, etc) a monthly amount to take on the cost of providing you with healthcare.
It’s especially good if you need little care. The insurer keeps the money from Medicare. That’s why they especially like adding younger people to their plan.
But, once you start using the benefits of the plan (when you start needing care), expect to start spending money. The plans often have out of pocket costs. That’s how the insurance carriers make money. They get the money from Medicare. And, from you via cost-sharing. Bottom line: Make sure you know what FREE really means.
Links To Learn More
Access the latest Medicare Advantage statistics.
Learn about Medicare Star Ratings.
Read questions to ask any Medicare Advantage agent.
Learn how much Medicare Advantage agents make.