10 Important Things To Know Before You Enroll In An Advantage Plan

1. Find out your Advantage plan’s regulations before you enroll as not all Medicare Advantage Plans work equally. You must follow the rules of your plan, like getting a referral to see a specialist or getting prior approval for certain procedures to avoid higher costs. Check with the plan. If you see a health care provider who doesn’t belong to the plan, your services may not be covered, or your costs may be higher, depending on the type of your Medicare Advantage Plan.
2. You can join a Medicare Advantage Plan even if you have a  pre‑existing condition, except for End-Stage Renal Disease.
3. You can only enroll in, switch or cancel a plan during a certain period of the year. In most cases, you are enrolled in your Advantage plan for a year.
4. A few Medicare Advantage Plans may pay all or part of your Part B premium
5. If you have limited income you can contact your State Medical Assistance (Medicaid) office to see if you can get help paying your Part B premium costs or for your Part D premium and other prescription drug coverage costs
6. When you join a Medicare Advantage Plan, you will have to provide your Medicare number and the date your Part A and/or Part B coverage started (you can find this information on your Medicare card)
7. You can usually get prescription drug (Part D) coverage through your plan. In most cases, if you are in an Advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage and you join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, you will be dis-enrolled from your Medicare Advantage Plan and returned to Original Medicare.
8. Once you selected a Medicare Advantage Plan, you may be able to enroll by completing a paper application, by phone or submitting an online application..
   Contact your plan provider or health insurance specialist to find out how you can join the plan you selected.
9. If you have Employer or Union coverage,
   you need to talk to your employer or union benefits administrator about their rules before you join a Medicare Advantage Plan. In some cases, joining a Medicare Advantage Plan might cause you to lose employer or union coverage. In other cases you may still be able to use your employer or union coverage along with the plan you enroll in.
10. In most cases, if you drop your Medigap policy in order to join a Medicare Advantage plan, you won’t be able to get it back. However, under certain circumstances you may have special Medigap protection.