The Original Medicare Plan
Medicare Advantage Plans
- Medicare Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)
- Medicare Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs)
- Medicare Private-Fee-For-Service (PFFS) Plans
- Medicare medical Savings Account (MSA) Plans

Medicare Prescription Drug Plans

There are a few steps to help you choose a Medicare Plan.

1) Find the Medicare Plans in your area.

Keep in mind, not all the Medicare plans are offered in all parts of the country. Almost all people on Medicare will have a choice. You would first by finding out which health plan choices are available in your area by going to MedicareSolutions.com or calling (800) 328-7305.
If you don’t have any other Medicare plan available to you, you will be in the Original Medicare Plan.

2) Think about What’s Important to You

Every individual has unique needs and concerns when it comes to health care coverage. Some people are most concerned about keeping their costs down. Other people prefer going to any doctor they chose.
There are some main differences among all the Medicare plans:
- Different premium amounts and out of pocket costs
- Choose in network or out of network doctors
- Whether you need a referral to go to a specialist
- Whether you can get additional benefits
- Distance of travel to get to the doctor or hospital
- How often you travel for business or leisure

3) Compare the Costs, Benefits, Doctor and Hospital Choice and Quality of Each Plan

Cost
- The amount you pay for Medicare depends on a number of things:
  - Which Medicare plan you choose
  - How often you go to the doctor or hospital
  - If you have another insurance
- Keep in mind there could be hidden costs with some of the Medicare options. If you choose a Medicare HMO or PPO, you don’t need to buy a Medicare Supplemental policy. If you didn’t know, Medigap is insurance that helps pay for some of your costs in the Original Medicare Plan.
- If you are in an HMO or PPO, and you decided to use a doctor outside the plan’s network you’ll have to pay for a portion or all of care yourself.
- If you are in a Medicare Advantage Plan that provides Part D, prescription drug coverage, you don’t need to buy additional Medicare prescription drug coverage.
- Find out how all the costs are handled before you choose a plan. Don’t forget that the cost alone cannot tell you how good the coverage is. You can call Medicare Solutions for any help and we will be able to provide you the costs of plans in your area.
- If you travel frequently within the US or leave your hometown for long periods of time, the Original Medicare Plan and some Medigap policies will pay your routine health care costs anywhere within the US. If you join a Medicare Advantage Plan, such as an HMO or PPO, your coverage may be limited to the area you reside in. A Medicare PFFS plan will usually pay your health care costs as long as the doctor or hospital accepts the plan’s payment.
Benefits
- All Medicare plans offer the same basic set of benefits. Some Medicare Advantage Plan may have additional benefits. To find out the specific benefits of the plans in your area, visit MedicareSolutions.com
Doctors and Hospital Choices
- There are differences among Medicare plans in how any choices you have to pick you own doctors:
  - Original Medicare Plan: You can go to any doctor or hospital in the country that accepts Medicare
  - Medicare HMO: You usually can only go to the doctors and hospitals in that plan’s network. Some HMOs allow you to go to doctors and hospitals outside the plan network, but you may pay more.
  - Medicare PPO: You can go to doctors and hospitals outside the plan’s network, but you usually have to pay more.
  - Medicare PFFS: You can choose any doctor or hospital that accepts the plan’s payment.
- Some people also may be concerned about being able to go directly to a specialist.
  - In the Original Medicare Plan, PFFS Plans and most PPOs, you can go directly to a specialist. In Medicare HMOs, you usually are able to see a specialist only if your primary care doctor first approves your visit.
  - Find out the rules about getting care for each plan you are considering and be sure to ask for a list of the doctors and hospitals in each plan’s network.
Quality
- Information on the quality of care is available for the Original Medicare Plan and for Medicare HMOs on MedicareSolutions.com or Medicare.gov.
- Quality information can inform you regarding:
  - how easy it is to get a referral to a specialist if needed
  - how well doctors in the plan communicate with their patients
  - how well the plan does in keeping its members healthy

4) Choose The Plan That Best Suits You

After you gather information about you plan choices and have thought about what’s important to you, take your time looking over all the information you have.
Help is available to you if needed. Feel free to surf our website MedicareSolutions.com or calling directly to 1(800)0328-7305. We will be glad to assist you by helping you find the best plan for you.

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