Get Medicare Benefits with a Private Insurer through Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage was first established in 1997 when the Balanced Budget Act was passed. Through this act, those eligible for Medicate benefits were allowed to use private insurance plans and still receive their benefits. This was in lieu of having to use the Medicare plan, whether it had been Part A or Part B. When the program was first established it was considered to be the Medicate Part C, or the Medicare + Choice plan. In 2003 it was renamed to Medicare Advantage as the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003changed the business practices and compensation changed for those who offered the option.

There are a number of different types of plans offered by Medicare Advantage. The four most common types include Special Needs Plans, Private Fee-for-Service plans, Preferred Provider Organization plans as well as Health Maintenance Organization plans. All of these plans differ slightly in the way their costs are structured as well as the amounts of out of pocket costs as well as monthly rates.

The private insurer will charge the consumer a set monthly premium and through Medicare Advantage, each month Medicare will pay a fixed amount of that monthly premium cost. While the amount that Medicare pays monthly is fixed, the individual insurance companies can vary in the amount of care costs including emergency and non-emergency care and out of pocket costs. Any plan provided by a private insurance company will have to adhere to the same services offered by Medicare parts A and B, however the amount of service covered does not need to be the same.