What we ran upon with a Medicare Advantage plan was that out of the state in which it was issued, the Advantage plan doesn't work at all for "regular" medical issues.  The only way Medicare would benefit me was if I went to an emergency room.  Since the wife and I tend to stay in one place longer than most people do, we've gotten rid of my Advantage plan and gone with Medicare supplements.  At present, the wife has Medicare and the Plan F supplement and I have Medicare and the Plan N supplement.  From what we have been told, Medicare will sometime go to where there is only Plan F.  (At least, that is what I remember.)

With Medicare and a supplement, one can use Medicare and the supplement anywhere, with any doctor.  One does have to pay more for the coverage of the supplement, but at least it works.  For us, we have very few medical issues.

We got our Medicare supplements through USAA, and we get our medications via mail order.

Terry

Terry and Jo wrote:

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...With Medicare and a supplement, one can use Medicare and the supplement anywhere, with any doctor...

Terry

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This doesn't rise to the level of disagreement, Terry, but I would like to counter that statement with some recent experience. We don't have to worry about locations or one state vs. another (Medicare with Tricare for Life). However, we have recently considered changing providers so we don't have to keep schlepping back to the Augusta, GA, area once or twice a year as we start to spend more and more time in other parts of the country - especially the western states. In the several locations we have looked at new providers, we are finding an increasing number of providers who are no longer accepting Medicare patients. So "any doctor" isn't quite universal.

Rob

I realize that owning property in Michigan doesn't make me a resident of Michigan, but it's a strong factor along with keeping my current doctors, dentist etc. that would make becoming a resident of another state problematic at best. Just as importantly, currently I won't pay any Michigan income tax due fairly liberal senior standard deduction and the non-taxability of social security. Given the overall situation it just doesn't look like it would be worth it to change residency, but that may change.

I know that there are people that love their Advantage plans, because they pay 'nothing' for the extras like they would for a Supplemental. I have a philosophical problem in that it costs the US Taxpayers extra for everyone on the Advantage plans. When first proposed, the insurance companies said they could do it all for just the Part B premium - - but that quickly proved to be impossible, so now the government gives them 'extra' beyond the Part B premium to run part of Medicare. Not to mention the limitations on who one can see, etc. which really impacts full timers, or even those who just travel extensively.

This depends on your situation. If you've worked at least 10 years (40 quarters) under Medicare-covered employment and paid Medicare taxes during that time, you qualify for premium-free Medicare Part A and will be automatically enrolled at age 65 even if you're still working.