Arizona Medicare supplement insurance plans typically have a higher premium associated with them as opposed to Medicare Advantage plans. The premiums may be higher, but Advantage plans will cost you more over time most likely. The old saying that there are no free lunches has never been truer.
For someone soon to turn 65 years old and shopping for Medicare insurance coverage, expect to pay around $125 a month for the best Medicare supplement plan available… the non-profit Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona Senior Security Plan G. A Medicare Advantage plan will cost anywhere between $0-$50, the average is around $12 per month.
When comparing coverage between an Advantage plan and a supplement plan it may seem as though the Advantage plan offers more benefits for a fraction of the price. This should be the first warning sign that all is not as it would appear at first glance… again, no free lunches.
It will be helpful to understand how this all works. When you choose an Advantage plan for coverage you are switching insurance companies essentially. Instead of the federal government being your insurance company (Medicare) the Advantage plan will assume all liability when it comes to your care. The Advantage plan will receive money from the federal government each month to assume this liability, more than $1000 a month in most cases. When you choose a Medicare supplement plan the federal government remains the main insurer, the supplement is secondary coverage.
The job of the for-profit Advantage plan is to keep the cost of covering your medical expenses below what the federal government pays them. The question to ask yourself is how a for-profit Advantage plan entity can offer benefits such as dental and prescription benefits that the Medicare supplement plan does not, yet still charge much less? Obviously, they cannot unless they limit their exposure.
The best way an Advantage plan can limit exposure is by applying large deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, and limiting where healthcare may be obtained. The average annual maximum out of pocket with an Advantage plan is over $7000. The maximum out of pocket of a Medicare supplement plan G is $233 in 2022. The Advantage plan will insist that you only receive care from their limited list of providers. The Medicare supplement G plan allows you to see 99% of all doctors in the country, and even has a foreign travel benefit.
Also consider that when many people want the same very limited product most will have to wait their turn before receiving said product. The very limited product is the Advantage doctor, and more so the medical specialist. The Medicare supplement Plan G policyholder does not have this problem, having access to many thousands more doctors and hospitals at their disposal across the country.