Complete Health Plan Perspective

Why redefine Medicare? At Bridge Insurance, we believe people need an alternative way to think about Medicare because it is overly complex, detached, and fraught with noise, misinformation and deceptive sales practices. We believe in transparency by delivering the clearest path to Medicare decision-making which culminated into what we call, “The Complete Health Plan Perspective”. This perspective is a holistic, unbiased view on how to solve the Medicare puzzle and unlock savings for years to come. The premise is simple. Instead of centering you around the Parts that make up Medicare Insurance, we flip it and center the concept around you because after all, it’s about you and your healthcare first. We hope this article will serve you well on The Medicare Journey.

Feel lost in the Medicare Maze? For senior folks who want to make a good health decision but feel confused about thier options or not knowing who to trust, Bridge has a plan to help you find the protection and peace of mind you need. Contact us or take “The Medicare Journey”, a clear path to understanding Medicare from “A Complete Health Plan Perspective”. Don’t let your health insurance end up costing you an arm and a leg!

Bridge is a licensed, insurance broker specializing in Medigap Plans, Fixed Annuities & Life Settlement insurance products.

The Medicare Insurance Parts

Quick overview (for clarity):

Recall from our previous page titled, Medicare Parts, when we provided the traditional list of Medicare Parts. Well, here it is again;

• Part A (Hospital Insurance)
• Part B (Medical Insurance)
• Part C (Medicare Advantage)
• Part D (Prescription Drug Coverage)

As much as we have been taught to follow the ABC’s in alphabetical order, throw that concept out the window for now. Instead, let’s reimagine this “traditional list” for a moment and redefine this list of Medicare options.

We Should Actually Think of Medicare Parts from of a “Complete Health Plan Perspective”

A complete health plan perspective is a holistic view of a health insurance plan which is not just a way of viewing Medicare health insurance but health insurance plans in general.

For now, we are focusing on Medicare. Let’s take a top-down approach to the new, redefined list. We are only making one change to the traditional list. You will notice we replaced “Part C” with “Part S” from the list below. Every senior health insurance plan should include the following parts;

• Part A (Hospital Insurance)
• Part B (Medical Insurance)
• Part D (Prescription Drug Coverage)
• Part S (Supplemental Coverage)

Here is a visual:

*Notice: All we did was change out ‘Part C’ with ‘Part S’.

Part S is not a standardized term and is only used for illustrative purposes because we think it better represents the main idea of both Medicare Insurance options (ie: Original Medicare & Medicare Advantage) from a “Complete Health Plan Perspective”. Let’s see how this affects both options.

“There are 2 main ways to get your Medicare coverage—Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) or a Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C). Some people get additional coverage, like Medicare Prescription Drug (Part D) coverage or Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap).” – Medicare.Gov

What are my Medicare Insurance Options?

Medicare Insurance works like two sides to one coin. Both sides can accomplish similar means yet both have their differences.

Now let’s package this concept (literally). Here is a visual of what a complete health plan would look like;

To learn about Medicare Insurance, one should understand Medicare only offers recipients two (2) main “package deals” or “paths” or “options” to choose from. We have been using these terms interchangeably but moving forward we will refer to them as “packages” to match our illustrations. These Medicare packages are not in any particular hierarchy of best Medicare Plans but rather what pieces fit together. Note: We refrain from using the word “Plans” because we reserve that word for ‘Medigap Plans’ only. As mentioned in previous pages, “Parts” are not “Plans”, by keeping these two concepts separate in your mind, you will more easily understand Medicare and avoid common language confusion later when we review Medicare Supplements. Here are the two package deals to choose from;

• Original Medicare (Part A & B) – Government Insurance
• Medicare Advantage (Part C) – Private Insurance

Think of Medicare Insurance Like Two (2) “Package Deals” to Choose From.

The two packages each contain the redefined “Parts” (A, B, D & S) as opposed to (A, B, C & D). The way the Medicare Insurance works is you can only choose one package (at a time) and switching packages has stipulations/limitations which we will cover shortly.

Here is a visual of the two (2) packages;