When I looked at the Medicare options, it became clear that the Advantage Plans have co-pays for every office and hospital visit. You will want to check those out. Another downside from my viewpoint was that you had to use Doctors and hospitals that were IN NETWORK.
As a Heart Patient in Mississippi, you may want to see someone at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (a well known and respected Heart Hospital). I would be surprised to see that UAB was included as an in-network hospital for a Mississippi resident.
The alternative to Advantage Plans are Medicare Supplement Plans (also called MediGap Plans) plus an independent Prescription Drug Plan which allow you to see ANY Doctor, ANYwhere, WithOut Referal, for ANY reason!
You can compare Drug Plans on the Medicare Website.
Alternatively, go to a Walgreens Pharmacy and ask them to run a Cost profile for ALL of the participating Medicare Drug Plans in your state using their Excelleng Program. It will list the Top 5 Advantage Plans and the Top 5 Medicare Approved Drug Plans for the drugs you take. It will also give you a complete list (all 49 in Alabama!) ranked by Annual Cost with contact information for each plan. This Walgreens Program provided even more information than the Medicare on-line program. Outstanding!
In Alabama, BlueRx (from Blue Cross of Alabama and Tennessee and for those residents ONLY) came out the least expensive of 49 providers, especially for Heart Patients. Even their common Brand Name Heart Drugs were listed as Tier 2 (out of 3), including Lovenox.
Many of the other companies listed the common brand name Heart drugs as Tier 3 which negated their 'low tier 2 co-pay enticements.
Start reading Medicare and Me (available from Medicare or their website
www.medicare.gov) followed by the guideline for buying Supplemental Insurance. Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) telephone number on the back of the Medicare and Me book for guidance. There should be *several* providers available in your state, some with familiar names and many with names you have never hear of. Hopefully the SHIP advisors can suggest some providers that would be good for you. Call them and ask for their Medicare Supplement Plan Information packet.
After a while, it will become clear who the best providers are for your area and needs. It does take some time and study!
If you don't like your first choice, there is an open enrollment period every Nov 15 through Dec 31. What Genius came up with a 6 week open enrollment period that encompasses Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years? I better stop now
