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Anyone else have Medicare Advantage

Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Mar 6 9:03am | Replies (28)

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@aiseman

I tried making an appointment at both Mayo Florida and Arizona.
I was hoping to stay with relatives there during my treatment.

Mayo Florida told me they don't have proton therapy; but that they can refer their patients to university of Florida for proton treatment. However, they don't accept any advantage insurance plans.

While Mayo Arizona does have have proton therapy, they said advantage plans are usually a problem and more difficult to approve.

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Replies to "I tried making an appointment at both Mayo Florida and Arizona. I was hoping to stay..."

You might consider switching to Original Medicare. I'm almost certainly going to switch. The option is available until March 31st. Most people also get a Medigap policy to go with Original Medicare. With Original Medicare, my understanding is you are responsible for 20% of approved charges. This is where Medigap comes in. It helps to cover the 20%. There are several different levels of Medigap coverage. They are made available by private insurance companies, many of the same companies that sell the Advantage plans. Examples are United Health and Blue Cross. United said I didn't qualify because I have cancer but Blue Cross said they will sell me a Medigap plan. That may be because I have my Advantage plan with them, I'm not sure. I had contacted Medicare who told me I would be able to find a Medigap policy but I would need to shop around. If you make the move to Original Medicare, it takes effect the 1st. day of the following month. I'm still learning, but I believe that most institutions will accept Original Medicare. Here is the down side. Medigap costs money. My quote is for $212 a month which includes dental and vision. That's $212 more than I'm paying now. Not sure where that money is going to come from, but I'm determined to work it out.

Mayo MN does accept some Advantage plans and does Proton Therapy for Prostate Cancer. They also have Hope Lodge for people undergoing transplants and cancer treatments. You might want to check them out.