@irenea8 I may not have communicated it properly or I misunderstood.
Advantage Plans are actually called Medicare Advantage Plans issued by Insurance Companies and have their own guidelines regarding medical care requirements or benefits. In a sense you leave the Original Medicare Plan when you go into an Insurance Carriers Medicare Advantage Plan. The main difference is that Medigap plans ...........offer greater provider freedom and predictability in costs by paying out-of-pocket expenses for Original Medicare........ but have higher monthly premiums. Medicare Advantage plans typically have lower premiums, bundle Part D and other benefits, but come with .......network restrictions and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs.......
The Original Medicare Plan is rolled into the Insurance Carriers Advantage Plan. These plans are allowed to put limitations on the client ......a Medigap Supplemental Plan does not put these same limitation on the client. There is more freedom of choice with the Medigap Supplemental Plan.
The Original Medicare Plan with a Supplemental Plan allows you to choose a Plan D drug plan along side your Supplemental Medigap Plan giving more choice. Under Original Medicare Plans with most Medigap Supplemental Plans you can change to another Plan D each open enrollment period if you find one D Plan does not have your medications and another does in their list of med's covered the way you need them to etc. etc.
Yes it is my understanding you can change easily from one Advantage Plan to another. Their is underwriting required if you want to go from one Supplement Plan to another. If you have an Original Medicare Plan with a Medigap Supplemental Plan and a separate chosen Plan D plan you have a plan that is easier to understand and you have predictable costs.
Hope this makes sense. It can be very confusing to many because of the lack of up front explanations and information given or withheld by the insurance brokers who tend to 'push' people into the Medicare Advantage Plans.
Sorry for the long explanation if you knew all this. For some it can be so confusing and not easy to fully understand unless you do much reading and research.
Barbara