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← Return to BCBS Advantage no more Mayo
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@mk52dk51
Just saw your comment. With traditional Medicare you can self-refer to any doctor in the United States that takes Medicare including Mayo Clinic. You can buy a Supplemental/Medigap plan to cover the 20% that Medicare does not cover....only problem is that you are not newly enrolled in Medicare so insurance companies no longer obligated to accept you. I tell everyone to always sign up for Original Medicare so that when they are sick they can go where they want. You lose choice with Advantage, it is an insurance company with its network of doctors to whom you must go, and many places are dropping Advantage plans. John Oliver, the Comedian did a recent good show about Medicare showing the weakness in the Advantage plans
Replies to "@mk52dk51 Just saw your comment. With traditional Medicare you can self-refer to any doctor in the..."
@vic83
Thank you sooooo much. Having worked 47 years with employer insurance, then 8 yrs on Medicare and an Advantage Plan that worked just fine, the choices are daunting. But I met a great broker and your message with a few others on this platform helped maneuver the maze. We will both go back to traditional Medicare with a plan G. Its more per month but we can afford it. Plus, for probably one time in our lives there's no underwriter to go thru to get accepted. Now I just have to decide on the supplemental plan.
So again, thank you very much for helping me know I'm making the right choice...the smart choice.
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@vic83 Choice and satisfaction depend on the Advantage plan. I have a PPO from a not-for-profit Advantage Plan founded by physicians and overseen by a board that includes medical personnel, no referrals needed. I can go to any medical facility where Medicare is accepted, including Mayo in Rochester where I had a septal myectomy, no questions asked. Many (Most?) advantage plans are administered by insurance companies that have for their goal to make a profit in order to give shareholders dividends. You'd think that this country can do better so we do not need PhD's in insurance coverage to navigate our medical care.