When I went on Medicare in 2019 I decided on Traditional Medicare in order to have the flexibility to go to any clinic or provider that I chose. I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan which is rural and so our choices here are limited.
For that reason I did not want to be in a Medicare Advantage network. If you live in a larger urban area such as NYC, metro Detroit, or the San Francisco Bay Area then your network on a Medicare Advantage plan is very broad and you’d have lots of choices within your network.

I pay $150 monthly out of pocket for Plan G for my Medigap Supplemental Plan and the Part B cost, $163.90 that is set by the federal government although the Part B cost is determined by your Social Security as it is based on income. When I add up the annual cost of Traditional Medicare I figure I pay about $4200/year including my Part D (prescription) plan and prescriptions. The deductible is also set yearly by CMS and for this year it was $223 for Part B.

What do I get for that annual out-of-pocket cost? First of all, I can afford the monthly costs for my Medigap policy and Part B cost. Secondly, I get flexibility.

In my view Medicare Advantage Plans are good if you are healthy overall. I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in 2019 and the costs associated radiation therapy, surveillance appointments, and tests would have been far more expensive to me under a Medicare Advantage Plan. ($300,000 in one year so with a deductible and co-pays from an Advantage plan I would have paid a lot more). And, I would not have been « allowed » without prior authorization » to go to Mayo Clinic which was and is my choice.

Medicare Advantage Plans look promising at first glance. The private insurance companies that contract with the federal government in the US through CMS operate very much like the health care plans many of us were used to when we were employed.

And finally, trying to understand the rules associated with Traditional Medicare with the Medigap policies vs. Medicare Advantage Plans is truly mind boggling.