Mark Luigi Dacumos
Medicare is health insurance coverage for people 65 or older. You can also qualify if you have a disability, ALS, or end-stage renal disease. It’s divided into different parts, such as A, B, C, and D. Medicare Part C, aka Medicare Advantage, is what we’ll focus on today to see if you can get it for free as advertised, or if there are costs involved.
The Purpose of Medicare Advantage
Why would someone want a Medicare Advantage or Part C plan? To get more bang for their buck than just Original Medicare (Parts A and B) coverage.
With Medicare Advantage, you get Part A (hospital coverage) that helps with trips to the hospital, hospice care, home healthcare, and nursing home care. You get Part B (medical coverage) that helps with costs needed to diagnose, treat, and prevent medical conditions, such as those linked to visiting your doctor or specialists.
Beyond that, Medicare Advantage also gives you prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and hearing coverage, fitness coverage, and other perks. Who sells Medicare Advantage plans? Private insurance companies, and some of them may offer those plans for “free.”
Is Medicare Advantage Free?
When a company offers you a Medicare Advantage plan for free, what they’re really saying is you won’t pay a monthly premium. As for why some private insurance companies can offer free Advantage plans, that’s because Medicare gives them a certain amount of funding to cover Parts A and B. If the company succeeds at saving money by using in-network providers, it can pass on savings to members. Those savings can come in the form of a free premium.
While having no premium is nice, there can be some out-of-pocket costs. For instance, your Medicare Advantage plan may charge a separate Part B premium each month. You may have two deductibles too. One may be a yearly deductible for the plan, while the other could be a drug deductible.
Don’t forget about copayments and coinsurance either. Your “free” Medicare Advantage plan may have a copayment you’re expected to pay out of pocket each time you receive medical help. It may also have coinsurance, which is a percentage of medical costs you must pay.
How To Qualify for Free Medicare Advantage Plans
There are no eligibility requirements for free Medicare Advantage plans. Instead, think of them as offerings by the insurance companies to attract you as a customer. As shown above, “free” only refers to the monthly premium for being enrolled in the plan. There will likely be costs involved, so you’ll have to budget accordingly.
If you’d like to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan with a free monthly premium, use this tool. Sort the Medicare Advantage plans by the “lowest monthly premium” option. This should bring up the plans with free premiums, so you can pick out the one that best fits your needs.
