At some point in your life , and I hope it never happens , you may be diagnosed with a serious health condition for which you want to use the doctor or hospital with the most experience and expertise for your condition. This gives you the best chance for the best health outcome. If this happens, you also want to get this care as soon as possible with little or no cost to you.
Medicine is a noble profession, but a doctor is not a commodity. Some doctors simply have more experience and expertise than others. Taking this one step further, for many health conditions such as cancer in a particular location of the body or a particular stage in development, there may be only one doctor or hospital recognized for excellence in the field.
If you are diagnosed with a serious health issue, having access to care is crucial to beginning treatment as soon as possible. When you stay with regular Medicare and enroll in a Medicare Supplement, such as Plan G, you can obtain this care with little or no cost.
However, if you leave regular Medicare and sign your Medicare benefits over to a private, for-profit, restricted-access Medicare Advantage Plan, such as Humana Gold Plus or Kaiser Permanente, you are allowing that plan to limit your choices in care; minimizing their costs and maximizing their profits. You are also allowing the managers of the plan to say "no" to care you may need only to meet their business objectives; inflating the cost of care when you need it most.
We would appreciate to chance to help you understand your Medicare options so you can choose the right plan for you both now and in the future.
Charles Bradshaw is the President and Founder of Medicare Answer Center and the author of "Medicare is Not One-Size Fits All" and "The Medicare Advantage Trap." He can be reached at charles@bradshawseniorinsurance.com