Medicare Part C Cost

While many seniors know that Medicare Part C can help them by providing greater overall coverage for their medical expenses, they may be concerned about how much it will cost them. The Medicare Part C cost is an important factor for those who are trying to choose not just the best coverage to take care of out-of-pocket expenses, but it is also important to those who are on a tight budget and who need to save as much money as possible.

You might like how many medical benefits come with a Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) plan. Even the lowest coverage Advantage plans offer some pretty amazing and comprehensive coverage, but you may also be worried that the cost will be more than you are willing to pay. Let’s look at what these plans cost and break down what you get for that price tag. We’ll also tell you how you can save money and get a coverage plan you like at a very affordable price.

Did you know that you could enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan and pay nothing every month and still be covered by that plan? That’s right- there are $0 monthly premiums for some of the Medicare Advantage plans. It’s not all of them that are this cheap, and some insurance companies won’t even offer this very economical option, but there are definitely some very low cost Medicare Part C plans that you could be enrolling in. Usually when the monthly premium is so low, the annual deductible will be higher to compensate. You do need to meet the annual deductible before you can get any coverage from your Medicare Advantage plan.

The premiums can range from that very low $0 a month all the way up to $300, in some cases. You’ll pay that higher price if you live in certain states where the cost of living is higher and when you buy your Medicare Part C plan from an insurer that doesn’t bother with keeping their rates competitive. On average, though, Medicare Part C tends to be closer to $150 a month rather than one of the extreme high or low prices we told you about already.

How much will you pay for yours? That all depends on what level of coverage you are getting, which insurance company you buy yours from and what kind of preexisting medical conditions you have. Your medical conditions don’t always factor into the price, but we will talk about that more later on.

If you get a high coverage Advantage plan or one that comes with a lot of member benefits, then you should expect to pay more than the average price for it. You may find lower prices on Medicare Part C Advantage plans if you keep checking back on what the rates are like. You can source quotes right here on our site and see what they are currently. Maybe you don’t feel that right now is the right time to buy Medicare Part C. If you want to wait, then you may come across some cheaper options later on. As your needs change, or as your finances change, you may want to choose a different kind of Advantage plan. You can do that once your current plan’s term is up, and the terms tend to last a full year.

The cost of these plans will change every so often. You will usually see a price increase about once a year from each insurance company, but the prices ebb and flow with the economy and the demand for medical insurance. It’s a good idea to keep checking the rates to see if a good deal pops up, and then you can take advantage of that deal when it appears. Know that your rates may increase from time to time, once you are enrolled with a Medicare Part C plan. The rates you agree to initially when you sign up will likely be locked in for a full year, but after that, you may end up paying more to renew your plan. However, you might not pay as much as the new subscriber just signing up for the same plan, as you could benefit from loyalty discounts.

So, if you pay $150 a month or so for Medicare Advantage, what kind of medical benefits will you get to enjoy as a result? That depends on which of the Advantage plans you choose. There are a few different ones. Let’s break them down for you so that you can figure out which one might be right for you.

Basic Plan- This is the standard Medicare Advantage plan, offering as little coverage as it has to but still offering more coverage than most medical insurance plans. What do you get in a basic Medicare plan? You’ll receive coverage for all of the Medicare Part B benefits. You’ll also get coverage for most Medicare Part A benefits. The basic plan includes cover for all emergency medical care and for any urgently needed medical services. All of that together makes for a powerful package, if not quite comprehensive. Medicare requires that all Medicare Advantage plans contain at least this level of coverage. So, any of the other ones that we tell you about will have all of this basic coverage included along with whatever extra coverage they offer.

Medicare Part D Advantage Plans- You may find these under a bunch of different names, and it is very common for Medicare Advantage plans to include Part D coverage. If an insurance company sells Medicare Advantage, the odds are good that they will sell this kind of Advantage plan option. Part D is a drug coverage plan, taking care of numerous costs associated with generic and name brand drugs. It covers you for costs so well that in many cases you will only need to pay $1 for each prescription you get refilled. Medicare Part D can be purchased as its own separate plan, but if you do that, then you cannot enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan that includes Part D as well. You’ll have to choose to get this drug coverage plan one way or the other.

Advantage with Checkup Coverage- As the name suggests, you’ll be able to find Medicare Advantage plans that include coverage for your regular checkups throughout the year. The Medicare Part C cost for these is pretty high, compared to the other options, and these are less common than the other two types we have told you about. What kind of checkups would be covered by this type of Medicare plan? Well, you will typically be covered for visits to your dentist, optometrist, general practitioner and hearing specialist. You can be covered for eyeglasses, x-rays, hearing tests, teeth cleanings, examinations and hearing aids, just to name a few services. Consider signing up for this level of coverage to ensure that your doctor can catch medical problems while they are small and not allow them to snowball into something serious and out of control. Seniors will want to have some sort of checkup coverage to allow them to be regularly examined, as they are at increased risk for serious medical issues and for medical problems of all kinds.

Are you looking to get the best possible deal on your Medicare Part C plan? You can do a that a few different ways. We want to help you save a lot of money and get a great deal, and this is why we urge you to sign up as early as you can and use our site to search for quotes.

Sign up early to ensure that you get the best rates and to get guaranteed approval for whichever plan you have applied for. Medicare Advantage plans allow for enrollment as early as three months before you turn 65. Now, you will need the basic Medicare plan as a prerequisite to get Medicare Part C coverage, but once you have that, you should have no problems getting approved for a Medicare Advantage plan at age 65.

So, you have from three months before your 65th birthday until three months following that birthday to enroll. You’ll be able to enroll later on, but you’ll miss out on getting the best savings. It’s best if you enroll as soon as possible. That way, your rates won’t be negatively affected by whatever preexisting medical condition you have. You also cannot be denied the plan you like, but you could be at a later date, if you are waiting to enroll.

The next time to enroll will be from October 15th until December 7th, which is considered the annual enrollment period. You can apply during this same period each year, and that is also when you will need to renew your coverage or change out your plan to a different Advantage plan or another kind of Medicare health insurance plan.

Another way you can save some money is to source quotes as much as possible and then compare those quotes to one another. The insurance companies that sell Medicare Part C plans will have their own rates for those plans. You won’t find a standard price, so many insurers offer wildly different prices from one another, even for the exact same level of medical benefits. You’ll want to source some different quotes and get an idea of what an affordable, competitively priced plan is like. Not all of them will be good deals, so it is in you best interests to compare prices as much as you can.

Our site allows you to do that quickly and very easily. You can just search for the kind of Advantage plan you want and provide us with your zip code so that we can give you local, accurate pricing information. You will not find a faster way to get accurate quotes. You’ll see a wide range of prices when you get a list of results back from us, and we think you will be glad you took the time to search for quotes and then compare them. This process does not have to be long and arduous, but you can get your results in matter of moments and then locate those great Medicare Part C deals. This is what a lot of seniors are doing now, and they are saving hundreds of dollars a year by taking the time to source quotes and compare them.

Everyone likes free stuff and everyone likes to feel like they are spending their money well and getting some real value for the money that they spend. You can do the same with medical insurance. You can choose a plan and choose a provider that will offer you real value and not shortchange you.

Choosing the right insurance provider is an important part of saving as much money as you can and squeezing the maximum value from your Medicare Part C plan. Some insecure companies offer all sorts of perks that could really benefit you. They may give you free access to gyms, create personalized dieting or exercise plans or provide free prescription drug drop-off services for you. They can connect you to medical doctors over the phone at any time of day and give you concierge services that make life more convenient for you. These services all tend to be offered at no extra cost, so it’s definitely a good idea to spend some time looking at your different options and comparing them. Choosing the right insurance company can make a big difference in how much value you get for your money.

If you need some help figuring out the Medicare Part C cost, then use our site and the free search tool. If you want to know more about Medicare Part C or just health insurance in general, then give us a call. We will be happy to talk to you and help you out however we can.