When seniors enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan they move out of traditional Medicare and are covered by a private insurance company.  Medicare pays the insurance company a set amount of money for each person who enrolls in their plan.  The insurance company then pays the medical bills for the enrollee.  The enrollee is responsible for the co-payments as described in each plan's summary of benefits.

Medicare Advantage Plans are health plan options that are part of the Medicare program. If you join one of these plans, you generally get all your Medicare-covered health care through that plan. This coverage can include prescription drug coverage. Medicare Advantage Plans include:

• Medicare Health Maintenance Organization (HMOs)
• Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO)
• Private Fee-for-Service Plans
• Medicare Special Needs Plans

When you join a Medicare Advantage Plan, you use the health insurance card that you get from the plan for your health care. In most of these plans, generally there are extra benefits and lower co-payments than in the Original Medicare Plan. However, you may have to see doctors that belong to the plan or go to certain hospitals to get services.

To join a Medicare Advantage Plan, you must have Medicare Part A and Part B. You will have to pay your monthly Medicare Part B premium to Medicare. In addition, you might have to pay a monthly premium to your Medicare Advantage Plan for the extra benefits that they offer.

If you join a Medicare Advantage Plan, your Medigap policy won’t work. This means it won’t pay any deductibles, co-payments, or other cost-sharing under your Medicare Health Plan. Therefore, you may want to drop your Medigap policy if you join a Medicare Advantage Plan. However, you have a legal right to keep the Medigap policy.

NOTE: ALL MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS OFFERED BY DIFFERENT PRIVATE INSURANCE COMPANIES HAVE DIFFERENT FEATURES AND BENEFITS. LOOK OVER EACH PLAN CAREFULLY BEFORE COMMITTING TO ANY.