Medicare plans
Medicare Advantage (Part C)
A Medicare Advantage plan replaces the way you receive your Original Medicare benefits. One card, one plan, usually with prescription drug coverage folded in — and often extras like dental, vision and hearing. The trade-off is a network and a set of plan rules, which is exactly what we go through together before you enroll.
The short version
- Bundles Part A, Part B and usually Part D into one plan
- Often includes dental, vision, hearing and fitness benefits
- Yearly out-of-pocket maximum protects you from unlimited costs
- Uses a provider network — we check your doctors before you enroll
- Many plans in Maricopa County carry a $0 monthly premium
How we handle it
Choosing medicare advantage without guessing.
Advantage plans live and die on two things: whether your doctors are in the network, and how the plan prices the care you actually use. Everything else — the dental allowance, the gym membership, the flex card — is a tiebreaker.
So that is the order we work in. Your provider list goes in first and knocks out every plan that would cost you a doctor. Your medication list goes in second and knocks out the plans that would cost you money. Whatever is still standing gets compared on the extras, and usually there are two or three left.
What to have ready
- Every doctor and specialist you want to keep, by name
- Your prescriptions with dosages, and your pharmacy
- Any planned procedures in the next twelve months
- Whether you spend part of the year out of state
Questions
Medicare Advantage, answered.
Do I still pay my Part B premium on a Medicare Advantage plan?
Yes. You keep paying your Part B premium to Medicare, plus any premium the plan itself charges. Many Advantage plans available in the Anthem area have a $0 plan premium, but the Part B premium never goes away.
What happens if my doctor leaves the network?
Networks can change from year to year. That is the single biggest reason to review your plan every fall during the Annual Enrollment Period — we re-check your providers and your prescriptions against next year's plan before anything is locked in.
Can I travel with a Medicare Advantage plan?
Emergency and urgent care are covered nationwide. Routine care outside the service area depends on the plan — some PPOs travel far better than HMOs. If you spend part of the year out of state, tell me up front and we will weight the search accordingly.
Also worth reading
The other three.
These decisions interlock. A supplement without a drug plan leaves a hole; an Advantage plan changes what long-term care planning has to cover.
Free tools
Run the numbers yourself.
No email required, nothing stored, nothing sold.
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2 min Advantage or Supplement?
Six questions about your doctors, your travel and your budget. Tells you which side of the Medicare fork actually fits — and why.
Find my plan type -
1 min Enrollment Window Checker
Enter your birthday and get your exact Initial Enrollment Period dates, your Medigap open enrollment window, and the deadlines that carry lifetime penalties.
Check my dates -
3 min Annual Cost Estimator
Compare what a year on a Medicare Advantage plan versus a Supplement plus Part D would realistically cost you — premiums, deductibles and expected visits included.
Estimate my year
Next step
Let's see whether medicare advantage is actually your answer.
One conversation, no cost, no obligation. Bring your prescription list and your doctors — that is all it takes to do real work. You’ll speak to Brian Penner directly.