Original Medicare (Parts A & B) provides excellent coverage, but leaves the Medicare recipient responsible for potentially unlimited out of pocket expenses.  For this reason, we recommend everyone look at health insurance that provides protection that exceeds original Medicare.  These days there are plans that have premiums as low as $0, so protection is affordable for nearly everyone.

There are two broad types of Medicare insurance available: Medicare Advantage plans and Medigap plans. With Medigap plans, you pay a much larger premium, but in most cases, nothing when you use healthcare services.  Medicare Advantage plans generally have lower premiums and often cover prescription drugs for a $0 or low premium. With Medicare Advantage plans, however, you will likely incur some co-pays when you use services. Everyone knows that there is no such thing as “free insurance,” but these days there is excellent coverage available through Medicare Advantage plans, because Medicare pays the majority of the premiums on your behalf.

The chart below shows a high level comparison of the differences between Medicare Advantage and Medigap plans:

	Premium Any Doctor? Co-Pays Includes Drugs Medicare Advantage Often under $50 Sometimes Yes Often Medigap $100-$300 Yes Rarely No