Evaluating Your Medicare Plan

It’s important to note Medicare enrollment period begins Oct. 15 and closes December 15. Both Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans may often seem daunting, but we wanted to give a brief overview and places you or your loved one can visit for the full facts before enrolling.

According to a 2019 study comparing traditional Medicare beneficiaries and Medicare Advantage, traditional Medicare beneficiaries were more likely to utilize outpatient, inpatient and home health care services than beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage plans.

That was the case regardless of whether the Medicare Advantage plan had a monthly premium or not.

According to an article from the Research Institute for Home Care, experts say that when you are comparing traditional Medicare versus Medicare Advantage of all types, you don’t have as many barriers to access in traditional Medicare – to get home home health care, to get inpatient care, to get outpatient care – as there are with Medicare Advantage plans.

Medicare resources will be beneficial to approximately one out of every four American families caring for a parent, an older family member, spouse or friend. These statistics, support an increased need for home health within the industry.

In recent years, we’ve been excited about the benefits added to the Medicare population that include our services. One of the greatest long-term needs of older adults and those with chronic illnesses is for quality, in-home care services – whether recovering from hip surgery to more serious illnesses requiring expert care.

At BSA-ComPassion Home Care, our nurses, social workers and other healthcare workers make it possible for people with functional limitations to remain at home in a comfortable, safe and familiar environment. Moreover, BSA-ComPassion is able to work with individuals to stay at home and heal without the increasing need for rehospitalization.

We encourage individuals to visit Medicare.gov, local Veterans Affairs or the South Plains Association of Governments (SPAG) for further information about coverage and for individuals to know both the changes and options within their current plan or alternate plans.

The bottom line is to remember you have a choice when it comes to your health, and it’s important to find the best plan that works for you or your loved one.