Some Part C plans cover vision care.
Medicare Part C is also known as Medicare Advantage. These plans are provided by private insurers and provide customers all of their Medicare benefits plus enhancements, such as dental, hearing or vision care. That means that instead of getting Part A and Part B services from Medicare, they are provided by the private insurance company. Choosing the best plan is a matter of understanding how the plans work, how they offer, what your individual needs for health care are now and what you expect them to be in the future.
Instructions
Understand How Medicare Part C Plan Work
1. Educate yourself on Medicare Part C before trying to made a decision. The plans are required by law to provide all of the benefits that are offered by Medicare Part A, the hospital coverage, and Medicare Part B, the medical coverage. Beyond that, they can offer additional benefits as well.
2. Understand the differences in benefits offered by the plans. Many plans provide prescription drug coverage, and some offer dental, hearing or vision coverage.
3. Make sure you are comfortable with the structure of Part C plans. Most of the plans are health maintenance organizations (HMOs) or preferred provider organizations (PPOs). That means that to receive the full benefit of the policy, you must see only the doctors that are in the plan’s network. There is a monthly premium for the plans and you may also pay a co-pay for the services you use.
Obtain Information on the Plans
4. Visit Medicare.gov and review the "Medicare and You" handbook that all Medicare beneficiaries receive for an overview of Medicare Part C plans. These resources will also tell you what plans are available in your state.
5. Obtain a "Summary of Benefits" from the companies that you are interested in to get the most detailed and comprehensive information on their plans. These summaries compare original Medicare (Part A and Part B) with the plans that the company offers, so you can see what specific benefits are offered and what the associated costs will be.
6. Request a copy the company’s formulary if you are interested in prescription drug coverage. The formulary is the list of drugs that are covered by a company's drug plan.
Compare the Plan Costs and Benefits
7. Compare the cost and the additional benefits of the plans that are available to you. If vision services or dental coverage are important to you,narrow your search to include only those plans that offer those benefits.
8. Focus your search on plans that offer prescription coverage if that's important to you, and make sure that any drugs you take are covered by the formulary.
9. Add the monthly premium, the co-pay for the services you are likely to use in a typical month and the monthly cost under the plan of any medications you take. This will provide you with a clear indication of which is the best Medicare Part C plan for you.
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