The way you get Medicare coverage depends on the type of plan you choose. You can opt for Original Medicare — Parts A, B, and D — or a Medicare Advantage plan, which bundles together Medicare prescription drug (Part D) coverage with other benefits like vision, hearing, fitness, or dental care. for more info Click here.

Most Medicare Advantage plans have networks, and you’ll typically pay less if you use doctors, hospitals, or suppliers in the plan’s network. You can also find plans that don’t have networks — called Medicare Advantage Open Access (MA-OA) plans — and they generally offer lower out-of-pocket costs, but you might pay more in monthly premiums.

A growing share of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolling in Medicare Advantage plans. In the past 15 years, enrollment in these private insurance plans has more than doubled and now reaches half of all Medicare beneficiaries. The popularity of these plans is driven by the fact that they can offer extra benefits that are not available in traditional Medicare, such as vision and hearing services.

In addition to extra benefits, some Medicare Advantage plans may also have a lower cost sharing than traditional Medicare, or have different rules for how you get your health care, such as whether you need a referral to see a specialist. These differences are allowed under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which created the Medicare Advantage program.

Each year, the government gives companies that run Medicare Advantage plans a fixed amount for each beneficiary. In return, they must follow Medicare rules — which can include the standard deductibles and cost sharing amounts that you’ll pay for certain services.

You can find the current deductibles and coinsurance levels for all Medicare Plans by visiting Medicare’s website. This is a great tool for comparing the cost of plans and finding out which ones might be right for you.

The majority of Medicare Advantage plans offer at least some vision, hearing, fitness, or dental benefits, and the share of these plans has been increasing since 2015. In 2023, nearly all plan enrollees in HMO, PPO, D-SNP, and C-SNP plans sponsored by the seven largest firms offering them will be enrolled in a plan that offers these benefits.

You’ll also need to decide if you want to stick with your current Medicare Advantage plan or switch to a new one. In general, you can do this each year, on January 1, between the start of the plan’s year and the end of the open enrollment period. If you’re a new Medicare Advantage plan enrollee, you’ll need to sign up during the open enrollment period. You’ll pay a higher monthly premium if you join after the end of the open enrollment period, and your plan might not have the same set of benefits. Changing your Medicare Advantage plan can have serious consequences, so it’s important to do your homework before making this choice.