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Tuesday, January 21st
wide variety of Medicare Advantage Plans with connections to over 30 insurance providers. You can expect to see Medicare plans from familiar insurers like United Healthcare and Cigna. Plus, wherever you live in the US, eHealth covers them all. The best part? You can sign up totally online, which makes a normally lengthy process much simpler.
Helpful FAQ
eHealth offers a FAQ section of the site labeled "Medicare Answers” to help you get started with the Medicare process. However, compared to some of the other companies in our review, the details at eHealth are pretty generic. The site breaks down getting Medicare Advantage Plans into a 3-step process, which is helpful for first-time buyers, as well as blog posts that talk about how the Medicare process might look and how to find the best prices.
Quick quotes online
Getting started with eHealth is simple. Right on the front page, you'll see a box to enter your zip code. The online process for finding basic plan information was pretty slow. The site took a while to load the plans available in our area. Once everything loaded, however, the selection was impressive. This broker offered 34 individual Medicare Advantage Plans. Like a few other options during our research, eHealth allows you to see prices totally online. You can call if you want to (using their toll-free number), but you can get everything you need (including prescription prices) right on the website.
Tons of plan details
There is a lot of information on the website, making it super easy to see all of their plans at a glance. There is even a "compare” feature if you want to look at different plans side by side. Of the plans offered in our test area in Illinois, 20 of the 34 plans had a $0 monthly premium. Most options in the list include prescription medication and features like dental, vision, hearing, transportation, and fitness services.
Competitive costs with a variety of premiums
To get an accurate quote, we used our fictional persona of a 65-year-old woman in Illinois. She is a non-smoker looking for a plan that covers Xeralto medication at a 2.5 MG dose of 60 pills per month. First, we found that the plans range from $0 to $202 for monthly premiums with the Blue Cross Blue Shield plan as the most expensive. The two companies that eHealth recommended to us based on the example customer's details were Humana and Aetna for $0 monthly premiums. The cost for the Xarelto medication on each plan ranged from $58.73 to $110.59 per month with Humana being the overall least expensive plan.
Keeps track of rate changes
One distinctive feature that serves customers well at eHealth is Rate Watch. After enrolling in a plan with eHealth, the company monitors all companies' premiums. This way eHealth can notify you of any rate increases so you can make sure you're still getting the best deal. So, if you need to change plans or adjust to something more affordable, you'll know that eHealth is there to help you keep costs down.
Award-winning site
The company holds an "A+" rating and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau. On top of that, eHealth has received the International Torch Award for Ethics. This award gives eHealth's reputation a huge boost as its trustworthiness and ethical business practices are recognized by customers and third parties alike. Customer reviews on verified sites show 5-star ratings for eHealth, praising the helpful service and the friendly company representatives.
Top-notch service across the board
eHealth offers the full package. With competitive premiums and prescription rates, it's a standout for great deals. Plus, the trustworthiness of the company is what really makes eHealth shine. The combined reputation boost from its BBB scores and customer reviews showcases eHealth as a reliable option for your Medicare Advantage Plan. With thousands of 5-star reviews, happy customers, and coverage in all 50 states, eHealth earns a solid 5-star rating from us, and its impressive number of plans available places it in first place for our review of Medicare Advantage Plan providers.
If you or a family member is approaching the age of 65, or if you are soon eligible for Medicare Parts A and B, now is the perfect time to start looking at coverage to go along with your Medicare. While standard Medicare covers many of your medical expenses, it may be somewhat expensive. So looking into another option, Medicare Advantage Plans, might be in your best interest.
Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C, is an alternative to traditional Medicare offered by private insurance companies approved by Medicare. These plans provide all the coverage of Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance) and often include additional benefits, such as vision, dental, and prescription drug coverage. Some plans even offer health and wellness programs to encourage preventive care like fitness, chiropractic, and physical therapy.
One way to think of a Medicare Advantage Plan is like an all-inclusive resort stay. While you need to stick with a particular hotel (or, in this case, medical network), everything is handled for you from basic meals to entertainment (or prescriptions and medical specialists). Much like an all-inclusive resort experience, Medicare Advantage consolidates various features of Medicare, so your prescription drug coverage and services like dental, vision, and hearing are all taken care of in one place. These elements would typically require piecing together separate standalone plans which can be complicated and frustrating. Instead, you can get everything you need at once.
Premiums for Medicare Advantage plans change based on the provider and the specific plan. While you might find policies with $0 monthly payments, they can come with increased out-of-pocket expenses, such as office visit copays and annual deductibles. However, basics like primary care and prescriptions are often partially (if not completely) covered. On the other hand, if you're looking to see a specialist, you might prefer a plan with a higher premium to cover the cost of those visits.
When it comes to signing up for a Medicare Advantage Plan, there are two ways to find what you need: approaching an insurance company directly or collaborating with a broker. Choosing an insurer you already know and trust, potentially one that has been your healthcare provider before, might be the best way to go if you're looking for peace of mind and security. Typically, you can rely on getting the lowest possible premium quotes from that particular company. However, going through a broker or referral service can help you compare policies from different insurers at a glance. In this case, you might find better coverage from a competitor, and you can trust the broker to work on your behalf.
Regardless of the path you choose, you'll want to familiarize yourself with the different Medicare Advantage Plans, their benefits, and average premium costs for your demographic (age, gender, location). This helps you avoid feeling pressured to commit to a policy that may not align with your needs. Keep in mind that to apply for any Medicare Advantage Plan, you'll need your Medicare number, so make sure you complete the necessary steps to enroll in Medicare (A and B) before selecting your Advantage coverage.
If all of this sounds like a lot, don't worry. We've got your back. To simplify the process of finding Medicare Advantage Plans that are worth your time, we've put together a few criteria that might help you sort it all out:
To help you keep it simple and focus on your health and well-being, Top Consumer Reviews has reviewed and ranked the best Medicare Advantage Plans available today. This way, you can save time and money as you join (or change to) a new plan. We hope our research will help you find the best deals, the friendliest reps, and the top coverage so you can enjoy your golden years stress-free!
Select any 2 Medicare Advantage Plans to compare them head to head