Originally Posted by elchivito

With an Advantage plan you basically surrender your medicare management to a private insurance company. They're cheaper by the month, but they're PPOs, you're locked into providers in a particular area.

Supplement plans are also provided by private companies, but they cover much of what your traditional parts A and B Medicare doesn't cover. There are a number of different plans, named by letter, plan a, b, c, etc. One very popular plan is plan F. All companies offering plans are required by Medicare to cover everything listed in the plan coverage. In other words, they're all the same. The companies can charge their own rates but they only vary by a few dollars. You can enroll at the base rate and keep the base rate forever if you enroll in your first Medicare year regardless of your health. If you wait too long, they can charge you more and consider existing conditions in your rate. Supplements are also accepted by any provider that takes Medicare. Much better for travel or if you want to pic a specialist out of state. Mayo saved my life and I wouldn't have been able to go there with an advantage plan. My supplement costs 123 dollars a month. The best thing I did just prior to signing up for MC was take a one day course offered through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at my local community college. The guy offering the course was an insurance pro who laid it all out. Look for OLLI at your local colleges, they're all over.