A number of diaries have discussed the personal and policy issues with Medicare Advantage. I’ve tried two MA policies over the past years and while it’s mostly been positive, I have seen services denied and have had a couple of conflicts with providers because of denials or low payments.
However, there is very little published on the Web on how to switch to supplemental plans from a Medicare Advantage plan. What I’ve found:
- You have to cancel the MA policy, then start a supplemental policy. Do you have to let the MA policy expire before attempting to get supplemental policies?
- You may not be approved for the supplemental plan because of pre-existing conditions or current health issues, This seems both wrong and weird. Supplemental policies from insurance companies cannot deny you for health reasons, unless you’re switching over from MA?
I figure this community is large enough (and old enough :^) that a few folks have switched back to original Medicare and supplemental policies and perhaps have a few tips and tricks.
Any ideas? I am going to contact companies offering supplemental plans and see what they say, but I thought having a bit of knowledge before doing so would help the process.
Thanks!