By Laura Hipshire
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Bob Sprague, who worked as a plant personnel manager for Chrysler, always knew health care costs would be a major issue for retirees.

“Medical costs are increasing because people are tending to utilize them more,”  says Sprague, who moved with his wife, Sue, from Bloomfield Township to Henry Ford Village, Fox Run’s sister community in Dearborn.

“A lot of people here are auto retirees,” Sprague says.

New plan appeals to retirees
In January, the Spragues decided to sign up for Erickson Advantage®, a Medicare Advantage health care insurance plan exclusively for residents of Erickson communities. The plan is available as a Medicare option for people living at Fox Run. “Everything is on-site here.

The plan is only available to residents of Erickson Retirement Communities,” Sprague says (who is an Erickson Advantage Signature with prescription drugs member). “We have three representatives here to assist us.”

Ways to save
Sprague says that despite the fact that many companies were raising premiums, Erickson Advantage lowered its premium from 2006 to 2007.

The couple’s medical providers are also on-site as part of Henry Ford Village’s medical center.

There are several ways Erickson Advantage members may save money using this tailored plan. The plan includes podiatry coverage* beyond what traditional Medicare covers.

“I’ve been to the doctors’ and the hospital. Erickson Advantage covered everything I needed,” says Claude Allen, who’s an Erickson Advantage Signature with prescription drugs member.

Chiropractic visits* and therapeutic massages* may be covered, too, if prescribed by members’ primary care physicians. Members such as the Spragues may save hundreds of dollars each month in prescription benefits and transportation costs alone, since transportation** to approved site locations is covered.