By Lisa M. Davila
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
If you are 65 or over, you probably know something about Medicare. Like what it does and doesn’t cover and how supplemental health insurance is often needed to make up for gaps in health coverage.
You also may have heard about Medicare Advantage plans, and you might be wondering how they differ from Original Medicare and supplemental plans.
Medicare Advantage plans: a case study
A Medicare Advantage plan is formed when a health insurance company contracts with Medicare to provide health care benefits to Medicare beneficiaries, with the idea that private companies can often provide the same or better health care at a lower cost.
That’s how Erickson Advantage® came about. “Erickson Advantage was created because of President and CEO John Erickson’s desire to provide quality low-cost health insurance to our residents,” says Dorothy Schulz, health insurance resource manager at Charlestown, an Erickson- built and -managed community in Baltimore, Md.
Erickson Advantage focuses on health care and low member cost. “The Erickson Advantage philosophy is first about keeping residents as healthy and independent as long as possible,” Schulz says. “In addition, we realized that our residents were paying $200-$300 a month for Medicare supplemental health insurance policies. We thought we could offer better health insurance at lower prices.”
It took time and research to develop just the right plan. “We worked with Medicare for two years before the plan was approved. Erickson Advantage is tailored for residents—we asked residents what they wanted and what would be beneficial to them, and we designed the health insurance plans around their wants and needs,” Schulz says.