Medicare plans available in Lafayette, Indiana

If you’re a senior citizen living near Lafayette, Indiana, and have spent any amount of time shopping for a Medicare Advantage or Medigap plan, you already know that it’s a lot of work! Picking the right plan is often difficult, especially given the great variety of choices. For instance, seven companies offer 22 different Medicare Advantage plans in Tippecanoe County! And there are even more companies than that offering Medigap plans. We will take a look at Indiana Medicare plans and explore some of their features, to help find the best one for you. Specifically, we will address Medicare Advantage and Medigap plans in Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana. 

Demographics of Tippecanoe County

Tippecanoe County is in the west-central part of Indiana. It lies just 22 miles east of Illinois. Lafayette is both the county seat and the largest city in Tippecanoe County. The total population of the county is 172,780, according to the 2010 census. Some of the other communities that make up Tippecanoe County include West Lafayette, Battle Ground, Clarks Hill, Dayton, Otterbein, and Shadeland. Approximately 10% of the residents of Tippecanoe County are age 65 or older. Now let’s take a look at some of the Medicare Advantage plans available for the seniors of Tippecanoe County, Indiana.

Indiana Medicare Advantage Plan Options – Tippecanoe County

When it comes to choosing a Medicare Advantage Plan in Tippecanoe County, there is no shortage of options. Companies offering Medicare Advantage Plans include Aetna, Humana, Indiana University Health Plans, Lasso, Blue Cross, Anthem, UnitedHealthcare, and Allwell.

UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare offers one HMO-POS plan. It is called AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 1. They also have one PPO option – the AARP Medicare Advantage Choice Plan 1 (PPO).

Anthem Blue Cross
Anthem offers two different HMO plans in Tippecanoe County – their Anthem MediBlue Plus and their Anthem MediBlue Extra. These plans are available through HealthKeepers, Inc.

Anthem also has three PPO plans available. They are Anthem MediBlue Access PPO, Anthem MediBlue Plus PPO, and Anthem MediBlue Access Basic (Regional PPO).  

Allwell
Allwell offers an HMO and a PPO plan, both named Allwell Medicare. 

Indiana University Health Plans – Medicare
Two HMO plans are available from Indiana University. These are IU Health Plans Medicare Select and IU Health Plans Medicare Select Plus. There is also an HMO-POS plan called IU Health Plans Medicare Choice.

Aetna Medicare Advantage Plans
Aetna has one PPO plan available, the Aetna Medicare Value. With this plan, you can choose hospitals outside of your network if you have a particular need.

Several hospitals work with Aetna’s Medicare Advantage plan in Tippecanoe County. Two of them are part of the Franciscan Health Network. These hospitals are Franciscan Health Lafayette East and Franciscan Health Lafayette Central. They specialize in cancer care, heart and vascular care, ob-gyn services, orthopedics, pulmonary medicine, and stroke care. Additionally, Aetna’s Medicare Advantage plan is also accepted at Lafayette Regional Rehabilitation Hospital, which is part of Ernest Health. This hospital specializes in long term care for patients recovering from ailments caused by injuries or sickness from medical conditions. Another option is IU Health Arnett Hospital, which is part of the Indiana University Health System. It is also located in Lafayette and specializes in cancer care, cardiovascular care, neuroscience, orthopedics, pediatrics, and organ transplants.

Humana Medicare Advantage Plans & Coverage
Humana offers four different PPO plans in Tippecanoe County, as well as two regional PPO plans, and two HMO plans. The PPO plans are the Humana Choice H5216-192, Humana Honor, Humana Choice H5216-111, and Humana Choice H5216-053. The regional PPO plans are the Humana Choice R0865-001 and the HumanaChoice R0865-003. Additionally, the HMO plans offered by Humana in this county are the Humana Gold Plus H5619-049 and the Humana Gold Plus H5619-124. 

Lasso Medicare Advantage Plans & Coverage
Lasso offers one plan in Tippecanoe County – the Lasso Healthcare MSA plan. Lasso is a high deductible plan which gives beneficiaries a contribution to a medical savings account each year. The MSA can be utilized for out of pocket medical expenses, including dental, vision, hearing, and prescription drug copays. If you do not use all of your contribution, it can be rolled over from year to year. There is no network for this plan, so you can use any doctor who accepts Medicare.  

Choosing a Medicare Advantage Plan in Indiana

When comparing Medicare Advantage plans, you will want to consider network restrictions, copays, out of pocket limits, extra benefits offered by the plan, and its star rating. Much of this information is available on Medicare.gov, but for additional detail, you would have to dive deeper and visit each plan’s website. It can be confusing to go it alone, so why not get help from a knowledgeable Medicare insurance broker, like the ones at Bobby Brock Insurance? Go to bobbybrockinsurance.com or call 1-662-844-3300 to talk with your personal Medicare expert. 

HMOs and PPOs require you to use contracted providers. Doctors and hospitals agree to be a part of these plans because the plan assures providers will have a steady stream of patients referred by the plan. In exchange, they give special pricing to the plans. The discounts are passed on to consumers in the form of lower copays. 

HMOs have the strictest restrictions for going outside the plan, but they often offer the lowest overall costs. All HMOs will cover you if you have a medical emergency and must see a provider out of your area, but non-emergency care must be received by plan providers to be covered. A person who travels a lot may not feel comfortable with an HMO. PPOs require you to see plan providers to pay the lowest out of pocket costs, but the plan will still cover you if you go outside the network. 

Private Fee for Service Plans (PFFS) do not require you to use a network. You can use any doctor that agrees to the plan’s terms of service. PFFS high deductible plans don’t pay anything until your medical expenses reach the deductible, but they may provide you an annual  Medical Savings Account (MSA) contribution.

MSA plans are high deductible Medicare Advantage plans, which give the insured an annual contribution to a Medical Savings Account. Medical Savings Account contributions can be used to pay for doctor visits, hospital costs, prescription copays, dental, vision and hearing expenses, and other qualified medical expenses. If you use the funds for non-qualified expenses, you may be subject to income taxes. If you do not use all of the MSA funds, they can be rolled over from year to year.

Best 2020 Medicare Supplement Plans in Indiana

Some people prefer Original Medicare and a Medigap policy over Medicare Advantage. Original Medicare with a Medigap plan gives the beneficiary a more manageable budget than Medicare Advantage because Medigap policies pay nearly all Hospital and Medical out of pocket expenses. The claims are also automatically filed, which takes away the stress of having to reconcile bills and write checks for medical care.

Altogether, there are 11 Medigap plans to choose from in Tippecanoe County. Anthem Blue Cross and AARP offer Medicare supplement plans in Indiana, as well as Aetna, Mutual of Omaha, CSi Life, IAC, Pekin, Cigna, Bankers Fidelity, Equitable, Everest, Humana, Lumico, Pan American, Prosperity, Western United, and many others. The premiums for the same plans vary significantly from company to company. There can be as much as $250 difference in monthly premiums for the exact same plans. If you want to find the best Medigap plan for your specific needs, call us at (877) 877-5505 or reach out via our online form. We have specialized software that can quickly pull quotes from all the top health insurance companies and provide a side by side comparison. We can enroll you by phone, and we will provide you personalized service in the future whenever you need it. This includes annual reviews of your Medigap, Part D prescription plan, Medicare Advantage Plan, cancer insurance, life insurance, or annuity.  

Medicare Part D Plans in Indiana

In some cases, you will need a stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription plan. If you have a Medigap policy or a Medicare Advantage plan without prescription coverage, you will want to consider enrolling in a Part D prescription plan. All counties in the state of Indiana have the same Part D options. In 2020, ten insurance carriers offer 28 different Medicare Part D plans for Indiana residents. Cigna has three plans available. They are Cigna-HealthSpring Rx Secure-Essential, Cigna-HealthSpring Rx Secure, and Cigna-HealthSpring Rx Secure-Extra. Clear Spring Health offers two plans. These plans are Clear Spring Health Premier Rx and Clear Spring Health Value Rx. EnvisionInsurance has one plan available. It is EnvisionRxPlus. Express Scripts Medicare has a total of three options. They are Express Scripts Medicare – Saver, Express Scripts Medicare – Value, and Express Scripts Medicare –  Choice. There are three Part D options available from Humana — Humana Walmart Value Rx Plan, Humana Basic Rx Plan, and Humana Premier Rx Plan. MediBlue Rx also has three plans. They are Anthem MediBlue Rx Enhanced, Anthem MediBlue Rx Plus, and Anthem MediBlue Rx Standard. Two plans are offered by Mutual of Omaha Rx. These plans are Mutual of Omaha Rx Value and Mutual of Omaha Rx Plus. SilverScript offers two different Part D plan options  — SilverScript Choice and SilverScript Plus. UnitedHealthcare has three plans available. These are AARP MedicareRx Saver Plus, AARP MedicareRx Walgreens, and AARP MedicareRx Preferred. WellCare has the most Part D plan options, with a total of six. These are WellCare Wellness Rx, WellCare Value Script, WellCare Medicare Rx Select, WellCare Classic, WellCare Medicare Rx Saver, and WellCare Medicare Rx Value Plus.

With so many options, you’ll want help determining which Part D plan will save you the most on your prescriptions. The brokers at Bobby Brock Insurance can use Medicare’s website to identify the lowest cost plan for you. We can enroll you online or over the phone. Typically this is done when you turn 65, but the plans can be changed each year during annual enrollment between October 15^th and December 7^th. Give us a call today at (877) 877-5505 or reach out via our online form.