There are many differences between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans in Florida. To understand these differences is another story.
Nationwide, people are moving to Florida to retire. With warm climate all year around and sandy beaches, you can’t blame them. With retiring or reaching the age of 65 years old comes planning. One thing often overlooked is Healthcare. Many people just believe they get enrolled in Medicare and that’s it. However, Medicare comes with many gaps in coverage such as dental and vision. Don’t worry, you have options. You can stay on Medicare and get a supplemental plan or enroll in Medicare Advantage.
With original Medicare, your benefits come from the Federal Government. Original Medicare comes in two parts, Part A and Part B. Medicare Part A is your hospital insurance. Whereas Medicare Part B is your medical insurance that covers medical services and supplies.
Many seniors on original Medicare may pick up a supplemental plan. Medicare supplemental plans pick up Medicare’s co-insurance amounts. They also pick up Medicare Part D plan to assist with prescription costs. These plans do have their own premiums, which would be in addition to the Part B premium of $144.60 a month.
An alternative plan you might want to take a look at is the Medicare Advantage plans in Florida. These plans provide Medicare benefits through a private-sector health insurance carrier. Original Medicare comes with many different parts. Whereas, Medicare Advantage is like having an all-in-one healthcare solution. Medicare Advantage looks and works very much like what many people had under employment or group coverage.
How do we begin to understand health behaviors in Florida? Health behaviors come from many attributes from where we live to economic status. We all want to live healthy here in Florida but where are the healthiest areas within the state to live? The Tampa Bay area located on the Westcoast of Florida has about 350,000 (2019) people living in it. If you include Saint Petersburg and Clearwater the Tampa Bay area is the 4th largest metropolitan area in the Southeast. Source – www.worldpopulationreview.com
Recently the County Health Rankings Report for 2019 came out explaining that effects of how well we live and how long we live are contributed to where we live. This study showed that the Tampa Bay area ranks in the top 25 out of 67 counties in the state.
These rankings are used by communities to raise support for local health improvement programs, health care providers, Politician support and local community organizations to name a few. Contributing factors being considered are health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment.
These types of behaviors are usually looked as a risk assessment that can lead to illness or impede your recovery. Activities such as a poor diet, little to no exercise, smoking tobacco, abusing alcohol and drugs, and high risk sexual activity all can raise your risk factors.
Watch the news, there is a never ending debate over access to care and the social and economic factors. So let’s talk about the most over looked factor by the public, which are health behaviors. In many ways, people don’t like looking at themselves as the problem. Sometimes it’s just easier to point the finger at the President, Congress, Big Health, or even at your own local physician.
The federal government has been interjecting policies that affect your local care and access to care for years. Does someone in D.C. know more about your health and need then your local official and physician? I don’t think so. The problem is that on the federal level there is always a push for comprehensive reform. This is just another way of saying one size fits all, which doesn’t work. They can demand access but time-over-time they write bills that over promise and under deliver.
Location is everything in Real Estate and it affects our behaviors from state to state. We here in Florida get more exposure to the sun than most of the country, which gives us a higher risk factor of getting skin cancer. Florida also has a host of danger with its location. While out at a park or even golfing you might run across an Alligator or one of many of Florida’s deadly snakes.
If you live near good paying jobs and have access to multiple grocery stores you are more likely to have a diet that includes a verity of fresh vegetables. At the same time, your risk factors go up if you live near powerlines or a chemical plant. Location also reflects access to care as someone living in a metro area will have more choices then a rancher living in a rural area.
Florida that has many risk factors also brings a quality of life, which is probably why so many seniors move to the state to retire. Health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment all contribute to our health and its care. However, no one can care more about your health than you. No matter where you live, be proactive with your health. Start small by eating a balanced diet and doing some exercise. Taking a short walk a day will take you a long ways!
Here 4U Insurance offers Heath, Live, Dental, Vision, Final Expense, and Travel insurance throughout the state of Florida. Contact us at www.here4uinsurance.com or our Facebook page at
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