General Discussion

My doctor does a review of systems, talks about any issues I may have and orders the labs she thinks I need.

Other coverage issues, based on my experiences with an aunt who needed nursing home care, my own experiences with Part B and my 7 years spent as a Claims Analyst for Part B include:

Nursing home is covered by Medicaid after the first 90 days or if you are sent to the hospital from a nursing home and then go back to the nursing home. In that situation your Medicare coverage of Nursing Home renews for a short period(not sure if it is 90 or 60 days) A good example is a fall in a nursing home, resulting in a fractured hip. Patient goes to hospital, stays 3 days and returns to Nursing Home. That would reset the 90 Medicare coverage then Medicaid would step back in.

In order to qualify for Medicaid coverage, you have to exhaust your available funds. When I was going through this for my aunt, we sold her house, had an estate sale and finished off her residual cash. When she qualified for Medicaid, in additon to the Nursing Home it picked up the deductible and co-pay from her original Part B; she was able to cancel her supplemental plan so she had very little out of pocket. Her Social Security check went towards the Nursing Home payment except for a small amount each month which she could use for personal expenses.

Some rules can vary from state to state, mostly related to property. You can sign off your house, and your investments joint with your children and avoid sacrificing their value but it has to be done at least 5 years prior to admission to a Nursing Home.

Part B has a hospice care feature but that could have changed since I was a Claims Analyst. I am not sure about palliative care but that could be included with hospice. ( my father in law had an Advantage Plan and he did receive in home Hospice which was for him essentially palliative care)
Part B is not as obsessed with bean counting, it is non-profit.
Part B has no networks. If I am in Arizona with my daughter and need medical care, I am covered exactly as I am here in Texas. Do not go out of network in an Advantage Plan, they will eat your lunch!
Part B has the fastest turnaround time, the lowest error ratios and lowest cost per claim in the industry.

I would never get an Advantage Plan because of the profit aspect and the darn networks. It would be nice to have a basic dental and vision plan as an option with Part B but the Advantage ones may have network limitations