Medicare beneficiaries in Cook County now have access to almost twice as many hospitals and physicians compared with last year through two types of Aetna Medicare Advantage plan options – the Aetna Golden Medicare Plan® (HMO) and the Aetna Golden ChoiceSM Plan (PPO). “Aetna is extremely pleased to have added 18 hospitals and more than 1,200 physicians to the Aetna network, and more specifically, our HMO and PPO offerings for Medicare,” said Nitin Bhargava, North Central Region head of sales for Aetna’s Consumer Segment. “Some notable additions to our network include the University of Illinois at Chicago Health System, Resurrection Health System, Little Company of Mary Hospital and Healthcare Centers, and St. James Hospital and Health Center, among others.”
In addition, Aetna is offering two HMO plans with a zero-premium option in 2009 that are available to all Medicare beneficiaries in Cook County.
Plan Features
Aetna’s Individual Medicare Advantage plan options in Cook County that also include Part D prescription drug coverage feature a wide range of benefits, including:
- Coverage for doctors visits, hospitalization and prescription medications through one plan with the convenience of a single ID card.
- Coverage for all Medicare Part D prescription drugs, including those for common conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, allergies, high cholesterol and arthritis.
- Discounts on vision and hearing aid products and services, and special rates on alternative health care services.
I am very concerned that the Medicare Advantage Program will go away. Although not without its flaws the Medicare Advantage program has brought additional benefits and better cost structure for most Medicare beneficiaries. Many middle income Americans can’t afford Medicare supplement plans and Medicare Advantage plans offer an alternative with premiums from $0 to about $100/month. These alternatives should stay and CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid) should do something constructive to improve these plans instead of the vindictive and childish solution that have come out of this organization.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid seems inept and naïve in their attempts to fix some of the blemishes. Their solution is to penalize every Medicare beneficiary in an attempt to correct a few blemishes on the system. Their solution expose a grossly incompetent board and I encourage every current and future Medicare beneficiary to call their Senators and Congressperson and tell them that Medicare Advantage and Medicare RX plans should Stay…Please!
Anyone having trouble enrolling in one of Aetna’s Medicare Advantage plans should be aware they are still under sanctions from CMS and can not enroll new members at this time. This will not affect existing members, and they might want to look and Medicare Supplement plan “N” as an alternative.
I am very concerned that the Medicare Advantage Program will go away. Although not without its flaws the Medicare Advantage program has brought additional benefits and better cost structure for most Medicare beneficiaries. Many middle income Americans can't afford Medicare supplement plans and Medicare Advantage plans offer an alternative with premiums from $0 to about $100/month. These alternatives should stay and CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid) should do something constructive to improve these plans instead of the vindictive and childish solution that have come out of this organization.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid seems inept and naïve in their attempts to fix some of the blemishes. Their solution is to penalize every Medicare beneficiary in an attempt to correct a few blemishes on the system. Their solution expose a grossly incompetent board and I encourage every current and future Medicare beneficiary to call their Senators and Congressperson and tell them that Medicare Advantage and Medicare RX plans should Stay…Please!
Anyone having trouble enrolling in one of Aetna's Medicare Advantage plans should be aware they are still under sanctions from CMS and can not enroll new members at this time. This will not affect existing members, and they might want to look and Medicare Supplement plan "N" as an alternative.