It’s that time of year again – the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). This is when most Medicare eligibles can review their coverage for the coming year.
SummaCare Medicare Advantage plans offer everything that original Medicare covers plus valuable extras! Those extras include dental, vision, hearing aids, over-the-counter items, free gym memberships and much more. With premiums starting as low as $0 per month, SummaCare Medicare Advantage plans truly help consumers make the most of their Medicare dollars.
If you’re a U.S. military veteran, you pair your VA benefits with a SummaCare Medicare Advantage plan and enjoy all of these extra benefits, plus have access to a provider network that includes over 22,000 providers and 75 hospitals.
SummaCare’s Medicare Advantage plan benefits
Find out what’s new for 2022, including:
BrainHQ: BrainHQ is your online headquarters for working out your brain. Just as our bodies require care and exercise throughout life, so do our brains — especially as we age. New for 2022, BrainHQ provides the training your brain needs to be at its sharpest.
More comprehensive dental coverage: Through our partnership with Delta Dental of Ohio, you now have coverage for fillings, in addition to what’s already covered, including two cleanings and exams, an X-ray, plus visits for dental pain.
PERS (Personal Emergency Response System): PERS provides 24/7 emergency assistance and care, increasing safety, independence and extending your quality of life. This benefit is only offered with the Emerald plan.
New additions to provider network: Cleveland Clinic, including Cleveland Clinic Akron General, is now included in our Medicare Advantage provider network.
SummaCare is one of the only plans in Ohio to offer Family On-Demand with Papa and Assist America®:
Family On-Demand with Papa: This program pairs older adults and families with Papa Pals for companionship and assistance with everyday tasks.
Assist America: This program provides global emergency travel assistance when you’re more than 100 miles from home or in a foreign country. It gives you peace of mind while traveling.
All of our Medicare Advantage plans have a $0 copay for routine and supplemental vision exams, supplemental hearing exams, transportation, and diabetes test strips. Most also include free vaccines and $0 copays for preferred generic drugs — even through the coverage gap.
We contract with Teladoc® to offer services from the comfort of home, available 24/7/365 with a $0 copay.
All of our 2022 plans include a visitor/travel benefit for snowbirds. If you travel to Florida, you’ll receive in-network coverage for medical benefits received by any Medicare-approved provider.
How to choose the plan that’s right for you
SummaCare helps you narrow down your search to find the right coverage for you:
1. Talk to a SummaCare Medicare Advisor. A SummaCare Medicare Advisor can answer your questions and help you figure out what’s most important to you as you weigh different plan costs, provider networks and more. For instance:
- Are your preferred doctors and hospitals network providers?
- What are the monthly premiums, maximum out-of-pocket costs and copays?
- Are your prescription drugs covered?
- Are extra benefits like dental, vision, hearing aids, OTC medications and gym memberships offered?
- What is their reputation for quality and customer service?
2. Compare plans side-by-side on Medicare.gov or an insurer’s website. Medicare provides an annual star rating for each Medicare Advantage plan based on more than 40 rigorous quality measures. Medicare uses a formula that accounts for quality metrics from the following areas to provide a star rating for each plan:
- Staying healthy: screenings, tests and vaccines
- Managing chronic (long-term) conditions: monitoring and controlling problems like diabetes and kidney disease
- Plan responsiveness and care: how quickly you can get appointments and health care
- Member complaints, problems getting services and choosing to leave the plan
- Health plan customer service: for example, making sure that appeals are handled in a timely manner
Reviewing Medicare’s star ratings can help you choose a high-quality plan.
3. Pick integrated care over big-name providers. When doctors, hospitals and insurance companies don’t work together to coordinate and integrate care, patients are often left to suffer during their most vulnerable times.
SummaCare is part of Summa Health, a high-quality integrated delivery system in Northern Ohio. We work with our doctor and hospital partners to design the best integrated care for our members.