Florida Blue Medicare Advantage Plans

Why consider Florida Blue Medicare Advantage plans? Florida Blue has been providing people with health insurance for over seven decades. The company used to operate as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida. They’ve also covered seniors on Medicare for over one-quarter of a century. Florida Blue maintains 21 service centers in Florida and has agents dispersed all over the state. You can rely upon Florida Blue Medicare Advantage plans for everything from HMOs with no monthly premium to regional PPOs with nationwide networks.

What plans does Florida Blue Medicare Advantage offer?

We are providing a breakdown of various plans to help you understand your options for a Florida Blue Medicare Advantage plan. These plans are under the brand name Florida BlueMedicare. Since it’s impossible to list all of the details on this page, we’ve highlighted some features that may differentiate them.

Also, certain plans “may” come with additional benefits like Silver Sneakers, dental and vision plans, etc. The perks for the more flexible plans are typically better than the perks for the more limited ones.

This list below roughly orders these plans from the most flexible to the least flexible and from the most expensive to the least:

Blue Medicare Choice RPPO

Blue Medicare Choice RPPO is a regional PPO. Because it is a regional PPO, it is the most flexible of Florida Blue Medicare plans for Medicare Advantage. You can get coverage inside or outside the network without needing referrals.

This regional PPO offers a statewide network, and you can also get in-network services nationwide with other “Blue” licensed companies.

Blue Medicare Classic HMO

Some strong points of the Blue Medicare Classic HMO are lower copays and out-of-pocket maximums for plan members.

You can join this Blue Medicare plan in these counties:

• Bay, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Duval, Escambia, Hernando,
• Hillsboro, Lake, Le,e Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola,
• Palm Beach, Paso, Polk, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter

Additional Blue Medicare HMO Options

• Blue Medicare Premier HMO
• The Blue Medicare Premiere HMO offers members lower cost-sharing in exchange for a smaller network. Some highlights of this plan include dental coverage and transportation for both pharmacy and doctor visits.
• The Blue Medicare Premier HMO plan is available in Clay, Duval, and Broward Counties.
• Blue Medicare Classic Plus HMO
• The Blue Medicare Classic Plus HMO allows you the greatest access to in-network providers of any of the company’s HMO offerings.
• You can join this Blue Medicare plan in these counties:
• Bay, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Duval, Escambia, Hernando,
• Hillsboro, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola,
• Palm Beach, Paso, Polk, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter
• Blue Medicare Preferred HMO
• The Blue Medicare Preferred HMO plan offers local HMO access to care coordination for chronic medical conditions.
• It is available in Clay, Duval, Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties.

Blue Medicare Special Needs Plans

• Blue Medicare Preferred HMO C-SNP
• The Blue Medicare Preferred HMO C-SNP offers coordinated health care for people who suffer from diabetes or heart disease.
• It is available in Clay, Duval, Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties.
• Blue Medicare Complete D-SNP
• This is a plan for dual eligibles or those Medicare beneficiaries who also get Medicaid benefits.
• The Blue Medicare Complete D-SNP is available in Broward, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Polk Counties.

When to Enroll in a Florida Blue Medicare Advantage Plan

Most of you will only get one chance every year to join a Medicare Advantage plan. There are some exceptions for new Medicare recipients and special circumstances. In any case, your chances of replacing your policy are somewhat limited.

You should keep that in mind when you compare to ensure that you will be happy with what the policy will cover if you’d rather have an HMO or PPO plan and extra benefits that might help you save money or offer you convenience. After your comparison, you will make a policy choice that you will probably have to live with for the next 12 months.

The list below should help you understand more about your enrollment periods:

• Initial Election Period: This is often called the IEP, and it’s the period you get to choose Medicare Advantage, Medigap, or a drug plan when you first qualify. You can enroll up to three months in advance and for three months after that if those dates coincide with annual enrollment.
• Annual Election Period: The AEP is the time each year when everybody gets a chance to compare Medicare Advantage plans and Part D, and they also get to signup for a replacement plan if they want to. This period is from October 15 to December 7, but it might change in other years.
• Disenrollment Period: From January 1 to February 15, Medicare beneficiaries get a period to drop their Medicare Advantage or drug plans and return to original Medicare.
• Special Election Periods: If you lose your coverage, move out of the plan’s service area, or have some other special circumstances, you may get an SEP to enroll in a replacement plan as well.

Understanding Florida Blue Medicare Advantage Plans

Before you choose a Florida Blue Medicare plan or any Medicare Advantage plan, it will help to understand a little bit about how Medicare works with these plans. You might already realize that Medicare Part A and Part B are usually called Original Medicare. Together, these offer you extensive benefits to help pay for hospital and medical services.

Of course, Part A and B don’t cover all health-related services, most prescriptions, or almost anything at 100 percent. Florida Blue Medicare Advantage plans offer you an alternative to using Part A and B in this way:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida contracts with Medicare to provide all-in-one coverage that has to meet or exceed the benefits from Original Medicare.
• Typically, Florida Blue MA plans also bundle in prescription drug plans.
• Certain Florida Blue Medicare Advantage plans may come with some value-added perks to help you pay for health-related services such as dental and vision care.

Medicare Part D

Note that you can buy a prescription drug plan on its own if your Florida Blue Medicare plan doesn’t include Part D. You need drug coverage because Original Medicare doesn’t help you pay for the typical type of medications you pick up at the corner drug store. But, again, you can expect most Florida Blue Medicare Advantage plans to include Part D already.

These are some things that you should keep in mind when you compare drug coverage with any Florida Blue Medicare plans:

• Check the plan’s formulary to ensure that it includes your prescriptions, and note how they are covered.
• Some Florida Blue Medicare plans may encourage you to use cheaper generics and justify using brand-name medications.
• If you don’t get Part D or enroll in an MA plan that includes it, you might need to pay a penalty later when you sign up. This penalty would be waived if you have other creditable drug coverage, such as you may get from your employer.

Florida Medicare Advantage Plans: Extras

There are a few more things you should learn about Florida Blue Medicare Advantage plans. Many of these things won’t apply to Florida Blue, but to any Medicare Advantage plan you enroll in.

These are some things to learn about Florida Blue Medicare plans:

• Even if you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan with zero premium, you probably still need to pay the Part B premium. The standard monthly Medicare Part B premium for 2024 is $174.70. The annual Part B deducible for 2024 is $240.
• The government assigns star ratings for each company’s Medicare Advantage plans. Ratings range from one to five stars. They are based on many factors about how well the company has served customers in the previous year and can change each year.
• Most people qualify for a Florida Blue Medicare plan because they have Original Medicare, also referred to as Medicare Part A and B.

Florida Blue Medicare Advantage Plans: Name Changes

If you already have a Florida Blue Medicare Advantage plan, you should know that they might have changed names.

This list below shows you some plan name changes for Blue Medicare plans to compare:

• Blue Medicare Classic: This used to be called Blue Medicare Lifetime
• Blue Medicare Classic Plus: This used to be Blue Medicare MyTime
• Blue Medicare Premier: This was Blue Medicare MyTime Plus
• Blue Medicare Regional PPO: This was Blue Medicare Choice

Of course, these plans may have more changes than just the names. So, again, you are probably prudent to make a comparison of plan benefits and formularies during your AEP this year.

We Are Here to Help You Compare Florida Blue Medicare Plans

Our mission is not to tell you which plan is best for you. Instead, we want to help you compare your options to find the PPO, HMO, or another plan that will offer you the best savings, convenience, and benefits. Your choice may depend on your town or city, current medical needs, financial situations, or even your preferences about how you prefer to obtain quality healthcare.

If you contact our senior specialists, we will be happy to research providers, hospitals, and medications to help you make a choice you will be pleased to use. Today’s seniors enjoy a lot of choices when it comes to Medicare Advantage plans in Florida, and Florida Blue offers a vast array of options. We’re here to ensure that you make the best choice for your needs.

Please note: We are not Florida Blue but a contracted General Agency. This information is a basic overview; please refer to your policy for complete plan details and benefits.

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