|  | Healthcare Industry | Medicare

Florida Medicare Advantage Health Plans

As a Florida resident, when you qualify for Medicare, you also can join a Medicare Advantage Plan (MAP) and you likely will receive more services than from Medicare alone. However, you may pay higher monthly premiums than Medicare by itself because of the additional services a MAP offers. In addition, most MAPs offer a prescription drug program for an added premium. Many of those plans also have deductibles.

  1. Florida Health Care Plans

    • Florida Health Care Plans Inc., sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, is available to residents of Flagler and Volusia counties. It's the oldest federally-qualified HMO in Florida and the second oldest in the United States, covering Medicare patients since 1981. This plan offers two options without coverage for prescription drugs and four with coverage. The monthly premium ranges from $0 to $77, based on 2010 prices. Contact FHCP at www.fhcp.com or call 386-676-7100 or 1-800-352-9824 for information.

    Freedom Health

    • Freedom Health is owned by investors and physicians and operates in 30 counties in Florida. The company began selling its Medicare Advantage Plan in 2005. To learn more, visit http://freedomhealth.com or call 888-796-0946.

    Advantra Medicare

    • This Medicare Advantage Plan is a subsidiary of Coventry Health Care. In many Florida counties, it not only offers Medicare Part A, B and D coverages, it also offers vision, dental and hearing aid benefits. The company offers plans that have preferred provider organizations, like Medicare. Some of Advantra's plans offer health maintenance organizations, where you may be limited to doctors on its list, but you'll pay little or nothing to see them. Visit http://coventry-medicare.coventryhealthcare.com or call 888-788-4010.

    Amerigroup

    • Although this company was created in 1994, it wasn't until 2006 that it created the Senior & Special Services Organization and its Medicare Advantage services. It was the first company of its kind to create a national advisory board to meet seniors' needs. In total, Amerigroup has more than 180,000 members in 10 states, including Florida. Visit www.realsolutions.com/healthcare/seniors/Pages/Home.aspx or call 866-805-4589 for details.

Medicare - Related Articles