For many people that are eligible for Medicare, just beginning to look over all of the different types of healthcare coverage can be very confusing. As you know, having options is often a very good thing. But with all of the healthcare plans available, how do you make a decision that will be right for you?

Those that have reviewed the many options with Medicare know that it is simply nothing but choices. Depending upon your situation, you may decide to stay with traditional Medicare, known as Medicare Parts A and B. If you choose this plan, it is recommended to obtain a Medicare Part D (prescription drug) plan as well. Medicare Part D ensures that all of your medications are covered.

Or, you may take a look at a Medicare Advantage plan, which combines traditional Medicare coverage plus prescription coverage and many other benefits. You may also be interested in a Medigap (supplemental) plan that offers even more coverage than the Advantage plan.

With all the options that Medicare includes, many people just give up due to confusion. Fortunately, help is available. To get the most out of your healthcare insurance choices, you should be advised by a knowledgeable source. A Medicare advisor offers information and guidance on available Medicare programs, detailed action plans tailored to your situation, and answers all of your questions. And before you speak with an advisor, research the basics of Medicare.

Traditional Medicare

Medicare Parts A and B were part of the original Medicare Program. This traditional form has been around since 1965. For most people that have worked and paid Medicare taxes for a minimum of 10 years, Medicare Part A is free. Part A covers in-patient hospital care, and Part B, which cost an average of $96.40 in 2009, covers out-patient medical care.

Anyone that has the traditional form of Medicare can visit any doctor they choose in any hospital or office. They do not need a referral from another doctor as long as that doctor, hospital, or office accepts patients with Medicare. However, the benefits of traditional Medicare are very limited.

Traditional Medicare does not cover most out-patient prescription drugs. If a Medicare recipient needs prescription drug coverage often, then costs can become very high. This is why Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans are available for purchase.

Medicare Advantage Plans

Medicare Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage, combines Parts A and B into one plan. This allows the Medicare recipient to get their Medicare Part A and Part B coverage all in one place. Medicare Advantage plans generally include prescription drug coverage and many other benefits that are not normally found under traditional Medicare, such as dental and vision services.

The Medicare Advantage option works just like private insurance – you choose from different types of plans depending upon what type of provider access you would like (for example, preferred provider organizations (PPO) and health management organizations (HMO). It also depends upon your health condition and any prescription drugs you are taking.

Medicare Advantage plans also offer many different levels of coverage, and they all offer as much coverage as the traditional Medicare plan. For instance, if the plan covers prescription drugs, that coverage must meet the minimum standards of Medicare Part D.

Medicare Part D

Medicare Part D has been put in place to cover prescription drug costs. Similar to Medicare Advantage, Part D is available through private companies who are reimbursed to provide healthcare coverage to those under Medicare Part D. There are many different plans offered in the United States, and some have many different levels of coverage. Also like Medicare Advantage, there is a minimum coverage amount required for a plan to qualify as a Medicare Part D plan. Those who take prescription drugs, but don’t need to see their doctors regularly, are the best candidates for Medicare Part D

Medicare supplemental plans, or Medigap, are sold by private companies to fill the “gaps” that exist in traditional Medicare. In 2009, there are 12 different Medigap plans, labeled A through L. The cost of deductibles, co-payments and coinsurance are included in Medigap, and it may also cover services that Medicare does not insure.

Although Medigap may cover additional costs, if a person chooses to keep traditional Medicare, that person can’t buy a Medigap plan if they have Medicare Advantage. Having both plans is unnecessary because most Medicare Advantage plans offer better coverage and benefits than the Medigap plan. It is simplest and cheapest to just purchase a Medicare Advantage plan instead of having both Medigap and Medicare Part D.

Choosing the Right Plan for You

As you can see, choosing the right plan on your own can be a very difficult task. There are thousands of plans offered in the United States, with an average of 40 Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans in different regions. This is why using a Medicare advisor is so important. With so many options, choosing a plan is difficult when you do not understand what each one covers or doesn’t cover. The use of a Medicare advisor can help you choose the right Medicare coverage plan choice for your situation.

The kids are grown and you and your spouse are finally getting the “just 15 minutes of quiet” you’ve been asking for all those years. Now what? It may be that dream you had of starting your own small business together. It’s probably safe to say your soon-to-be old employer isn’t going to let you stay on their group plan. Not a problem. There are many plans available in the individual health insurance market that may meet your needs.You no longer need comprehensive coverage for your children but you may still want it for yourself and your spouse. Many plans have coverage that includes preventive annual screenings, well visits and prescription drugs. Many plans also include money-saving benefits like non-tobacco rates and/or preferred rates. A healthy lifestyle program may also be a plan feature that provides additional savings, such as cash back on annual gym memberships and fitness classes.Another type of coverage that may fulfill your needs is a HSA program, which combines a qualified high-deductible insurance plan with a health savings account component. Created under federal legislation, HSAs offer a way to purchase a health insurance policy and save money tax-free. Contributions to your HSA account are tax deductible up to the lesser of 100% of your deductible or to the IRS allowed maximums. The withdrawals from your HSA account are tax-free when used to pay for qualified medical expenses. Your HSA money earns interest tax deferred and rolls over year after year. What you don’t spend on health care continues to grow as tax deferred savings until you reach age 65 at which point you can use the savings tax-free for medical expenses not covered by Medicare or for non-qualified expenses and only receive normal taxation.With all the options available in today’s consumer market, you can venture ahead with your dreams of your own business without the worry of “will we still be covered?”

BlueEdge is a high-deductible health plan offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) that can be combined to form an HSA. There are also BlueEdge plan options for employer groups that work in conjunction with health reimbursement arrangements.

BlueEdge also includes coverage for both preventative & wellness benefits.

Health savings accounts are effective ways to keep monthly premiums down, especially for individuals or families that are relatively healthy.

Health insurance rates for BlueEdge can be as low as $75/mo or for BlueChoice PPO as low as $58/mo.

Now comes the fun part. With the Senate Finance Committee poised to pass its version of comprehensive health care reform we get to one of the more difficult segments of the Kabuki dance: Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid must now reconcile the bills passed by multiple committees into a blended proposal. Which means the time is right for President Barack Obama to publicly define what, exactly, is “Obamacare”.

First some background. In the House, different versions of health care reform legislation have been passed by the House Ways & Means, Energy & Commerce, and Education & Labor committees. To be more precise, while the legislation moved forward by Ways & Means and Education & Labor were very similar, moderate Democratic members on the Energy & Commerce committee gained significant changes in that committee’s version. Speaker Pelosi will now combine the three versions into a “Manger’s Bill.” This is the version that will be debated and voted upon by the full House.

What’s makes Speaker Pelosi’s mash-up of the House Committee’s health care reform bills important is that any changes must be imposed upon it. Her version of the bill is the “default” position. From a legislative process perspective, this puts those seeking changes to the legislative language at a disadvantage.

The same blending process is underway in the Senate. There the task is even harder. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed a liberal version of health care reform; the Senate Finance Committee’s plan is much more moderate. The gap between them is far greater than that between the three House committee’s bills. The Associated Press describes Senator Reid’s efforts to blend two disparate health care reform bills as “mission seemingly impossible.” Given the differences in the how the two Committees addressed costs, taxes, whether there should be a government-run plan, the obligation of employers to provide coverage and other controversial items, “seemingly impossible” may be an understatement.

Unless President Obama dives deeper into the details than has publicly been the case. The White House has been engaged in Congressional health care reform negotiations for some time. According to news reports, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, formerly part of the House Leadership, has been the Administration’s point person in these discussions. Until recently, President Obama has been willing to let Congress thrash out the thorny issues related to health care reform, setting forth broad principles. Beginning last month the president has offered more specifics, but hardly enough to clearly define what his version of health care reform looks like. At least not publicly.

With all the Congressional committees having taken a position, the time has come to get specific. Yes, the White House could leave it to Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to fashion compromises that can pass their respective chambers, but that only postpones the Administration’s day of reckoning. For after the House and Senate passes their differing versions of reform, a conference committee (made up of both Senators and Representatives) will convene to fashion the final bill. If President Obama waits until the conference committee convenes to publicly engage in the nitty-gritty of reform, it could be too late. Legislators will have been forced to make numerous politically challenging votes. The political payback if the White House then makes those votes unnecessary would be … ugly.

President Obama needs to make his health care reform vision known now, before those votes. He needs to say “this is acceptable;” “this is not.”  He needs to spend his political capital to define Obamacare, to give lawmakers the cover they need to make tough votes, and to rally his considerable grassroots organization behind specific legislation.

Publicly defining what he wants in the bill is a huge political risk for President Obama. His positions will anger some supporters and give opponents mounds of ammunition to use against him. Whatever changes Congress makes to the president’s reform plan will be described by the jabbering cable network pundits as a defeat for the Administration. If he accepts those changes he’ll be accused of weakness and flip-flopping. (One of the most insightful columnists around, Richard Reeves recently explained the value and wisdom of political leaders capable of changing their minds).

But the greater risk to the Administration is failing to achieve meaningful health care reform. And if health care reform does pass, the messiness of the process will be soon forgotten. The odds of President Obama getting a health care reform bill sent to his desk increases exponentially if Congress – and the public – have a clear understanding of the Administration’s legislative ambitions.

The policy and political pieces are all on the table. Selecting from among the various provisions contained in the five variations of health care reform passed by Congressional committees won’t be an easy, but it is necessary. President Obama wanted Congress to participate in the reform process. They have. Now it’s his turn.

I recently planned a vacation – a glorious road trip spanning northern California’s wine country, San Francisco, Big Sur and Los Angeles. Most of my online “legwork” was spent researching and comparing prices for rental cars. I had to pay attention to drop-off fees and parking charges, not to mention the considerable number of miles we were putting on the car. The range of car types and price points were astounding!

As much as I wanted to rent a luxurious trail-ready SUV or a fun, sporty convertible, we really couldn’t afford it. And did we need heated seats, a sunroof, or room for seven people? We certainly didn’t want to pay for these extra features we really weren’t going to use. If we had kids in tow or truly needed the amenities and conveniences of a more expensive rental, I’m sure we could have shuffled our budget around to accommodate it. So we made our way with a sensible car that got us from point A to point B to point C – and had a rate that left us some money for souvenirs!

Health insurance is similar. Many people set out, as I did with the rental car, thinking about the features of a “fully-loaded” product. But when it comes to making the purchase decision, they simply don’t need the extensive benefits and higher price tags that usually come with the more comprehensive plans.

That’s why basic benefit health plans are so popular – they’re reasonably priced with just the right amount of major medical coverage for hospitalization, Rx drugs, PPO office visits, and even preventive care. While these plans lack many of the “bells and whistles” of more comprehensive health plans, they have the important benefits that consumers need and the prices they shop around for.

The thing to keep in mind is that basic benefit plans require policyholders to cost-share (to pay additional deductibles for hospital visits and Rx drugs, for example) in exchange for low monthly premiums and essential major medical coverage when they need it. That’s kind of like paying out of pocket for gas and supplementary collision insurance on a rental car that comes standard with A/C, power windows and satellite radio, right?

I’m happy to report our road trip was a great success! We really were quite comfortable traversing the coastal highways and bustling city streets in our sensible car. (All of the natural beauty was outside the car, anyway!) Not only did we have fun, but I felt really good knowing we saved as much money as we did. If only health insurance plans came with satellite radio…