Newest Medicare Advantage Plan from Anthem Blue Cross
One of the newest Medicare Advantage plan in California for 2012 is the Anthem Medicare Preferred Standard PPO or AMP. The Anthem Medicare Preferred is the newest successor to the Freedom Blue Regional PPO plan that became very popular over the past few years.
The Anthem Medicare Preferred Standard plan offers significant freedom of choice in regards to your medical service providers. For short,
the AMP PPO plan is only available in select counties throughout California and the benefits are different from county to the next. The plans are grouped below by counties that share the same benefits:
- Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura
- Orange, San Francisco, Sonoma
- Riverside, San Bernardino, San Mateo
- Alameda, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Stanislaus
Although a few details do vary the main benefits stay the same. You will still be able to enjoy the freedom of the Anthem Blue Cross PPO network. This means you will have set co-pays for your more common services like office visits and no referrals needed when you want to visit a Specialist.
Prescriptions Drugs Covered at No Additional Cost!The Anthem Medicare Preferred Standard PPO includes an embedded Medicare Part D plan that includes a 4 Tier Drug Formulary with set co-pays during your Initial Coverage Period. These co-payments will stay the same until you and your plan combined reach the Coverage Gap, also known as the "Doughnut Hole", which is $2,930 annually.In 2012, you will receive a discount on covered brand-name prescription drugs. In addition, you will be responsible to pay for 86% of the plans cost for covered generic prescriptions. The best part is that what you spend plus the 50% discount paid by the Drug company counts as out-of-pocket spending to help you out of the Doughnut Hole. Catastrophic Coverage begins if and when your total annual prescription costs reach $4,700; at which point you are only responsible for a small co-insurance or co-payment for each drug.
Optional Benefits: Dental, Vision and MoreAnthem Medicare Preferred PPO also offers optional packages for an additional premium. These packages include:
- Preventive Dental
- Comprehensive Dental and Vision
- Combination of Dental, Vision, Chiropractic and Accupuncture
Please remember that this is a PPO plan that allows you to see any doctor of your choice within the Network. Anthem Blue Cross has over 51,000 participating physicians and approximately 400 hospitals to chose from.Be sure to review your options carefully before making a decision on your plan for 2012. Also keep in mind that these generous benefits are only available to you if you are or will be enrolled in Medicare Part A & B and you reside in the counties mentioned above.
