Any advice on keeping the cost down and the services up will be much appreciated. Oxford is really making it hard to decide among their three medicare plans for 2006: Essential, Signature and Balance.

Mickie,

All I know is that I've had OXFORD "pay your own" for nearly a decade...I like them a lot (except for the $6 grand I send them every year.)
But I'm, several years from Medicare so I don't know.

How do they differ? Maybe i can help.

Lenin

Sorry to take so long to reply and thanks for taking the time.

Oxford Medicare Advantage premiums (approximately $800 monthly) are supplied by Medicare to Oxford for my "complete" medical and hospital care. At one time there was very little that the subscriber had to add to receive these benefits. But now, and for the past few years, Oxford has tacked on many additional costs in the form of co-pays, deductibles, fees for services, daily hospital costs, ambulance charges, limitations of numbers of days in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, etc.

Today's Oxford plans are numerous and complicated; too complicated to discuss here. But thanks for your kind offer and interest.

Gee,

Since my care is $552 a month with a $ 20 deductible and 1/2 drug payment and a $200 co-pay for the first day in a hospital (surgery and all tests are free), you'd think if they get $800 from Medicare, they'd give STELLAR coverage. That's $10 grand...the UK gives comprehensive care for a QUARTER that...but that's apples and oranges.

I guess I'd better look into it harder because I was HALF considering staying with it for the few years til Medicare and then continuing into an Oxford run Medicare HMO...but if there are too many add-ons, that option doesn't sound so appealing. Of course, with the current administration, the "regular" Medicare is getting encumbered with LOTS of limitations and far higher costs than were there in 2000.