Is Medicare Advantage Better Than Medigap? 
For some people Medicare Advantage plans are an excellent senior health insurance solution . I believe at last count we were in the 13 to 14 million seniors participating in Medicare Advantage plans . As with most every choice in life there are tradeoffs involved . Medicare Advantage plans are essentially HMO plans for Medicare eligible seniors . They offer a broad , comprehensive range of benefits and value added services and wrap everything up in one package . The flip side to Medicare Advantage plans is that their enrollees operate within the plan ` scontracted network of providers to receive their care . This does , by necessity , impose some restrictions on their member 's choices in doctors , hospitals , pharmacies , etc. , and this environment is not for everyone . That said , changes in the American health care system , some but not all prompted by ObamaCare , are also working in ways that make it more challenging for traditional Medicare enrollees to find and/or keep health care providers that accept Medicare . So , whichever way a senior citizen decides to go they will probably be faced with some difficult choices and compromises . Medicare Advantage plans vary from one insurance carrier to another . One ca n't objectively say that Medicare Advantage plans are , as a class , a better or worse choice than traditional Medicare plans . That is a determination that each individual has to make for themselves based upon their perceptions of their present and future needs . Certainly Medicare Advantage plans are an option that a senior citizen should consider but the important thing is that people have a choice . 