Insurance Help!!!

I have to make choice for medicare insurance plan ASAP. Are any of you familiar with Windsor Diamond Plan? Viva would not cover anyone in Mobile co.

You need to be careful with some of these medicare plans that take the place of medicare.  From working as  a nurse and dealing with medicare, most all doc will take medicare and some will not take the other programs.   Also some of these other programs might not cover weight loss surgery  where as medicare will if it is a center of excelllance  I have not heard of these 2 programs. 

Salambert---

Not being qualified to obtain Medicare yet, I have not personally looked at the various plans and what each has to offer. I am sure that each plan has its
own unique pros and cons.

Are you choosing a supplement to your Medicare or are you choosing a Medicare replacement plan? This is another thing to consider. We see a lot of patients with Medicare that is primary and a supplement that they have chose as secondary.


I do work in a rather large (over 30 physician) Medical Practice and frequently handle insurance/billing issues. My suggestion to you would be to get the details on each plan and then make
sure one or the other covers your CHOICE of physicians as well as the major health concerns that you may have. Be careful not to choose a plan that will limit your choice of physicians to a small number or undesirable group.

Check with your current health care providers to see if they accept the plan(s) that you are considering as your options. A lot of plans require the physician to sign contracts in order to be a network provider and not all physicians participate in all plans.

Apparently you live in Mobile county, so you may want to look to organizations in that county--such as the Mobile County Medical Society or to a large hospital and ask them if they have recommendations for a plan.
They can sometimes tell you as well, if they have an unusually high number of complaints against a particular plan.

Good luck in your search on making such an important decision.

Thank you so much for the good advice. I did call a few surgeons offices a month or so ago, and asked if certain plans paid promptly; and if any seemed harder to gain approval for WLS from, than others. I also called a couple of my regular doctors to see if they were on the provider list of some of the plans. 
I met reluctance at each angle, as if the answers could be mistaken for an endorsement of a plan. (or seem unethical to encourage me eiher way.)
Even though medicare supplements are much more expensive; I think it may be my best bet.... As you all said, I choose doctors I want. 
Medicare pays their part... and if they approve it, the supplement will pay all medicare approved medical expenses 80/20.
I REALLY want WLS this year! I have appt. with PCP this coming wk., to see if she approves. I need to get started on my 6mos. medically supervised/documented wt. loss attempts first thing; right?? 

I am currently looking into the medicare advantage programs myself the thing I have found is to talk to not only the doctors but you can look most of the available plans up online or you may call them and ask them what they cover I am looking into the BCBS of Alabama advantage plan because they do cover the surgeries for weight loss with the same rules as original Medicare.  Many of the advantage programs are the same way and they often have lower co-pays and sometimes deductibles those are the things that you shoud definately check into.  Some of the plans are better for differnt situations so you just have to make sure you ask all the questions you need to for your situation and your needs.  Viva and healthspring didn't cover my regular PCP much less surgery doctors so I have been doing lots of research, just remember to be thorough so you don't wind up with a plan that isn't right for you.  You can change every year at open enrollment but who wants to have to go through researching, and changing everything every year.  Not a professional and just getting started on this myself but just thought I would share the advice and information that has been passed on to me.  Good luck.

Thanx for the info. I have so many conditions that I have to go to my doctor frequently, with trips to specialists, and frequent testing (lab, radiology,etc...) sleep study 1st wk Jan.- all this done in the past, but since coming here from VA. my PCP wants her own studies and diagnosis done.
With the Dr. visit co-pays (especially specialist rather high) I thought , as you mentioned, i could change plans in a year.
So even though medigap supplements are expensive, I have decided to go this route for this year, since I anticipate high co-pays and deductibles for the coming year anyway.
I also have assurance weight loss surgery will be covered 100%.
Good luck to you..