TIPS – Make Sure Your Doctor is “In-Network”

Are you receiving your Medicare benefits through a MedicareAdvantage PPO or HMO plan, OR, an “on-exchange”/”off-exchange” Obamacare or legacy healthcare plan? If so, be sure to do the following when seeing any doctor for the first time.

At the front desk or with your doctor’s billing representative, show your MedicareAdvantage membership card (from Humana or Anthem BC/BS or other) and ask them if they can verify that they are “in-network” for your plan. Do NOT ask them if they take your plan. Inevitably they will nearly always say they will “take your insurance and file it” for you.

This does not mean that they are in-network and could cause you to have higher copays, and/or you may not even be covered for the visit.

What you need to know is if your doctors are “in-network”. That is the key.