Medicare Advantage Plans are permitted to make changes to benefits schedules and rate structures on January 1 of each year.

The plan must announce any changes in the preceding October so you have the opportunity to change plans if you wish. To learn more, see: Medicare Advantage: How To Disenroll.

Any changes must apply to the entire group of members. An HMO cannot single people out for changes. 

Medicare Advantage Plans are permitted to charge a premium for their coverage in addition to the premium you must already pay for Part B Medicare. There is no limit on the amount of premium that can be charged.

In order to enroll as many people as possible, Medicare Advantage Plans usually charge nothing or very little, such as $25 per month.

Most Medicare Advantage Plans determine their premiums and benefits schedule on a county-by-county basis. They are prohibited from adjusting rates individually based on an individual person's health or usage. 

Medicare Advantage Plans cannot stop covering you unless they stop covering all other members of the same Plan in the same geographic area.

If your Medicare Advantage Plan terminates all its Medicare members, you have a right to join any other Medicare plan available in your area including a guaranteed right to purchase a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy if you return to Original Fee-for-Service Medicare. 

Medicare plans are required to cover the costs of ambulance transport if:

• The transport by ambulance is medically necessary because your condition is such that any other way of getting to the hospital would endanger your life AND
• The transport is to the nearest facility that could meet your medical need. The hospital does not have to be in the Plan's network.

It is also worth noting that all ambulance providers must accept the Medicare approved amount as payment in full.