{"id":477034,"date":"2025-09-19T14:23:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T18:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/faqs\/%faq_category%\/what-is-a-medicare-advantage-plan-how-does-it-differ-from-traditional-medicare\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T14:23:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T18:23:14","slug":"what-is-a-medicare-advantage-plan-how-does-it-differ-from-traditional-medicare","status":"publish","type":"faqs","link":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/faqs\/medicare-open-enrollment-faqs\/medicare-advantage\/what-is-a-medicare-advantage-plan-how-does-it-differ-from-traditional-medicare\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Medicare Advantage plan? How does it differ from traditional Medicare?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div\n\tclass=\"wp-block-kff-shared-content--standard-layout wp-block-kff-shared-content\">\n\t\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-content-main\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"post-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<h1 class=\"post-header__title\">What is a Medicare Advantage plan? How does it differ from traditional Medicare?<\/h1>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"post-header__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"post-header__meta-label\">Published:<\/span>\n\t\t\t<date>Sep 19, 2025<\/date>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"post-header__social-sharing\">\n\t\t<button class=\"post-header__social-sharing__button print\">\n\t\t\t<svg width=\"16\" height=\"17\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M4.348 2.5v3.391H2.783A.787.787 0 0 0 2 6.674v4.696c0 .429.353.782.783.782h1.565V14.5h7.304v-2.348h1.565c.43 0 .783-.353.783-.782V6.674a.787.787 0 0 0-.783-.783h-1.565V2.5H4.348Zm.522.522h6.26v2.87H4.87v-2.87ZM2.783 6.413h1.782a.26.26 0 0 0 .085 0h6.697a.26.26 0 0 0 .086 0h1.784c.148 0 .261.114.261.26v4.697c0 .147-.113.26-.26.26h-1.566V9.283H4.348v2.347H2.783a.257.257 0 0 1-.261-.26V6.674c0-.147.113-.261.26-.261Zm9.39.783a.522.522 0 1 0 0 1.043.522.522 0 0 0 0-1.043ZM4.87 9.804h6.26v2.043a.264.264 0 0 0 0 .086v2.045H4.87v-2.043a.261.261 0 0 0 0-.085V9.804Zm1.043.783a.262.262 0 0 0-.265.26.26.26 0 0 0 .265.262h4.174a.26.26 0 1 0 0-.522H5.913Zm0 1.043a.26.26 0 1 0 0 .522h3.13a.26.26 0 1 0 0-.522h-3.13Zm0 1.044a.26.26 0 1 0 0 .522h4.174a.262.262 0 0 0 .264-.261.26.26 0 0 0-.264-.261H5.913Z\" fill=\"#004B88\" stroke=\"#004B88\" stroke-width=\".5\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\n\t\t\tPrint\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t<a href=\"mailto:?subject=What%20is%20a%20Medicare%20Advantage%20plan%3F%20How%20does%20it%20differ%20from%20traditional%20Medicare%3F&#038;body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kff.org%2Ffaqs%2Fmedicare-open-enrollment-faqs%2Fmedicare-advantage%2Fwhat-is-a-medicare-advantage-plan-how-does-it-differ-from-traditional-medicare%2F\" class=\"post-header__social-sharing__button\">\n\t\t\t<svg width=\"16\" height=\"17\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M2.333 4.25h-.25v9.14h12.5V4.25H2.333Zm1.083 1.693-.353-.2V5.23h10.54v.513l-.353.2L8.333 8.73 3.416 5.943Zm-.353 6.467V6.884l.107.06 5.04 2.857.123.07.123-.07 5.04-2.857.107-.06v5.526H3.063Z\" fill=\"#004B88\" stroke=\"#004B88\" stroke-width=\".5\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\n\t\t\tEmail\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<button class=\"post-header__social-sharing__button copy\">\n\t\t\t<svg width=\"16\" height=\"17\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M11.533 2.9c-.615 0-1.23.235-1.697.702L8.502 4.936a2.4 2.4 0 0 0-.575 2.46l.958-.958a1.32 1.32 0 0 1 .371-.748l1.334-1.333a1.331 1.331 0 0 1 1.886 0c.52.52.52 1.365 0 1.885l-1.334 1.333c-.21.21-.474.331-.748.372l-.958.958a2.393 2.393 0 0 0 2.46-.576l1.334-1.333a2.402 2.402 0 0 0 0-3.394 2.393 2.393 0 0 0-1.697-.702Zm-1.61 3.46a.533.533 0 0 0-.367.162l-3.2 3.2a.533.533 0 1 0 .754.754l3.2-3.2a.534.534 0 0 0-.387-.915ZM6.586 7.973a2.388 2.388 0 0 0-1.816.697l-1.334 1.333a2.403 2.403 0 0 0 0 3.394 2.393 2.393 0 0 0 1.697.702c.614 0 1.229-.234 1.697-.702l1.333-1.334a2.4 2.4 0 0 0 .576-2.46l-.959.958a1.32 1.32 0 0 1-.37.749l-1.334 1.333a1.334 1.334 0 0 1-1.886-1.885l1.334-1.334c.21-.21.474-.331.748-.372l.958-.957c-.21-.07-.426-.11-.644-.122Z\" fill=\"#004B88\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\n\t\t\t<span>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Medicare Advantage plans are private health plans, such as HMOs or PPOs, that are offered by health insurers that have contracts with the Medicare program to offer benefits to people with Medicare. The plans provide all Medicare-covered benefits under Parts A and B, and usually provide Part D prescription drug benefits as well. Most Medicare Advantage plans also provide benefits that are not covered under traditional Medicare, such as eyeglasses, some dental care, or gym memberships. The plans also have a limit on out-of-pocket spending for services covered under Parts A and B, and may have lower cost-sharing than traditional Medicare for Medicare-covered services. However, Medicare Advantage plans restrict the health care providers that their enrollees can see (provider networks) whereas beneficiaries in traditional Medicare can see any doctor that accepts Medicare, without needing prior authorization or a referral from their primary care doctor.<\/p>\n\n\t\n<footer class=\"faqs__footer faqs__footer--single\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"faqs__back-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/faqs\/topic\/medicare-advantage\/\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"faqs__back-link-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"15\" height=\"14\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 15 14\"><path fill=\"#004B88\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"m4.609 6 4.78-4.482L7.968 0 .5 7l7.467 7 1.423-1.518L4.609 8h9.78V6z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\tView all Medicare Advantage\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"faqs__footer-box\">\n\t\t<p class=\"faqs__footer-text\">While we have made every effort to provide accurate information in these FAQs, people should contact the health insurance Marketplace or Medicaid agency in their state for guidance on their specific circumstances.<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<div class=\"post-footer\">\n\t<div class=\"post-footer__title\">More On<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"post-footer__links\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/topic\/medicare\/\">\n\t\t\t\tMedicare\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-content-sidebar\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/section>\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Medicare Advantage plans are private health plans, such as HMOs or PPOs, that are offered by health insurers that have contracts with the Medicare program to offer benefits to people with Medicare. The plans provide all Medicare-covered benefits under Parts A and B, and usually provide Part D prescription drug benefits as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155412753,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"exhibits":[],"authors":[],"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","_classifai_text_to_speech_error":"","kaiser_foundation_short_title":"","kaiser_foundation_translation":0,"search_keywords":"FAQ","footnotes":""},"categories":[69737],"content-types":[579145497],"faq_topic":[579145082],"faq_category":[579145074],"language":[579145032],"class_list":["post-477034","faqs","type-faqs","status-publish","hentry","category-medicare","content-types-faqs","faq_topic-medicare-advantage","faq_category-medicare-open-enrollment-faqs","language-en"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is a Medicare Advantage plan? 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