A Medicare Advantage Plan is a type of Medicare health plan offered by a private company contracting with Medicare to provide you with your Part A and Part B benefits. Medicare Advantage Plans include Health Maintenance Organizations, Preferred Provider Organizations, Private Fee-for-Services Plans, Special Needs Plans, and Medicare Medical Savings Account Plans.
Medicare Advantage Plans, sometimes called "Part C" or "MA Plans," are offered by private companies approved by Medicare. If you join a Medicare Advantage Plan, you still have Medicare. You'll get your Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) coverage from the Medicare Advantage Plan, not Original Medicare.
Medicare health plans provide Part A and Part B benefits to people with Medicare who enroll in these plans, which include Medicare Advantage Plans, Medicare Cost Plans, Demonstration/Pilot Programs, and Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Medicare Advantage Plans cover all Medicare services.
Medicare pays a fixed amount for your care each month to the companies offering Medicare Advantage Plans. Companies providing Medicare Advantage Plans must follow rules set by Medicare.
However, each Medicare Advantage Plan can charge different out-of-pocket costs and have different rules for how you get services (like whether you need a referral to see a specialist, of if you have to go to only doctors, facilities, or suppliers that belong to the plan for non-emergency or non-urgent care). These rules can change each year.