@lookingforward – again, a medical advantage plan is different. – It works like regular insurance, and the companies can offer whatever benefits they want above and beyond standard (“original”) Medicare.
(I started a thread with a question about apples and everyone wants to talk about oranges ----- I wouldn’t mind except that there seems to be something of a sustained effort to contradict whatever I am figuring out tied to original Medicare by volunteering helpful facts about a totally different type of coverage that I don’t have.
@jym626 - I also have an HSA and you can continue to use previously accumulated HSA funds that to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses - and also for Medicare Part B & D premiums, or Medicare Advantage premiums – but not for Medigap (supplement) premiums. However, you can use the funds to pay for long-term-care premiums. And of course for various medical expenses that aren’t covered by Medicare (such as dental).
See:
https://www.connectyourcare.com/blog/hsa-medicare-using-hsa-to-pay-for-medicare-premiums-and-more/
https://www.65incorporated.com/topics/out-pocket-medicare-costs/heath-savings-account-distributions-medicare-premiums/
http://money.com/money/4169422/hsa-account-medicare/
When it is time to choose a supplement, it can be worth shopping around – the basic benefits are the same for equivalent plans, but there can be some significant differences in premiums.
But it’s possible that things are more competitive for the supplements in California, because our state law allows us to change plans each year, so the companies can’t really lock us in. Although I’m not entirely clear on whether I would be able to keep my F plan if I swapped to a different carrier. I know I’m grandfathered in for the existing plan, but not sure how that works if I decide to change carriers.