jrp wrote:
A real medicare supplement plan will be honored anywhere in the country. If a provider accepts medicare, then by law they must accept your medicare supplement, regardless if its BCBS or xyz company. The doctor or hospital bill Medicare, then Medicare coordinates with your medicare supplement company. The doctor or hospital rarely has any contact with the supplement company and gets the same payment regardless if its BCBS or xyz.
In my own experience this isn't entirely correct. There are two basic types of Medicare Supplement plans - those that are primary with Medicare being secondary and vice versa. There are many doctors and hospitals that accept the first type but not the second type, the reason being with the first type they bill the Supplemental Insurance who then deal with Medicare. If your Supplemental Insurance is primary then you shouldn't have any problems any and doctor or hospital that advertises they accept Medicare patients will take you, but if your Supplemental Insurance is secondary to Medicare then only some (somewhat limited) doctors and hospitals will take you even though they advertise that they accept Medicare patients.
