Does Baptist Health Jacksonville Accept Medicare Advantage Plans?

If you live in Jacksonville and have Medicare, or you're getting ready to enroll, you may have asked:

“Does my hospital accept Medicare?”

But if you have a Medicare Advantage plan, that's actually not the right question.

A hospital can accept Medicare while not accepting your specific Medicare Advantage plan.

Jacksonville residents have several major healthcare systems, including Baptist Health, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, UF Health Jacksonville and Ascension St. Vincent's. But these hospitals don't necessarily participate with every Medicare Advantage plan available in our area. Here's what Jacksonville Medicare beneficiaries should know.

Baptist Health Jacksonville

Baptist Health is one of the largest healthcare systems in Northeast Florida, with locations including Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville, Baptist Medical Center South, Baptist Beaches and other facilities throughout the area.

Baptist accepts Original Medicare as well as a number of Medicare Advantage plans.

However, this is where things get interesting.

Baptist actually publishes specific Medicare Advantage plans that its facilities accept—and plans that they do not accept.

For example, Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville currently lists certain Medicare Advantage plans from companies such as Aetna, Florida Blue, Devoted Health and UnitedHealthcare as accepted.

But it also lists other Medicare Advantage plans as not accepted.

Even more importantly, participation can differ between a Baptist hospital and an individual Baptist physician practice.

Indeed, this means that even if a Medicare Advantage plan is listed as being accepted by Baptist, Baptist hospital may accept the Medicare Advantage plan, but your Baptist Primary Care doctor may not.

Don't Choose a Medicare Plan Based Only on the Extras

It's easy to get distracted by Medicare Advantage advertisements offering things like dental, vision, hearing and other supplemental benefits.

Those benefits can certainly be valuable.

But before choosing a plan, I believe there are a few even more important questions:

Are my doctors in-network?

Is my preferred hospital in-network?

Are my prescriptions covered?

What could I pay when I actually need medical care?

And if you're in Jacksonville:

Do I want access to Baptist, Mayo Clinic, UF Health or Ascension St. Vincent's?

Your answer can make a significant difference in which Medicare options make sense for you.

Want Me to Check Your Jacksonville Doctors and Hospitals?

I'm Medicare Melanie, an independent agent right here in Jacksonville, Florida.

When I help someone compare Medicare plans, I'm not just looking at which plan has the lowest premium or the longest list of extra benefits. I'm looking at your doctors, your hospitals, your prescriptions and your priorities.

Have Medicare questions?

Medicare Melanie is here to help.

Schedule your free appointment with Medicare Melanie today by calling

(904) 582 - 8067