Please stay tuned for important disclosure information at the conclusion of this episode.

Welcome to Investing Insights. I'm your host, Ivana Hampton. A once-in-a-generation revamp is coming to Medicare.

Seniors and caregivers may want to review. Current coverage and shop around for next year.

Reforms from the Inflation Reduction Act will lower some costs. Meanwhile, there are some concerns health plan options could slightly shrink.

Mark Miller is a Morning Star contributor and the Retirement Revised Newsletter publisher.

He's written about what you need to know about Medicare open enrollment for 2025.

Here's our conversation.

Welcome back to the podcast, Mark.

Thank you.

Great to be here.

Well, let's start with a quick explainer about the similarities and differences of

traditional Medicare and Medicare

Advantage.

Sure.

Well, when you first sign up for Medicare, you're going to go down one of these two pathways.

Either you're going to sign up for the traditional Medicare program, which is the base

where you're interacting directly with the government, with Medicare, or Medicare Advantage, which is a

commercially offered, you know, that come from insurance companies. They are kind of more

comprehensive, all in one ways to have your Medicare coverage. And they are typically managed

care plans, meaning like a PPO or an HMO. So they offer kind of the convenience of

one-stop shopping. Some people appreciate other aspects of it, such as extra benefits. In some cases,

the plans come without an extra premium for prescription drugs, and you don't need a METAGAP

...