2 New Ways to Get Smarter About Medicare

United Income's new Medicare Advice free personalized shopping service and the free What's Covered mobile app from Medicare could help make shopping for a policy easier, reports Next Avenue . The United Income service requires users to answer an online questionnaire about their healthcare preferences and needs, then offers the most appropriate coverage suggestions. United Income will not recommend a particular health insurer's Medicare Advantage or Medigap policy. "We wanted to provide Medicare advice that's part of a financial plan," says United Income's Andrew Vincent. Medicare's What's Covered app is available on Apple's App Store and on Google Play, with the goal of telling shoppers whether Medicare Part A or Part B would cover their medical test or service, as well as basic cost information. "We've seen over the last couple of years an increase in mobile usage, so we thought the What's Covered app would be a good opportunity to address what people are looking for on the Medicare.gov site," notes Jon Booth with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services. However, What's Covered will not help users determine whether a treatment or procedure is covered by Medicare Advantage plans, as their coverage differs significantly. "This is primarily targeted to people with original Medicare and maybe Medicare Part D (the prescription drug plan) and their caregivers," Booth says.