With a Medicare Advantage plan after I reach the max out of pocket, $3,000 or more, will I have any copays or fees the rest of the year?
Answered by 35 licensed agents
Once you reach your maximum out-of-pocket (MOOP) limit on a Medicare Advantage plan, you will not pay any more copays, coinsurance, or other out-of-pocket costs for Medicare-covered services for the rest of the calendar year. That means:
No more copays for doctor visits, hospital stays, or outpatient services
No coinsurance for procedures, labs, or diagnostic tests
Your plan covers 100% of covered medical services after you hit the MOOP
Hi, thanks for watching. My name is Steve and I'm the husband half of the husband and wife Medicare team here in Arizona. So the question we have today is someone's asking for the Medicare Advantage plan after they reach the maximum yearly out-of-pocket of $3,000 or more. Will they have co-pays or fees the rest of the year?
So the short answer to that is no, they will not have any more co-pays. But I'll tell you something, I've been doing this for 20 years and I've seen one time where somebody met their yearly max. I mean, it could happen, but it's pretty rare because the way the Advantage plans are set up, it's a co-pay based model. It's a pay-as-you-go model.
So when you go into the hospital, there's a co-pay depending on how many days you stay. If you need an ambulance, there's a co-pay for that, and for the doctor visit, there's a co-pay too. But the co-pays are pretty low. So to reach a $3,000 or $4,000 yearly maximum, it's pretty hard to do. I mean, you have to have services and issues the entire year to even get close to that.
But to answer the question that the person's posing, once you reach that maximum, that's it. That's the ceiling for in-network benefits.
The Medicare Advantage plans cover the Part A and Part B of Medicare expenses. So, although you mostly won't have any concerns about paying more out of pocket above that, you will still have to pay for your Part D prescriptions, any dental or vision, gym costs, etc. If you have any needs that take you Out of Network, you will be responsible for those costs as well.
I will assume that from your statement that $3000 is your MOOP on your Advantage Plan?
If that is the case.... No, you will not have any copays or fees for covered services for the rest of the year after you reach your plan's annual out-of-pocket maximum. Once this limit is met, the Medicare Advantage plan pays 100% of the costs for covered services for the remainder of the calendar year.
Yes, that's right. Once you reach the out-of-pocket maximum for covered health services (not counting Part D prescription drug costs which are treated separately), your Advantage plan will pay out @ 100% for Medicare-covered and plan-covered health services. Be sure to get prior authorizations from your Advantage plan before taking on anything out of the ordinary such as CT scans, MRI's, surgeries, infusions, certain durable medical equipment and / or hospital stays. "Medically necessary" health services will generally be covered and will count towards your out-of-pocket maximum with a Part C Medicare Advantage plan.
This is a good question. Most younger beneficiaries would not be concerned. As we all age, the risk of excessive costs and payments grows. What is my risk of some continued OOP fees.
Once you reach your Max out-of-pocket (MOOP) you should no longer have copays. The max out-of-pocket is just that. Your plan should pay for all approved covered services after the MOOP has been met.
Medicare Advantage Plans with Built in Part D (presription benefit) will have 2 different out of pocket maximums: one for Medicare covered medical treatments as outlined by the plan and the Annual Part D Castostrophic covage limit ($2100 in 2026). If either of these out of pocket responsibilities are met, your medical treatments or prescriptions would be $0 copay the remainder of the year for that catagory.
You will not have anymore copays or fees for medical reasons, but you still will have prescription costs. Your medical out of pocket cost is separate from your prescription out of pocket cost.
Once you meet your plans max out of pocket the plan usually pays 100% as long as you are in network with your plan. This is for health only. Drugs have their own deductible and max out of pocket that they don’t apply to the health deductible or health max out of pocket.
Nope. If you reach your plans max out of pocket then your plan will cover your medical costs for the year. Keep in mind Medical and prescriptions have different max out of pocket limits.
If you reach your Medicare Advantage policy maximum out of pocket for medical insurance during the year, then you won't have copays or coinsurance to pay for approved claims during the same calendar year. Medical claims that are approved. Prescription out of pocket costs by you doesn't go towards the maximum out of pocket for medical insurance. The lower the MOOP on a Medicare Advantage plan the more advantages it is for the insured.
Go to www.locatemedicareinsurance.com for Medicare information. Thank you.
Plans are insured or covered by a Medicare Advantage (HMO, PPO and PFFS) organization with a Medicare contract and/or a Medicare-approved Part D sponsor. Enrollment in the plan depends on the plan’s contract renewal with Medicare. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
The max out of pocket is a cap on expenses you may have for covered medical services (copays, etc). If your costs hit this cap, you generally don't have any more out of pocket costs for covered expenses for the rest of the calendar year. This cap does NOT include prescription medicines, or expenses for services not covered under the plan.
Once you reach the Maximum Out of Pocket threshold, you will not have any co-pays or co-insurance for the balance of the year as long as the services are covered by Medicare and are medically necessary. The $ 3,000 does NOT include Part D medications (co-pays, co-pays, etc.) If you have a monthly premium, you are still responsible for paying the monthly premium through the rest of the year.
Once you hit the max out-of-pocket on a Medicare Advantage plan, you shouldn’t have any more copays for covered medical services for the rest of that plan year. That’s the point of the limit. Just make sure the services are in-network and medically covered by the plan.
As long as your service are Medicare-eligible and covered by your plan, and network, you should have no additional medical expenses. There may be exceptions if for instance you obtain care from a provider who does not accept Medicare or is not in your plan's network. Prescriptions, dental, vision, hearing benefits do not apply to that maximum.
Assuming that is your Out of Pocket Maximum, you would not have any additional copays or coinsurance for Medicare-approved medical expenses in network the remainder of the year. Medicare-approved medical expenses do not include prescriptions, dental, vision or hearing costs.
Max out of pocket means exactly what it says. It's the total you paid for all health services in either co-pays or co-insurance, on your plan, year to date. Rx costs are excluded from that because the Rx MOOP is $2,000. So if you reach your MOOP of health costs, then yes, you will not have any further co-pays or co-insurance, again, excluding Rx's.
For medicare advantage, the max out-of-pocket is the most that your would pay per calendar year. Keep in mind that your part D and any non-medicare covered services do not contribute to the annual amount.
Once you have reached the Max Out Of Pocket or MOOP, you should have no more copays, co-insurance, or deductibles on your MEDICAL services. However, the MOOP cap does not apply to Part D prescriptions, if prescription coverage is included in your Medicare Advantage plan. Prescriptions have their own set of seperate rules and spending caps.
Medicare Advantage Plans, Part C. Max Out Of Pocket (MOOP)
MOOP may differ between different Carriers and each of their plans; in network and out of network services.
What Counts: Deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance for Part A Hospital and Part B Medical services only will count toward the limit.
What Doesn't Count:
Monthly premiums typically do not count toward the maximum out-of-pocket amount. Part D Prescription cost do not count, it has a $2100 cap on covered drug costs in 2026.
After Reaching the Limit:
Once the MOOP is reached, the plan pays for covered services for the rest of the year.
Why It Matters: These limits protect beneficiaries from catastrophic healthcare
Typically, once you reach your maximum out of pocket (MOOP) limit, your plan will cover 100% of the costs for covered services for the remainder of the year. The MOOP includes deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance for eligible services. Be sure to check you specific plan benefits for your coverage to verify.
If you reach the Maximum Out-of-Pocket (MOOP) cost for your Medicare Advantage plan, you won’t have any more out-of-pocket cost (i.e., copays, coinsurance) on covered services the rest of the year.
This is a great question and one that I think can be misunderstood. Most plans have different Out of Pocket Maximum values. I always explain it like a reverse Checking Account - You start with, let's use the example of $3,000 and every time you pay a Deductible-Coinsurance-Copay it gets deducted from the $3,000 (MOOP) Maximum Out Of Pocket. If you ever reach that Dollar Amount the Health Insurance Company pays remaining charges for the remainder of that Calendar Year. Remember, Medicare Advantage Plans work on a Calendar Year - January 1st to December 31st.
Not for medical expenses. This is when the plan takes over and pays the remainder of the year. You will have a Part D Prescription max of $2,100 for 2026. Once you have spent$2,100 at the pharmacy, then the plan will pick up this expense as well.
If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, your max out-of-pocket is related to your doctor, lab, hospital, and other non-pharmacy services. The amount of your max out-of-pocket depends on what plan you are on. Once you reach your max out of pocket in that situation, you should not owe any other copays except those related to Part D drugs … through year-end.
The max out-of-pocket for a Part D drug plan in 2026 is $2,100; after which you pay $0 for your covered Part D drugs for the remainder of the year.
There is no max out of pocket for Original Medicare or Medicare Supplement plans.
Please contact the agent to discuss your individual situation. If you do not have an agent, contact me for that discussion.