What Is Medicare Supplement Insurance?
A Medicare Supplement (also referred to as Medigap) insurance, sold by private companies, can help pay some of the health care costs that Original Medicare doesn't cover, like copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles.
If you have Original Medicare and you buy a Medigare supplement policy, Medicare will pay its share of the Medicare-approved amount for covered health care costs. Your Medicare supplement policy pays its share.
A Medicare supplement policy is different from a Medicare Advantage Plan. Medicare supplement is different from medicare advantage plans. Medicare supplement plans work in conjunction with original medicare (part A and part B). As the name indicates it offers coverage to supplement costs that are not covered under original medicare. Medicare advantage plans replace original medicare and offer some additional benefits but typically plans are not as inclusive as medicare supplement in covering your costs.
What you need to know about Medicare Supplement policies
1. You must have Medicare Part A and Part B before enrolling in a medicare supplement policy.
2. If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can apply for a Medicare Supplement insurance policy, but make sure you can leave the Medicare Advantage Plan before your Medicare Supplement insurance policy begins. You can not have both a medicare advantage and a medicare supplement policy at the same time.
3. You pay the private insurance company a monthly premium for your Medicare Supplement insurance policy in addition to the monthly Part B premium that you pay to Medicare.
4. You can buy a Medicare Supplement insurance policy from any insurance company that's licensed in your state to sell one.
5. Any standardized Medicare Supplement insurance policy is guaranteed renewable even if you have health problems. This means the insurance company can't cancel your Medicare Supplment insurance policy as long as you pay the premium.
6. Medicare Supplement insurance policies sold after January 1, 2006 aren't allowed to include prescription drug coverage. If you want prescription drug coverage, you can join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D).
7. It's illegal for anyone to sell you a Medicare supplement policy if you have a Medicare Medical Savings Account (MSA) Plan.
1. You must have Medicare Part A and Part B before enrolling in a medicare supplement policy.
2. If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can apply for a Medicare Supplement insurance policy, but make sure you can leave the Medicare Advantage Plan before your Medicare Supplement insurance policy begins. You can not have both a medicare advantage and a medicare supplement policy at the same time.
3. You pay the private insurance company a monthly premium for your Medicare Supplement insurance policy in addition to the monthly Part B premium that you pay to Medicare.
4. You can buy a Medicare Supplement insurance policy from any insurance company that's licensed in your state to sell one.
5. Any standardized Medicare Supplement insurance policy is guaranteed renewable even if you have health problems. This means the insurance company can't cancel your Medicare Supplment insurance policy as long as you pay the premium.
6. Medicare Supplement insurance policies sold after January 1, 2006 aren't allowed to include prescription drug coverage. If you want prescription drug coverage, you can join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D).
7. It's illegal for anyone to sell you a Medicare supplement policy if you have a Medicare Medical Savings Account (MSA) Plan.
Very important, there are several different medicare supplement plans available depending on the state that you live in. These are standardized plans and will have the exact same coverage no matter what insurance company you purchase the plan from. So it is very important to shop around and find the best rate on your supplement plan.
Compare Medicare Supplement Plans Side-By-Side
The chart below shows basic information about the different benefits Medicare supplement policies cover.
Yes = the plan covers 100% of this benefit
No = the policy doesn't cover that benefit
% = the plan covers that percentage of this benefit
N/A = not applicable
No = the policy doesn't cover that benefit
% = the plan covers that percentage of this benefit
N/A = not applicable
| Medigare Supplement Plans | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | B | C | D | F* | G | K | L | M | N | |
| Part A coinsurance and hospital costs up to an additional 365 days after Medicare benefits are used up | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Part B coinsurance or copayment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 50% | 75% | Yes | Yes*** |
| Blood (first 3 pints) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 50% | 75% | Yes | Yes |
| Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 50% | 75% | Yes | Yes |
| Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 50% | 75% | Yes | Yes |
| Part A deductible | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 50% | 75% | 50% | Yes |
| Part B deductible | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Part B excess charge | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Foreign travel exchange (up to plan limits) | No | No | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | No | No | 80% | 80% |
| Out-of-pocket limit** | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
5120
|
2560
| N/A | N/A |
* Plan F also offers a high-deductible plan. If you choose this option, this means you must pay for Medicare-covered costs up to the deductible amount of $2,200 in 2017 before your Medigap plan pays anything.
** After you meet your out-of-pocket yearly limit and your yearly Part B deductible, the Medigap plan pays 100% of covered services for the rest of the calendar year.
*** Plan N pays 100% of the Part B coinsurance, except for a copayment of up to $20 for some office visits and up to a $50 copayment for emergency room visits that don't result in inpatient admission.
Source: www.medicare.gov
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