The Essentials on Medicare Supplemental Insurance Plans

Medicare supplement insurance policies, marketed through private companies, can help cover much of the health care costs that Original Medicare doesn't cover, like copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs. A Medicare Advantage Plan is not the same as Medigap insurance policies. Medicare supplement insurance policies pay the expenses not covered by original Medicare benefits, while Medicare Advantage Plans are different ways to obtain Medicare benefits and are not guaranteed to renew each year. A few Medigap policies cover services that Original Medicare doesn't cover, like medical care when traveling outside of the U.S. When you have Medicare and you buy a Medicare supplement policy, Medicare pays its share of the Medicare-approved costs for the insured health care expense, and then the Medigap policy pays its share.

Seven facts about Medicare supplemental policies
1. Any insurance company that is licensed to sell insurance in your state can sell you a Medicare supplement policy.

2. In addition to the monthly Part B premium that for most comes out of your Social Security you have to pay a monthly premium to a private insurance company for your Medigap insurance.

3. Insurance companies cannot terminate your Medicare supplement policy so long as you pay the premium. All standardized Medigap plans are guaranteed renewable even if you currently have health issues.

4. If you are on a Medicare Advantage Plan, it is possible to sign up for a Medigap insurance policy, but make sure to end the Medicare Advantage Plan before your Medigap policy starts.

5. If you want insurance for prescription drugs you can join a Medicare Part D plan. Some Medigap plans sold in the past have had some sort of prescription drug coverage, but Medigap insurance policies sold after January of 2006 aren't allowed to have prescription drug coverage.

6. If you have Medicare Medical Savings Account (MSA) plan it is illegal for an insurance company to sell you a Medicare supplement policy.

7. A Medigap plan can only cover one person. If you and your spouse want Medigap coverage, you'll both have to purchase separate Medicare supplement insurance plans.

Medigap plans are available in essentially ten plans and are labeled with the letters A through N. I,H,I, and J are outdated policies that are no longer being sold. Medigap plan F covers 100% of the coinsurance, deductibles, copayments, including the excess charges not covered by Medicare. Medigap plan G is just like plan F except for not covering the yearly Medicare Part B deductible. Often the annual savings on the plan G premium is more than the cost of the Medicare Part B deductible so it is definitely worth looking at. The best time to purchase Medicare supplemental insurance is when they are turning 65. During the first six months from when you turn 65 or when you first purchase Medicare Part B the insurance companies cannot turn you down and there is no medical underwriting. This is a significant benefit because there are many health conditions that will normally keep you from purchasing Medicare supplemental insurance. When shopping for a Medigap plan it is important to note that all the plans are standardized. This means that each plan by the same letter provides the exact same coverage. So Medigap plans provided by AARP, Gerber, and New Era all provide the exact same coverage despite the fact that the companies all have premiums that can vary greatly in cost.

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