Medicare supplement
plans help older Americans pay for their healthcare.
Medicare is America's largest health insurance provider. It supplies health coverage for more than 40 million Americans, most of them over age 65. Most people enroll in Medicare Parts A and B, which cover basic hospital and medical expenses. Some Medicare beneficiaries also purchase Medicare supplement, or Medigap, policies from private insurers. These policies help cover the cost of Medicare co-payments or deductibles.
Types of Supplement Plans
Medigap policies are all standard, meaning each plan option is identical no matter what company you purchase it from or where you live. The only difference between plans and insurers is cost. Letters identify supplement policies; as of 2010, you can purchase Medicare supplement plans A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M or N. If you purchased a plan E, H, I or J before June 1, 2010, that plan is still valid, although no longer sold. Each plan has different coverage options and levels.
Coverage Details
All Medicare supplement plans pay for your hospital co-pays and coinsurance for an additional year after you use all of your Medicare and your Medicare Part B preventive care copayments. Plans C, D, F, G, M and N also cover Part B coinsurance and copayments, three pints of blood, and Part A hospice care coinsurance and copayments at 100 percent. Plan K pays 50 percent of those costs, and plan L pays 75 percent. Plans C through N cover skilled nursing care coinsurance, and the Medicare Part A deductible. Plans C and F cover the Part B deductible as well. Plans F and G offer Part B excess payments coverage, and Plans C through G and M and N offer foreign travel emergency coverage.
Prescription Drug Coverage
Medicare supplement plans do not include prescription drug coverage. If you choose to purchase a supplement, you will need to purchase Medicare Part D prescription coverage separately. As of 2010, if you already have an older supplement plan with drug coverage, you can keep it, but most supplement drug coverage is inadequate. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recommends that you purchase a separate Part D plan even if your policy already includes drug coverage. If you do so, the insurance company has a legal requirement to remove your drug coverage and adjust your premium.
Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage
Medigap policies do not include vision or dental benefits or hearing aids. These policies also do not cover long-term care, such as in a nursing home, or private nurses. If you need these benefits, you may want to consider Medicare Advantage, a plan offered by private insurance carriers that takes the place of all of your Medicare coverage. You cannot have both a Medigap plan and a Medicare Advantage plan, and must choose which type of coverage works best for you.
Tags: Medicare supplement, Medicare supplement plans, drug coverage, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part, Medigap policies, purchase Medicare
