If you have frequent visits to the doctors and the hospitals you might have a Medicare. It must be quite clear to you by now that Part A and Part B would pay for a lot of health care supplies and services but it does not pay for everything. And this is why it would be a great decision to get a Medicare Supplement Plan also known as Medigap. The best Medicare supplement plans would pay some of the medical costs which the Original Medicare doesn’t pay for the coinsurance, co-payments and the yearly deductibles. The Medigap plan can be obtained through private insurance companies.
Emergency overseas travel or the excess charges of Part B are at times also covered by the best Medicare supplement plans. Two out of the ten Medigap plans also includes an out-of-pocket limit yearly which is not included in the original Medicare. In fewer words, the Medigap plan fills in the gaps in the Original Medicare plans.
Medicare Supplement Plan Coverage
Different Medigap plans offer different levels of coverage. However, each of the lettered plans must have the same standardized advantages regardless of the location and the insurance company. It isn’t necessary for the Medicare supplement plan to cover dental, vision, hearing aids or long-term care but all of the plans must cover a portion of the basic benefits as listed below.
- Hospice care coinsurance or the co-payments of Medicare Part A
- The Part A Medicare coinsurance costs up to an addition of 365 days after the benefits of Medicare are exhausted.
- Co-payments or coinsurance of the Medicare Part B
- The first three pints of blood which would be used in a medical procedure
Some of the plans might also include additional benefits like the Plan F of the Medicare Supplement is one of the most comprehensive standardized plans which include the following listed benefits.
- Medicare Part A and B deductibles
- Preventive Care Insurance of Part B
- Excess charges of Part B
- Foreign tour emergency care wherein 80% of the costs are Medicare approved or up to the plan limits.
Some plans might also include other innovative advantages as well.
Cost of the Plan
Even though the private insurance companies are supposed to be offering the same benefits for each of the lettered plan, they have the right to charge a higher premium for such plans. You might have to do a bit of research to find the best Medicare Supplement plans for yourself which meets your financial and medical needs. The premiums might be changed by the insurance companies in the following ways –
Issue-age-rated – The premiums in such plans are based on age. This means that the younger you are at the time of enrollment, the lower your rate of premium would be.
Community no-age-rated – These plans would charge premiums which are same across all boards regardless of the age of the person.
Attained-age-rated – The premium of these plans are based on the age when you first buy the plan. However, the premium keeps on increasing as the person gets older.
Do your research and find out the eligibility and the ways to enroll for such plans to gain benefit from it.
