Medicare Supplement

What is a Medicare Supplement?

What is a Medicare Supplement? A Medicare supplement is a type of health insurance sold by private insurers to cover the gaps in Medicare. This is what we refer to the plans as “Medigap Plans.”

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Here’s an easy way to think of a Medicare supplement. Picture it as a card that sort of bolts onto the back of your Original Medicare. It serves to pay for the costs that normally Medicare would pass on to you. Medicare has gaps, like coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles. You must pay for these when accessing medically-approved services.

 

If you have a supplement policy, Medicare will first pay its share of your medical expenses. Then your policy will step in and pay its share. This is usually the remainder of your bill. However, it depends on which policy you choose from the standard offered plans.

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The 10 Standard Medicare Supplements

What is Medicare Supplement insurance? It’s coverage for the deductibles and coinsurance that Medicare would otherwise require you to pay.

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Every Medicare supplement has to follow the guidelines created by Medicare itself when it standardized all plans in 1990. Each standardized plan is identified by a letter. Medicare calls them plans. There is Medigap Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, D, F, G, K, L, M and N. Each one of these lettered policies provides the same set of benefits from company to company.

 

This means that the monthly premium is the main difference between supplements with the same letter.  You can shop multiple insurance carriers for the best rate.

 

The plans that we get the most requests for quotes for are Medigap Plans F, G and N.

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What is a Medicare Supplement Plan F?

Medicare Supplement Plan F is one of the most popular supplements in the nation. It pays 100% of the costs that Medicare would normally bill to you. This means that when you have Medicare supplement Plan F, you will not pay any deductibles. You will pay no copays. Plan F will pay ALL of your share. Click her to learn more about Medigap Plan F.

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What is a Medicare Supplement Plan G?

Medicare Supplement Plan G has been gaining in popular in recent years. It functions exactly like Plan F, except for the Part B deductible.  You agree to pay the Part B deductible each year, and after that, it pays everything else.  The Part B deductible is $183 per year. Quite often we can find Medicare Supplement Plan G premiums that save you more than $183/year. This means that you come out ahead in the long run. Click here to learn more about Medigap Plan G.

 

What is Medicare Supplement Plan N?

Medicare Supplement Plan N is one of the newer Medigap plans. It was first offered in 2010. Plan N will usually have lower premiums than Plan F or Plan G. However you will do more cost-sharing along the way. You will pay a doctor copay up to $20 each time you see a doctor. Copays of up to $50 for an E.R. visit are owed by you.

You will also pay excess charges. Some doctors bill an extra 15% above Medicare’s rate. This is called an Excess Charge. Plan F or Plan G take care of this for you. On Plan N, you pay the excess charge yourself. See more on this in the glossary below. Click here to learn more about Medigap Plan N.

 

What is Not Covered by Medicare Supplement Plans?

Medicare supplements only pay after Medicare has first paid its share. If Medicare approves a claim and pays the part that Medicare owes, it will forward the remainder of the bill to your Medicare Supplement.

Some things that are not covered by Medicare or your Medicare Supplement are:

• Routine dental, vision and hearing exams

• Hearing aids

• Eyeglasses or contacts

• Long-term care or custodial care

• Retail prescription drugs