Medicare Supplement
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What is Medicare Supplement (Medigap) insurance?
A Medicare supplement (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 Medigap policy, Medicare will pay its share of the Medicare-approved amount for covered health care costs. Your Medigap policy pays its share.
A Medigap policy is different from a Medicare Advantage Plan. Those plans are ways to get Medicare benefits, while a Medigap policy only supplements your Original Medicare benefits.
What you need to know about Medigap policies
1. You must have Medicare Part A and Part B.
2. If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can apply for a Medigap policy, but make sure you can leave the Medicare Advantage Plan before your Medigap policy begins.
3. You pay the private insurance company a monthly premium for your Medigap policy in addition to the monthly Part B premium that you pay to Medicare.
4. You can buy a Medigap policy from any insurance company that’s licensed in your state to sell one.
5. Any standardized Medigap policy is guaranteed renewable even if you have health problems. This means the insurance company can’t cancel your Medigap policy as long as you pay the premium.
6. Medigap 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 Medigap policy if you have a Medicare Medical Savings Account (MSA) Plan.
Information obtained from www.medicare.gov
By contacting the phone number on this website you will be directed to a licensed agent.
Compare Medicare Supplement plans side by side
Medicare Supplment Policies Are Standardized
Every Medigap policy must follow federal and state laws designed to protect you, and it must be clearly identified as “Medicare Supplement Insurance.” Insurance companies can sell you only a “standardized” policy identified in most states by letters.
All policies offer the same basic benefits but some offer additional benefits, so you can choose which one meets your needs. In Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, Medigap policies are standardized in a different way.
Each insurance company decides which Medigap policies it wants to sell, although state laws might affect which ones they offer. Insurance companies that sell Medigap policies:
- Don’t have to offer every Medigap plan
- Must offer Medigap Plan A if they offer any Medigap policy
- Must also offer Plan C or Plan F if they offer any plan
Keep in mind, that the Medicare Supplement policies covers co-insurance after you’ve paid the deductible (unless the Medigap policy also pays the deductible).
Compare Medicare Supplement Plans Side-By-Side
The chart below shows basic information about the different benefits Medigap 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
Medigap 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 | $4,960 ($5,120 in 2017) | $2,480 ($2,560 in 2017) | 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