Medicare supplement insurance (often shortened to Medigap) is private health insurance that has been designed to complement rather than replace Medicare benefits. In fact, as its full name suggests, Medicare supplement insurance is meant to cover the gap between Medicare benefits and the actual cost of health care. As a result, Medicare supplement insurance policies are used to cover single persons, meaning that Medicare recipients must purchase their own policies to be covered.
Requirements
Since Medicare supplement insurance is meant to help Medicare recipients, it should come as no surprise to learn that these insurance policies are restricted to people who meet their requirements. First and foremost, eligible Medicare recipients must be signed up for Parts A and B of Medicare. Each eligible Medicare recipient has an open enrollment period that lasts for six months. The period begins as soon as the eligible Medicare recipient reaches 65 and enrolls in Plan B of Medicare. During the open enrollment period, eligible Medicare recipients can enroll in a supplement without undergoing medical screening. It is important to remember that private insurance companies are not required to sell these insurance policies to Medicare recipients under 65, though the exact rules are not the same from state to state. For example, 25 states require private insurance companies to sell such insurance policies to all Medicare recipients, while other states might demand the same for smaller subsets of Medicare recipients. In most cases if you are under 65 and have Medicare A and B, the Medicare supplement would be a very expensive option as most carriers charge a great deal to get the coverage if you are under 65. However, Medicare Advantage plans could be available for such people.
Medicare Supplement Plans
Regardless, Medical supplemental insurance has been standardized into ten separate policies, labelled using the letters of the alphabet from A to N. As usual, the higher the premium charged on the insurance policies, the more benefit that the Medicare recipients can expect to receive in case of medical expenses. However, it is interesting to note that newer policies tend to provide better benefits relative to their premiums, meaning that even insured Medicare recipients have incentive to continue searching for better bargains. While companies do offer plans A to N, many companies do not offer all these options. For example Plan J is almost never offered. Some of the most popular plans to purchase are Plan F, Plan G, and Plan N.
More Medicare Options
On a related note, it is also important to mention that these insurance policies are not compatible with Medicare Advantage. In short, Medicare Advantage refers to Medicare benefits received through private health insurance policies. Since Medicare Advantage is considered Part C of Medicare, Medicare recipients must choose between Medicare Advantage and Medicare supplement insurance. Medicare Advantage insurance policies are often streamlined and less expensive, but can also impose restrictions on health care providers.
In the end, choosing between these two options depend on the individual’s personal circumstances. Shopping Medicare Plans with Easy to Insure Me is excellent for helping individuals find their available options and then sort through them for the one best suited to meet their needs.