Medicare Supplement Plans
As most consumers know, a Medicare plan is designed to provide financial support to those who need health insurance and medical treatment support. Whether you opt for the Original Medicare package or the Medicare Advantage package, everything included as part of your complete coverage will be clearly outlined to you on sign up.
However, one area that many consumers fall short on is understanding where the costs associated with their plans come from – and how they will pay them. Medigap is another term for the Supplement plans offered by Medicare to cover the share of costs held by the beneficiary in line with their Medicare coverage. For example, in a Part B policy, Medigap supplements can help pay the 20% owed by the beneficiary after Medicare has paid their 80%.
The Different Supplement Plans Available
There are a total of ten supplement plans available, from Plan A to N. Each of these plans offers the same basic benefits, with every provider having to follow a standardized set of guidelines, features, and benefits to sell the plan. For the consumer, this means that there is no financial gain to selecting one provider over another – it can be a choice of preference dependent on reputation and locality.
It is important to note that these Medicare supplement plans work alongside your Medicare coverage rather than them. For example, if you signed up for the Original Medicare package, you can expect any additional supplement plan to support the finances not covered by Parts A and B.
As part of Part A Medicare coverage, you can expect your Medicare supplement plan to cover and support you with:
- Additional inpatient days beyond the 60 days covered by your Medicare plan
- Coinsurance for palliative drugs and hospice respite care
- Hospital deductible fee (included fully in plans B, C, D, F, G, & N and partially in plans K, L, and M).
As part of Part B Medicare coverage, you can expect your supplement plan to cover and support you with:
- The 20% of medical bills expected to be paid by the beneficiary
- Extension of coverage to include preventative medical services
- The yearly deductible for Part B coverage (only under Medigap plans C and F)
- 100% of the excess charges in response to Doctor’s services (only under Medigap plans F and G)