Save Thousands by Selecting the Right Medicare Supplement Plan
Healthcare can be expensive. Having the right medical insurance can help.
Medicare Supplement Plans help to cover out-of-pocket costs not covered by Original Medicare. These plans can cover up to 100% of your out-of-pocket medical expenses. You must be enrolled in Original Medicare in order to enroll in a Medicare Supplement Plan.
While there are only 11 standardized Medicare Supplement Plans (sometimes called Medigap plans), each individual insurer can use their own pricing scheme.
This means that not only are there 11 plans to choose from, but you would need to contact every insurer to find out the pricing for each of the 11 plans.
When evaluating which plan is the best fit for you, you need to weigh the cost of the plan against the benefits and coverage it provides. The cost of a plan may be determined by your community, your age at enrollment, or your current age.
This means you need to consider not only the current cost of your plan, but the lifetime cost of the plan. For example, if your plan uses an “attained age” model, your premiums may increase each year. This means that a plan that bases premiums on your current age may appear more expensive at the outset but offer the lowest overall lifetime cost.
You will also need to consider what services you need, and what is covered by each plan.
Plans can vary widely in what is covered and how much coverage exists in each category of coverage. Most plans cover Medicare Part A coinsurance and hospital costs. Many plans cover your Medicare Part B coinsurance/copayment, up to three pints of blood, and the Part A hospice care coinsurance payment. Several plans cover skilled nursing facility coinsurance and your Medicare Part A deducible. Some plans offer coverage in the event of a foreign travel emergency. A few plans cover your Part B deductible, and some cover Part B excess charges. A couple of the plans place an out-of-pocket limit on your expenses. Each supplement plan offers some combination of these benefits, at varying coverage levels.