Medigap Insurance
Choosing the best Medigap Insurance Plan
The best time to enroll in a Medicare Supplement Insurance plan is during your Medigap open enrollment period.
There is an six-month period, which will begin on the first month in which a person is both enrolled in Medicare Part B (some states have enrollment periods that will include people who are under 65) and 65 or older. During Medicare Supplement Insurance open enrollment periods, insurance providers cannot use medical underwriting, which means they cannot refuse to sell you any Medigap policy, charge you extra fee because of your health problems, or make someone wait for their coverage to begin.
After the open enrollment period, a person is not guaranteed a Medicare Supplement Insurance plan if they do not meet medical underwriting requirements. A person may have to pay more for their Medigap coverage. You however; may want to switch your current Medigap policy if you are paying for benefits that you do not need, you, need more benefits than you have, you are looking for a less expensive policy, or want to change your insurance company.
Benefits of Medicare Supplement Plans
The benefits that Medigap offer are the covered services, which Original Medicare does not cover. Basic benefits will include most of Part A and Part B coinsurance amounts, hospitals benefits, which are not covered by Original Medicare, and blood coverage. Skilled nursing facilities, which these facilities will have equipment and the staff to give skilled nursing care.
They will Part A and Part B deductibles as well as Part B excess charges, this benefit means that any Part B charge that exceeds Medicare-approved amount will be paid by Medigap. Foreign Travel Emergency means 80% of qualified emergency medical services outside of the country will be paid for through Medigap. A final benefit of Medigap is preventive services, which involves for screening tests and routine check-ups.
Guide to buy Medigap policies
- Insurance companies–Once your plan is selected, use the state covered filter to find insurance companies in your area, which offer your desired plan
- Pricing–look for a plan’s total estimated costs to see if you can afford the supplemental insurance as well as how the company will bill you as you age.
- Benefits–when deciding what benefits you would like, make sure to consider both future and current heath needs. You can search by using the benefits filter.
- Making the purchase–Once a Medigap plan is selected, fill out an application. In order to pay for a Medigap policy, you will pay the private insurance company a monthly premium for the Medigap policy in addition to monthly Part B premium that you will pay to Medicare.
What to avoid when buy a Medigap policy
Avoid buying “select” polices if you do not live within the service area of the network facility. When purchasing a selected policy, you will only be covered, fully but only for in-network services, so despite the lower premiums for your plan, you will still pay more if you are not using the in-network services.
A person should avoid getting attained-age rated plan just because it seems cheaper. Even though these plans are priced as lower when you are between 65 and 70, the price will increase as you age each year. Instead, you might want to get an issue-age rated plan because the plan’s cost will not change due to age despite its initially higher premiums. Keep in mind that the plan pricing may still increase due to other factors as well as inflation.