Medigap Plans
A Big Picture View of Medigap Plans
There are 12 Medicare supplement plans available in 2023. Each plan must be compared side-by-side to understand how they differ.
It’s important not to confuse Medigap “plans” with Medicare “parts.” The parts of Medicare are A, B, C, and D. Parts A and B are Original Medicare and cover inpatient and outpatient services. Part C is Medicare Advantage and Part D includes prescription drug coverage. Medigap plans offer supplemental coverage to Medicare Parts A and B.
Medigap policies don’t cover for everything. To be more specific, Medigap policies generally don’t cover long-term care, dental or vision check-ups, hearing aid or eyeglasses for example. Nevertheless, there are many remaining healthcare costs left behind by Original Medicare that a Medigap policy can help you with.
What are Medigap plans?
Medicare supplement plans are secondary payers to Original Medicare. Since Parts A and B do not cover 100% of healthcare expenses, Medicare supplements help pay the remaining costs. As long as the provider accepts Medicare assignment, they will also accept a Medicare supplement plan.
Medigap plans are sold to individuals only. While spouses can have the same plan, they each have to carry their own policy. Some insurance companies offer household discounts if both people are on the same plan with the same carrier.
Depending on the plan, benefits in a Medicare supplement may include payment for coinsurance costs, inpatient and outpatient deductibles, extra days for hospital stays, hospice care, blood transfusions, and more.
Medigap Eligibility And Enrollment
The main condition that needs to be met in order to be eligible for a Medigap plan is to be enrolled in Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). Individuals who are 65 years old, who have been collecting social security disability benefits for 24 months, or who have been diagnosed with ALS or ESRD are all eligible to enroll in Medicare.
The best time to enroll in a Medigap plan would be during your Open Enrollment period which starts as soon as your Part B is activated. Outside of this enrollment window, they can still apply for a policy but usually are not granted guaranteed issue rights, which means they may be denied enrollment into a plan.
The 12 Medigap Plans
How to Compare
MEDIGAP PLANS
There is a lot of information about each plan online, but to get an accurate quote, you’ll need to enlist the help of a licensed Medicare agent. Instead of calling each insurance carrier to get a quote, we can compare premiums across many different carriers, ensuring that you enroll with one that gives you the best rate. We’ll need to collect some information from you in order to provide quotes since your premium is based on your information and health history, but our services come at no additional cost to you!
