The Medigap Shopper’s Roadmap

Important notice: Starting January 1st, 2020, Medigap plans purchased by people new to Medicare won’t cover the Part B deductible. New legislation will eliminate Plan C and Plan F as of this date.

Everyone entering Medicare age feels overwhelmed. It’s your health and you want to get it right. Do you need both Part A and Part B? Should you get supplementary insurance and how does that work? How to map out the journey so you arrive at the coverage you need at a cost you can afford?

medigapcoverage.com powered by pollen is here to help make Medicare simpler from the start and help you avoid pitfalls and penalties. We’ve created this guide to take you through the alphabet jungle of Medigap lettered plans and show you a clear way to buy the plan you need from an insurer you can trust (because our rigorous review process provides you with the most reputable insurance companies in America).

A great way to begin your journey is by calling a medigapcoverage.com powered by pollen specialist at (phone 833-245-0614) for a complimentary consultation. Within a short time, you’ll have the knowledge to make smart decisions about Medicare Parts A and B, and you’ll be ready to shop the Medicare Supplement market with confidence.

Part A and Part B — A simple primer

Part A and Part B make up federally-managed Original Medicare. We’ll go over the key parts of this entryway into the world of Medicare, including coverage, eligibility, enrollment, and costs.

First of all, here are a few benefits and services that Medicare does not provide:

Long-term care
Eye exams for eye glasses
All but basic dental care
Hearing aids and exams
Dentures
Cosmetic surgery
Acupuncture
Basic foot care

medigapcoverage.com powered by pollen offers a Dental, Vision, and Hearing plan. Our DVH plan helps you pay for the bolded services above.

How does Original Medicare break out its offerings? Most simply, Part A provides hospital insurance, and Part B medical insurance.

Medicare Part A covers:

Some of these benefits will apply only after certain conditions are met.

What is my hospital coverage?

With Medicare Part A, the essential parts of your hospital visit are covered, including a semi-private room, meals, nursing services, medications, and other needed services and supplies. Part A usually covers around 80% of the “Medicare-approved amount” for your location and the services you received.

The list of medical facilities includes:

Acute-care hospitals
Critical-access hospitals
Inpatient rehabilitation facilities
Mental health care
Long-term care
Participation in a qualifying clinical research study

Part A does not cover private room costs (except when medically necessary), the duties of a private nurse, shampoo, razors and other personal care items, and extra charges such as television or telephone.

Getting into deeper detail, you should know that if the facility does not get blood free from a blood bank you will have to cover the costs, but just for the first three units per calendar year as needed. For longer hospital stays, you’ll be responsible for a larger share of the costs. This is when it makes sense to have supplemental insurance.

Part A eligibility and enrollment

If you’re among the tens of millions of Americans who are already collecting Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) benefits at age 65, you are automatically eligible for Medicare Part A and Part B starting the first day of the month you turn age 65. If your birthday happens to fall on the first day of the month, then you’ll be automatically enrolled in Medicare on the first day of the month before your birthday. You should get your Medicare card in the mail 3 months before your 65th birthday.

If you’re close to 65 and not getting Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board benefits, it’s critically important that you contact the Social Security office 3 months before your 65th birthday to sign up for Medicare.

The general eligibility requirements for Part A are:

You are a U.S. citizen 65 years or older or a legal immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years
You are under 65 and have received Social Security Disability benefits for 24 months
You have end-stage renal disease (ESRD)
You have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease)

No matter how old you are, if your spouse has turned 65 and paid at least ten years of Medicare taxes, you are eligible for Medicare Part A, even if you haven’t worked enough to qualify on your own.

Once eligible for Medicare, there’s a 7-month Initial Enrollment Period (IEP) to sign up for Part A. The way it works is, once you’ve turned 65, your 7-month IEP begins 3 months prior to your 65th birthday, includes your birthday month, and ends 3 months after.

If you or your spouse didn’t qualify for automatic enrollment through Social Security or RRB benefits, you need to enroll during the IEP to get Medicare Part A.

Here are your 3 options:

Part A is usually premium free, but if you didn’t sign up for it in the Initial Enrollment Period, your premium will go up 10% and you’ll have to pay the premium for twice the number of years you weren’t in Part A for not signing up.

In the case where you or your spouse had an employer- or union-sponsored group health plan, you can enroll in a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) during:

Signing up during the SEP means the late enrollment penalty is waived. Also, the SEP doesn’t apply to people eligible for Medicare based on end-stage renal disease.

There’s one final enrollment detail, an important one. If you weren’t automatically enrolled in Medicare and missed the IEP, you can still apply for Medicare Part A and/or Medicare Part B during the General Enrollment Period, which runs from January 1 to March 31 each year. If you enroll in Medicare during the General Enrollment Period, your coverage begins on July 1.

Should I consider a Medigap plan for my Medicare out-of-pocket costs?

There’s no premium for almost all Medicare beneficiaries who have at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment. If you’re not eligible for premium-free Part A, you can still enroll and pay a premium. But if you miss the Initial Enrollment Period when you first become eligible, you may have to pay a late enrollment penalty once you sign up.

The basic costs are:

$0 coinsurance for the first 60 days of each benefit period
$400 a day for the 61st to 90th days of each benefit period
$800 a day for days 91 and beyond per each lifetime reserve day of each benefit period (you get up to 60 lifetime reserve days)
After lifetime reserve days are used up you pay all costs

If you or your spouse worked and paid Medicare taxes for fewer than 10 years, the length of time you worked will be taken into consideration when Social Security determines the amount you owe for your Medicare Part A premium. Your premium amount may be reduced the longer you or your spouse worked and paid taxes. Visit this page for more information on your Medicare Part A premiums and other costs: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2019-medicare-parts-b-premiums-and-deductibles

While Part A covers the bulk of your costs while in a health care facility, all deductibles and coinsurance while an inpatient are your responsibility, unless you’ve purchased a Medicare supplement plan to cover them.

For 2023, you’ll have to pay the following:

A $1,600 deductible per benefit period
The first 60 days — $0 coinsurance per benefit period
From day 61 to day 90 — $400 coinsurance per day of each benefit period
From day 91 and beyond — $800 coinsurance for each “lifetime reserve day” after day 90
There is a rare 15% in surcharges depending on your state and whether your physician chooses to apply this extra charge. To avoid the unpleasant surprise, check with the office’s billing person/department to see if the extra 15% is standard practice

You can search whether a medical service is covered by Medicare by visiting the following page: www.medicare.gov/coverage.

Part B eligibility and enrollment

Part B of Original Medicare is medical insurance. Hospital expenses covered by Part A do not come under the responsibility of Part B. Nor do routine dental, vision, or hearing, or routine foot care and cosmetic procedures.

Part B covers:

Services from doctors and other health care providers
Outpatient care
Limited outpatient drugs
Home health care
Preventive services such as colonoscopies, mammograms, and flu shots
Mental health, both outpatient and inpatient
Ambulance services
Durable medical equipment (wheelchairs, walkers, beds, etc.)
Getting a second opinion pre-surgery

Part B is especially valuable for serious hospital expenses like surgeries, radiation or chemotherapy, diagnostic imaging such as MRIs, and dialysis for failing kidneys. It will also pay for drugs required in an inpatient setting, such as infused medications, antigens, and insulin used with an insulin pump. For outpatient drugs, coverage is provided by Part D.

Medicare Part B is yours automatically if you are under 65 and getting Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) benefits — expect your card to arrive 1-2 months before you turn 65.

If you are under 65 and have a disability, Part A and B automatically activate after 24 months of receiving disability benefits from SS or RRB.

It’s important to keep in mind that if you’re close to 65 and not getting SS or RRB benefits, you must sign up for Medicare. You have to enroll 3 months before your 65th birthday and you can do it online, over the phone, or just by walking into your local Social Security office. You’ll get your card within 2 to 3 weeks, perhaps just in time for coverage you need.

The other ways you can qualify for Medicare before 65 are:

Of course, you need to be a U.S. citizen or an alien with lawful residency who has lived here for 5 continuous years prior to the month of applying for Medicare.

Your enrollment window is during the critical Initial Enrollment Period (IEP), the 7-month time beginning 3 months before your 65th birthday, including your birthday month, and ending 3 months after you turn 65.

After your IEP ends, a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) allows you to sign up if you missed your first chance because you, a spouse, or family member had coverage through an employer or union-sponsored group health plan.

You can sign up for Part A or B:

Signing up during the Special Enrollment Period means you can avoid a late enrollment penalty. If you are an end-stage-renal disease patient, the SEP doesn’t apply to you. Keep in mind that both retiree coverage and COBRA don’t qualify as health coverage based on current employment and disallow you for a SEP. And make sure not to wait until your COBRA coverage ends to sign up for Part B; your 8-month SEP begins immediately after your current employment or group plan ends (whichever comes first).

If you failed to sign up for Medicare when you were first eligible, and you didn’t have any creditable coverage, you may be subject to the Medicare Part B late enrollment penalty. This penalty is equal to 10% per year for every year (12 full months) that you waited to enroll. This penalty gets applied against the standard Part B premium, which in 2023 will be $164.90 — this is the “standard” amount, but it isn’t what most people will pay.

A variety of factors come into determining your Medicare Part B premium, such as the date your Part B plan was activated and your level of income.

Some 70% of Medicare beneficiaries use their Social Security benefits to pay their premiums. Premiums for this 70% have been increasing gradually as a result of a rule that sets Medicare premiums in relation to Social Security cost-of-living adjustments. These beneficiaries will owe up to $164.90/month on average in 2023, but this only applies to people who started Medicare Part B prior to 2018. The other 30% pay the standard $164.90 monthly premium. In this group are people who are waiting to claim Social Security and beneficiaries new to Medicare, who may or may not plan to pay premiums through Social Security.

Even if you’ve put off getting your Social Security benefits, your monthly payments must be paid. Look out for a bill with “Notice of Medicare Premium Payment Due” on the envelope.

You have 4 methods of paying your Medicare Part B premium:

Use your bank’s online bill payment system to make direct payments
Mail your Medicare payment coupon and payment to: Medicare Premium Collection Center, P.O. Box 790355, St. Louis, MO 63179-0355
Enroll in Medicare Easy Pay, an automated service that deducts premium payments from your bank each month ( the 20th of the month as a rule) for free
Make credit card or debit card payments. Complete the bottom portion of the payment coupon on your Medicare bill, and sign it. Mail your payment to the address above

If you enrolled late because you’ve had employer group health coverage from a company with 20 or more employees, you will not be subject to the Medicare Part B late enrollment penalty. When you leave that coverage, you have 8 months to sign up for Part B. This is called your Special Enrollment Period for Medicare.

The best way to avoid the Medicare Part B late enrollment penalty is to enroll in Medicare during your Initial Enrollment Period. You can learn more about Medicare enrollment periods here.

A key fact to have at your fingertips is that your 6-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period begins as soon as you’re both 65 and have Medicare Part B. This is when you have a “guaranteed issue right” to buy any Medigap (private Medicare Supplement insurance) plan without the need for medical underwriting or having to pay a higher premium for a pre-existing condition.

Also, if you don’t sign up for Part B when you’re first eligible, you may have to pay a late enrollment penalty for as long as you have Part B. This could mean your monthly premium could go up 10% for every year you’ve had Part B.

If you need further information about Medicare eligibility or application, please call a medigapcoverage.com powered by pollen agent at 833-245-0614, Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm EST.

What’s Part B going to cost me?

For 2023, 95% of people with Medicare Part B are paying a reasonable premium of $164.90, but your premium will rise with your income. See our cost chart.

Your basic costs are:

There’s one expense you can avoid — the late enrollment penalty. It’s worthwhile to start “thinking Medicare” coming up to your 65th birthday so you’ll remember to sign up the moment you’re eligible. This way you won’t have to pay an additional 10% of your premium for each 12-month period that you could have had Part B — for as long as you have Part B!

Of all your costs, the most significant is the 20% owed for outpatient medical care. For services like surgeries or chemotherapy, your expenses can add up to tens of thousands of dollars. There’s no reason to get hit with these expenses when there are supplemental coverage options available for any budget.

Making Part B payments is easy if you are already enrolled in your SS income benefits: Medicare will take your premiums straight out of your Social Security check. Or, you can get a quarterly bill with a credit card option. Additionally, you have Medicare Easy Pay, a free autodraft service that will deduct your premium payments monthly from a checking or savings account.

Medigap basics

A Medicare Supplement can make sense for you as a way of ensuring your health in the many years ahead without having an unforeseen and significant medical event take a chunk out of your hard-earned savings. Your so-called “golden years” may require more medical attention, funded by fixed resources — you want to have the security of reliable, affordable health care.

You may well be one of the many Americans who decide to supplement their health care coverage under Medicare Parts A and B. The Medigap world is very different from Original Medicare, offering a wide range of choices in plans. Everyone’s needs are unique, and it’s up to you to do your research and then shop diligently.

Medicare and its providers will have your back, with a reasonable deductible for Medicare Part A and Part B, with perhaps a 15% surcharge. Once you’ve met your Part A and Part B deductibles, your heaviest burden will be the 20% coinsurance, which is your responsibility.

Medigap plans are standardized and identified by letter, and come under state and federal law. The real McCoy should bear the name “Medicare Supplement Insurance.” Unlike Original Medicare, you can’t buy a Medigap plan through Healthcare.gov as you would a Medicare Advantage Plan. Here, you buy the plan directly from an insurance company, or get a licensed insurance broker to help you.

Be wise to the fact that the same policy may carry different price tags depending on the insurance company. You may find an insurance company you trust, but check that it offers every Medigap policy: not every insurer does.

To streamline and simplify Medigap, plans are standardized everywhere but Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Although costs vary across carriers, the rule of thumb is that the more expenses covered, the higher the premium.

The initial plan of action we recommend is:

Step 1: Review your health needs now and what they might realistically be in the future and choose a Medigap plan accordingly. Get this right, because it may not be possible to switch plans later.

Step 2: Research which insurance carriers in your state offer Medicare Supplement policies. The medigapcoverage.com powered by pollen website allows you to shop our extensive list of the top Medigap insurers, which we have compiled after highly selective review

Here are a few ways to find out:

When you speak with your State Insurance Department, check to see if any insurer has a poor record based on consumer complaints. In other words, look before you leap. And remember, your State Health Insurance Assistance Program is there to help you choose the right Medigap plan — take advantage of this resource.

An obvious tip that people seem to overlook is, don’t settle on one insurance company! Shop around since costs vary from one insurer to the next.

Step 3: Our website has a secure rate comparison tool — just fill out the quote form or call us on our support line. And, before you pull the trigger with any insurer, be certain that you’re in you Medicare Open Enrollment Period.

Step 4: Fill out the quote form on the medigapcoverage.com powered by pollen website, or call our support team and request an application for the plan you’ve selected. Complete the application and purchase your Medigap plan. You should get a summary of what’s in your policy, written in layman’s language. Call their customer service number if there’s anything not clear to you. You have the right to ask for your plan to become effective on the date you need coverage. Medigap policies typically start the first day of your application month. Contact your insurance company if your Medigap policy isn’t activated after 30 days; if it’s still unavailable after 60 days, call your State Insurance Department. You can also contact us via email or on our dedicated policy support line to go over your policy, or if you have any questions.

Medicare Supplement plans are standardized in 3 ways as follows:

Benefits – Plan F has the same consistent features from carrier to carrier, as is the case with every other plan. This streamlines the selection experience for you
Provider’s network – Every insurer’s supplement plan has access to the entire Medicare network of doctors. Because Medigap plans are standardized, you never need to ask if your plan is accepted; as long as the provider is in Medicare, you’re covered
Paying claims – Automation makes claim-processing efficient and easy. Once your doctor files your claim, an intermediary company submits it to Medicare and on approval, the claim is filed with your Medigap carrier. Your doctor is paid by Medicare and the insurance company takes care of the balance. All you have to do is provide your Medicare ID and/or your Medicare supplement ID

Across-the-board plan standardization vastly simplifies the shopping process. Then it comes down to deciding which plan works for you from the company, which has the most favorable pricing.

The final basic information you need to know is that insurance companies aren’t required to sell every Medigap plan, plus if they offer any Medigap policy, Plan A is mandatory, and they also must offer Plan C or Plan F up to January 1st, 2020 — see the note at the top of the guide.

How do Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans F, G, and N differ?

Medigap Plan F is the most popular of all plans, with a comprehensive benefits menu covering specific health care costs. This plan essentially eliminates out-of-pocket costs for Medicare-approved services.

It covers:

Medicare Part A coinsurance and hospice care coinsurance
Medicare Part A deductible
Medicare Part B coinsurance or copayment
Medicare Part B deductible
Part B surcharges
First three pints of blood per procedure
Skilled nursing facility (SNF) care coinsurance
Coverage outside of the United States, to the plan’s limit

Medigap Plan G carries the same benefits as Plan F, except it doesn’t cover the $203 Part B deductible. For Americans 70 and up, the pricing Plan G offers makes it an attractive option.

Medigap Plan N mirrors Plan F’s benefits, with the exception of the Part B deductible and Part B surcharges. Additionally, it pays the Medicare Part A deductible at 50% instead of Plan F’s 100%. Medigap Plan N covers 100% of the Part B coinsurance, except for copayments of up to $20 for specific office visits, and up to $50 for any emergency room visits that don’t require inpatient admission.

Theses 3 plans are the most popular, but only a few of the lettered policies available through Medigap. A full list, with detailed benefits can be reviewed (page TK). It’s important to remember that only a few of these plans are offered by insurers. Plans A & F are standard with most carriers; Plan G is provided by most, but Plan N and others are rarer.

Buyer Beware

Unfortunately, there are a lot of shady practices in the Medigap field. Know what’s legal and what’s not. For example, no one can:

Try to sell you a Medigap plan knowing you already have one, except in the case where you’ve notified your insurance company of your desire to cancel your current policy
Try to sell you a Medigap plan when you have Medicaid, with a few exceptions
Try to sell you a Medigap plan knowing you are covered by a Medicare Advantage plan except if that plan ends prior to the date your Medigap policy starts
Tell you any Medigap plan is in the federally-managed Medicare system
Tell you a Medicare Advantage policy is a Medigap plan
Try to sell you a Medigap plan not offered in your state (call your State Insurance Department to verify the policy you want is within legal state guidelines)
Try to sell you a Medicare Advantage Plan when you’re looking for a Medigap policy to supplement your Part A or Part B coverage.

The Pre-Existing Conditions Question

In the Open Enrollment Period, no insurer is allowed to use medical underwriting when reviewing your application. What this means is that it’s not legal for them to take these actions because of any health problems you have:

The only exception to this is if you have a pre-existing condition. There are instances where an insurance company can hold off for up to 6 months to give you coverage for out-of-pocket costs. Then there’s the so-called “look-back period” which is when insurance can be denied because your condition was diagnosed within a 6-month period prior to your policy activation.

If the services you need for your condition are Medicare-approved, you can go to your Original Medicare plan to cover the costs.

What if the insurer won’t sell you a policy?

There are a few situations where an insurance company will try to refuse to sell you a Medigap plan. You have what’s known as a “guaranteed issue right” to buy the plan you want whenever:

You cancel a Medigap policy and enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan, or to switch to your initial Medicare SELECT policy, or you’ve been in the plan less than a year, and you want to switch back
Your Medigap plan carrier enters bankruptcy and your coverage is cancelled, or your coverage terminates for reasons beyond your control
You end a Medigap policy because your insurer has violated terms or rules, or you were intentionally deceived by the company

More than one of these conditions may be applicable to you. If so, you can pick the guaranteed issue right that offers the preferable choice.

If your health care insurance is lost altogether you might still have the option to buy a Medigap policy under your guaranteed issue rights. In this case, be careful to have these items on hand:

Copies of some or all of these papers may have to be sent with your Medigap application as proof of your guaranteed issue right. If you’re planning to return to Original Medicare from a Medicare Advantage Plan, it’s possible to apply for a Medigap policy prior to the end of your coverage — the Medigap carrier can offer you the plan so long as you’re leaving the plan. To ensure uninterrupted coverage, you should request that your new policy is activated when your Medicare Advantage enrollment ends.

What about services not covered by Medicare?

To fill in the gaps in coverage, consider a bundled Dental, Vision, and Hearing (DVH) plan since these come with a simple deductible for all three benefits. This means that any cost related to these services can be applied to the deductible.

Contact your medigapcoverage.com powered by pollen customer support agent with any questions about coverage and pricing for a DVH policy.

We’re here to help you find the right policy

medigapcoverage.com powered by pollen expert agents can help make the Medicare Supplement shopping journey simpler and safer than it would be going it alone. What we offer is experience, patience, and care. And you can trust that our agents have no incentive to sell you one plan over another. We only recommend what’s right for your particular needs.

Reach out at 1-833-245-0614 and start shopping today.

Still confused? Call us!

We’re here at 833-245-0614 to answer any questions, and ready to help with any issues you might have with an insurer through the enrollment process.

FAQs

What’s “Original Medicare”?

Original, or Traditional Medicare are the two pillars of the program, Part A and Part B. These provide coverage for millions of American’s inpatient (Part A) and outpatient (Part B) needs.

I’m approaching my 65th birthday. When should I sign up for Medicare?

There’s a 7-month Initial Enrollment Period (IEP) to enroll in Part A. Once you’ve turned 65, your 7-month IEP begins 3 months prior to your 65th birthday, includes your birthday month, and ends 3 months after.

We skipped the Initial Enrollment Period because my wife had employer-sponsored group health care, but now it’s about to end. When should we sign up for Medicare?

Your Special Enrollment Period begins the day after your spouse’s coverage ends.

I know Medicare Supplement plans are standardized. Does that mean prices are the same everywhere?

No. Policy premiums vary widely among insurance companies, and are also rated according to your age, gender, zip code, and tobacco use. Standardized benefits make it easy to find the right plan no matter where you live, but you still have to shop smart to find the rate you can afford.

Which is the most popular Medigap plan?

Because it offers comprehensive coverage, Plan F is the choice of most seniors. Please note that the federal government is eliminating Plan F as of January 1st, 2020. All plans that cover the Part B deductible are getting cut in order to help discourage people from overusing the health care system.

What are the best Medicare supplement plans?

Best overall Medicare supplement for new enrollees: Plan G.
Best overall Medicare supplement before 2020: Plan F.
Best low cost Medicare supplement: Plan K.
Best alternative to Plan G Medicare supplement: Plan N.

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What is a Medicare supplement plan?

Medicare Supplement policies are private health insurance designed to cover gaps in Original Medicare. They are also known as Medigap plans. These take care of costs such as copays, coinsurance, and deductibles which can become expensive if you need regular care from a doctor or hospital. If you need medical care while traveling outside the U.S., you can buy Medigap policies to help cover those costs. As a supplement to Original Medicare, you’re required to have Part A and Part B before you canget a Medigap policy. This way, Medicare is responsible for the Medicare-approved costs of the covered care, and the remainder is covered by your Medigap plan.

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What is the most expensive Medicare supplement plan?

Optimal coverage comes with higher costs, making Plan F the most expensive Medigap plan. Plan F is known as “first-dollar coverage” and it takes care of everything provided during a doctor or hospital visit. Your only responsibility is for dental, vision, medications, and equipment, such as hearing aids.

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Why is Plan F being discontinued?

The Federal government ended the Plan F option for new enrollees last year to keep the healthcare system from being overused by patients who had their deductibles covered. The next best coverage after Plan F is Plan G.

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Is Plan G better than Plan F?

Medigap Plan G offers every advantage of Plan F except for the deductible, which you have to cover. Because it isn’t as comprehensive as Plan F, Plan G is more affordable.

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What is the best and cheapest Medicare supplement insurance?

For people who don’t go to the doctor often, Plan K is worth considering. It is the most affordable because it provides just 50% of Medicare Part B coinsurance, the Part A deductible, blood, skilled nursing, and Part A hospice costs. For comparison, Plan G and others offer full coverage of these expenses, and more.

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Is Medicare supplemental insurance worth it?

It’s hard to argue against plans which cut your traditional Medicare costs. For most people, having the extra coverage these supplemental plans provide is common sense, unless they want the specific features of a Medicare Advantage plan.

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Do I really need supplemental insurance with Medicare?

Most people would benefit from not having to pay out-of-pocket to stay healthy. Medicare supplement insurance or a Medicare Advantage plan offer vital savings now, but are indispensable should a catastrophic health issue occur.

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What is the most popular UnitedHealthcare Medicare Supplement plan?

Of the 10 Medicare-approved Medigap plans, Plan G and Plan N are the most popular. Plan F is no longer available to new Medicare enrollees as of 2020, but it is still popular among people who bought this plan prior to 2020.

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How much does Medigap insurance cost?

Plan F$128–$342
Plan F (high deductible)$22–$88
Plan G$106–$325
Plan G (high deductible)$29–$58

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Who qualifies for Medigap?

Before getting a Medicare supplement plan, you need to be enrolled in Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance). People with Medicare Advantage Plans who want to go back to Original Medicare can buy a Medigap policy prior to switching.

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Is Medigap insurance worth the cost?

The security of having lower or no out-of-pocket healthcare costs can offset the premiums you’ll have to pay for whichever Medigap plan you choose, which vary depending on the benefits offered.

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How Much Is Medigap per month?

The national average cost for Medicare Supplement Plan F is $1,824 annually, which is $152/month; Medigap Plan G will cost you around $143 per month.

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Is Plan G the best Medigap plan?

Since Plan F was discontinued for new enrollees as of 2020, Plan G offers the most coverage for people 65 and older. It has a lower premium than Plan F and duplicates its benefits, except for the Part B deductible.

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Is it better to have Medicare Advantage or Medigap?

It depends on your specific needs, but for most people a Medigap plan is very useful in supplementing the coverage of Medicare Part A and Part B. A Medicare Advantage plan is an affordable way to get healthcare coverage not offered by Original Medicare.

What is the most popular Medicare supplement plan?

Historically, Plan F has been the most popular because it covers all the out-of-pocket costs Medicare does’t pay for. This includes the 15% extra charge billed by providers who do not take Medicare as full payment.

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Does Medigap cover prescription drugs?

Since January 1, 2006, no Medigap policy came with prescription drug coverage. You have two options to get covered, enrolling in either a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) or a Medicare Advantage plan.

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