Basics of Medigap health insurance plan with some tips for better choice
Before we start our discussion about Medicare supplement plans we have to know the basic thing that what it is and what it stands for. To be precise the Medicare supplement plans or Medigap is the private health insurance plans that are for those people who already have a Medicare policy. The Medigap or Medicare supplement plans helps the Medicare beneficiaries to bear that extra medical cost that are left aside by the original plans. The name Medigap is suggested because it is believed that these policies bridges the gap between the Medicare coverage and the original expenses or the total bill charged. However in the recent studies it is seen that in the United States about 18% of the people having original Medicare policy goes for the supplement plans also.
The Medigap offerings or the Medicare supplement plans have been standardized by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 1992.Let us start from part A. Part A Medigap plan is your hospital insurance. It helps you to pay for the medical treatment that you receive in a hospital or skilled nursing facility. It also covers some of your home health care and hospice care, if you are ill for a time being. Part B is that part of the insurance coverage that helps you pay for the medical services that are not covered by the Part A policy. It also includes the Doctor’s charge. It is rather helpful when you are having a Part A policy. Part C is that part of the insurance coverage or such a Medicare supplement plan that combines both Part A and B coverage. It also provides some additional services. The Part C Medicare supplement plan is offered only through Medicare approved private insurance companies. The Part D Medicare supplement plan is for your prescription drug coverage. It helps you pay for the medications prescribed by your doctor. In this case it is to be mentioned that the policy holders who enroll themselves for standalone Part D plan may not retain the drug coverage portion of their Medigap policy. But the beneficiary may choose to remove drug coverage from their current Medigap policy and retain all other benefits.
In most of the cases the Medicare Supplement Insurance companies can only sell standardized Medigap policies. It is also that the companies must mention the specific benefits that they offer so that you can easily compare them. It may be that each and every company may not offer every Medigap plans A through L, but they are bound to provide clear information about the policies they are dealing with. But the fact is that each company must provide Medigap plan A if they wish to offer any other Medicare Supplement Plans. However to sell the rest of the policies should be decided by the company themselves, although law might affect which ones they offer. But also with that as the Medigap plans are mostly administered by the private companies therefore the amount of the premium payable is totally under their consideration.
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