Medicare Supplemental Insurance
Medicare supplemental insurance, also known as Medigap, is an insurance policy that supplements traditional Medicare parts A & B by covering some, or all, of the deductibles, coinsurance, copays, and deductibles you might otherwise be exposed to.
Medicare supplemental offerings are standardized and the variations of benefits are grouped together in plan letters A-N and are standardized. This allows you to understand the plan benefits and more easily shop coverage from one company to another.
Medicare Supplement Plans
Researching Medicare supplement plans can be a confusing and often frustrating process when you go it alone. With so many companies filling your mailbox with offers and brochures and outlines of coverage how can you be expected to wrap your mind around it?
It’s actually easier than you might think to find the right Medicare supplement plan. Due to their level of standardization, you can find the right plan by looking at the benefits offered in each of the plan A-N in the standardized Medicare supplement chart below:
Medicare supplement plan F tends to be one of the more popular plans because, as you can see, it is the most comprehensive. Plan G tends to also be a more popular choice and can many times be the best value – especially as you start approaching age 70+.
Once you find the best plan then it just comes down to which company is going to offer the best rates.
Medicare Supplement Rates
When shopping for Medicare supplement rates you will want to first identify which plan or plans you want to consider and then get rates from various companies. You can either call various companies directly to get their rates or you can find online resources like those found on this sites that can pull Medicare supplement rate comparisons from several companies for the plans you’re considering. You can work with a local agent if you can find one or work with an established online agency like ours to help you find the best rates from reputable companies.
As your shopping for rates you can have peace of mind that the level of standardization of Medicare supplemental insurance allows you to not have to worry about things you’ve learned to check for when you had traditional health insurance under the age of 65 and/or available through an employer.
Such things as:
1) Will your doctor accept your Medicare supplement plan? – Yes … if they accept Medicare. In the way that Medicare and Medicare supplements work together you can be sure that if your doctor accepts Medicare that your Medicare supplement will also be accepted. This is because the doctors do not file with your Medicare supplement company. They file with Medicare. Medicare then makes their decision as to whether they want to pay the claim and, if they decide to pay the claim, they then send a statement to your Medicare supplement insurance company to pay their part. The insurance company just has to pay their part if Medicare approves coverage of the claim. If Medicare decides not to pay the claim then the supplement will not pay either.
2) Is one insurance company better at paying claims than another? – No. In the way that claims are paid the insurance companies do not make decisions on whether a claim can be paid. Medicare makes the decision. So, if Medicare says “yes” to the claim then the Medicare supplemental provider has to pay their portion. At the same time, if Medicare says “no” to a claim then the supplemental company won’t pay either. Furthermore, all claims are now filed electronically. So, you would not have to file or coordinate paperwork. Every company pays claims in the same way. The only thing you might want to consider is the company’s A.M. Best rating of each company to determine their likely ability to pay claims.
3) Does one company have better benefits than another? – No … if you’re considering the same Medicare supplement plan letter from each company. As an example, if you’re looking at a plan F from AARP/UnitedHealthcare versus a plan F from Blue Cross Blue Shield, or any other company offering plan F, the benefits will be identical.
When all is said and done and you’ve done your research you’ll come to understand that once you’ve determined which plan you prefer to go with you can shop Medicare supplement rates for your selected plan and just go with the company that offers the best price. There are some caveats in that some companies will offer extra benefits for using their service. Such services as Silver Sneakers, which is essentially a free membership to a gym (usually YMCA’s), are offered by some companies and might be something to consider when trying to determine which company you want to go with for your selected Medicare supplement plan.
If you’re the type that prefers to do all the research yourself you can find a lot of resources right here on our website. If you would just like a representative provide an overview, answer questions, and help you understand which plan to get and why it makes most sense, please call (866) 894-3258 to speak with a Medicare supplement agent licensed in your area