Medicare Supplemental Ins 101 - How Can You Make the Best Decision When It Comes to Gap Coverage?
Medicare Supplemental Ins plans-Important information for the thousands of people that are joining Medicare everyday.
With this large influx of people onto Medicare, the question arises.
What Medicare Supplemental Ins should I choose to help cover the gaps of Medicare.
As you are probably aware Medicare has some large gaps in its coverage.
These gaps include deductibles and co-insurance.
Many people that are starting there Medicare journey are finding that a Medicare Supplemental Ins plans can help them cover these gaps in a very simple cost effective way.
It is very easy to get overwhelmed with all of the choices in the marketplace currently, so we will try to keep it as simple as possible.
Medicare Part A- This is the portion of Medicare that you automatically receive from working 10 years or more at a job in the United States.
Medicare Part A covers the hospital portion of any medically necessary situation.
Medicare Part A has some large gaps in it however, as of 2011 there is a $1132 deductible associated with Medicare Part A, this deductible is a per benefit period deductible meaning that it needs to be paid for every separate accident or illness that may occur.
If you have an accident or illness that you are going back into the hospital for within 60 day of the first occurrence of the accident or illness you will not have to pay the deductible twice, only if you are going outside of that 60 day window.
I know that this may sound confusing but think of it like this the great majority of the time that you go into the hospital you will be responsible for a $1132 (2011) deductible.
You will also be responsible for co-insurance or co-pays to the hospital that Medicare does not cover.
This is one of the main reasons why we see so many people that are starting Medicare choose to have a Medicare Supplemental Ins plan.
There is also another large gap in Medicare, this is Medicare Part B.
Medicare Part B- This is portion of Medicare has a cost associated with it, this cost has many factors, however we find the average cost is around $115.
00 per month, having a Medicare Supplemental Ins plan will not pay this amount.
Part B of Medicare is for your doctors and preventative care services.
Medicare Part B has a $162 (2011) deductible.
Unlike Part A of Medicare this is an annual deductible meaning that once the $162 deductible is paid all that you are responsible for is the 20% of expenses that are not covered by Part B of Medicare.
Many people that are currently on medicare have chosen to have a Medicare Supplemental Ins plan to cover the above gaps.
So lets talk about these Medicare Supplemental Ins plans.
Here are some quick facts about this type of Insurance.
They are designed to cover the gaps in Medicare.
With that being said different Medicare Supplemental Ins plans cover different gaps in Medicare.
They will at a minimum cover the co-insurance amounts at the hospital (Part A) and the co-insurance amounts at the Doctor or preventative care (Part B).
In addition some plans will cover the Part A and Part B deductibles of $1132 per benefit period, and $162 annually respectively.
This can be very helpful when it comes to keep your out of pocket costs as low as possible.
As you look at some of the more expensive plans such as Plan F you will find that there will also be benefits for additional skilled nursing care, foreign travel, and excess part b charges.
We find that when people choose a Medicare Supplemental Ins plan they are able to drastically reduce there out of pocket expenses.
We also find that they are able to budget there medical expenses because typically the only out of pocket expense they incur is there monthly Medicare Supplemental Ins plan.
With this large influx of people onto Medicare, the question arises.
What Medicare Supplemental Ins should I choose to help cover the gaps of Medicare.
As you are probably aware Medicare has some large gaps in its coverage.
These gaps include deductibles and co-insurance.
Many people that are starting there Medicare journey are finding that a Medicare Supplemental Ins plans can help them cover these gaps in a very simple cost effective way.
It is very easy to get overwhelmed with all of the choices in the marketplace currently, so we will try to keep it as simple as possible.
Medicare Part A- This is the portion of Medicare that you automatically receive from working 10 years or more at a job in the United States.
Medicare Part A covers the hospital portion of any medically necessary situation.
Medicare Part A has some large gaps in it however, as of 2011 there is a $1132 deductible associated with Medicare Part A, this deductible is a per benefit period deductible meaning that it needs to be paid for every separate accident or illness that may occur.
If you have an accident or illness that you are going back into the hospital for within 60 day of the first occurrence of the accident or illness you will not have to pay the deductible twice, only if you are going outside of that 60 day window.
I know that this may sound confusing but think of it like this the great majority of the time that you go into the hospital you will be responsible for a $1132 (2011) deductible.
You will also be responsible for co-insurance or co-pays to the hospital that Medicare does not cover.
This is one of the main reasons why we see so many people that are starting Medicare choose to have a Medicare Supplemental Ins plan.
There is also another large gap in Medicare, this is Medicare Part B.
Medicare Part B- This is portion of Medicare has a cost associated with it, this cost has many factors, however we find the average cost is around $115.
00 per month, having a Medicare Supplemental Ins plan will not pay this amount.
Part B of Medicare is for your doctors and preventative care services.
Medicare Part B has a $162 (2011) deductible.
Unlike Part A of Medicare this is an annual deductible meaning that once the $162 deductible is paid all that you are responsible for is the 20% of expenses that are not covered by Part B of Medicare.
Many people that are currently on medicare have chosen to have a Medicare Supplemental Ins plan to cover the above gaps.
So lets talk about these Medicare Supplemental Ins plans.
Here are some quick facts about this type of Insurance.
They are designed to cover the gaps in Medicare.
With that being said different Medicare Supplemental Ins plans cover different gaps in Medicare.
They will at a minimum cover the co-insurance amounts at the hospital (Part A) and the co-insurance amounts at the Doctor or preventative care (Part B).
In addition some plans will cover the Part A and Part B deductibles of $1132 per benefit period, and $162 annually respectively.
This can be very helpful when it comes to keep your out of pocket costs as low as possible.
As you look at some of the more expensive plans such as Plan F you will find that there will also be benefits for additional skilled nursing care, foreign travel, and excess part b charges.
We find that when people choose a Medicare Supplemental Ins plan they are able to drastically reduce there out of pocket expenses.
We also find that they are able to budget there medical expenses because typically the only out of pocket expense they incur is there monthly Medicare Supplemental Ins plan.
