Background information on Medigap insurance plans that supplement Medicare and the benefits those plans cover.
Medicare has several gaps and doesn't pay for all of the health care services you may need. If you are in the Original Medicare Plan, you may want to buy Medicare supplemental insurance, also called Medigap insurance. This is health insurance that helps pay for some of your costs in the Original Medicare program and for some care it doesn't cover.
Medigap insurance is sold by private insurance companies. By law, companies can offer only 12 standard Medigap insurance plans, plans, named A through L. Each plan has a different set of benefits. (Beginning in 2006, Medigap Plans H, I, and J, cannot be sold with prescription-drug benefits, although people who already had those policies can keep them.)
You are advised to study all the Medigap plans before deciding which is best for you. No matter which insurance company offers a particular plan, all plans with the same letter cover the same benefits. For instance, all Plan C policies have the same benefits no matter which company sells the plan. However, the premiums can vary.
All 12 Medigap policies cover basic benefits, but each has additional benefits that vary according to the plan. Briefly, Plan A is the most basic plan. Plans B-L offer everything in Plan A and provide even more coverage. Plans K-L offer similar services as Plans A-J, but the cost-sharing for the basic benefits is at different levels.
None of the standard Medigap plans cover:
• Long-term care to help you bathe, dress, eat, or use the bathroom
• Vision or dental care
• Hearing aids
• Private-duty nursing
• Prescription drugs
Medicare has several gaps and doesn't pay for all of the health care services you may need. If you are in the Original Medicare Plan, you may want to buy Medicare supplemental insurance, also called Medigap insurance. This is health insurance that helps pay for some of your costs in the Original Medicare program and for some care it doesn't cover.
Medigap insurance is sold by private insurance companies. By law, companies can offer only 12 standard Medigap insurance plans, plans, named A through L. Each plan has a different set of benefits. (Beginning in 2006, Medigap Plans H, I, and J, cannot be sold with prescription-drug benefits, although people who already had those policies can keep them.)
You are advised to study all the Medigap plans before deciding which is best for you. No matter which insurance company offers a particular plan, all plans with the same letter cover the same benefits. For instance, all Plan C policies have the same benefits no matter which company sells the plan. However, the premiums can vary.
All 12 Medigap policies cover basic benefits, but each has additional benefits that vary according to the plan. Briefly, Plan A is the most basic plan. Plans B-L offer everything in Plan A and provide even more coverage. Plans K-L offer similar services as Plans A-J, but the cost-sharing for the basic benefits is at different levels.
None of the standard Medigap plans cover:
• Long-term care to help you bathe, dress, eat, or use the bathroom
• Vision or dental care
• Hearing aids
• Private-duty nursing
• Prescription drugs
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