The Medicare application, also called Medigap Policy, is basically an insurance plan that is secondary to the original Medicare. You must be guided in parts A and B to be eligible to participate in the Medicare supplement plan.
Original Medicare consists of four parts. Part A is hospital insurance with a deductible of $ 1,156.00 in 2012. Part B is medical insurance with a deductible of $ 140.00 in 2012. Part C is known as Medicare Advantage. Medicare Advantage plans replace your original Medicare insurance. These include hospital insurance, medical insurance, and some plans include prescription drug coverage. Part D is a prescription drug. If your Part C plan does not include prescription drug coverage, you can register for Part D.
If you decide to keep the original Medicare (parts A and B), most of your expenses will be covered by having an additional Medicare plan. At present, selectable Medicare supplements are designated as A, B, C, D, F, F (with high deductible) plans, G, K, L, M, and N. All plans require premium payments, and some require payment of additional deductions before any coating.
Depending on the plan, each advantage is below, either fully or partially covered:
- Medicare Part A: Insurance and hospital expenses increase for an additional 365 days after Medicare benefits are exhausted.
- Medicare Part B: Insurance or co-payment
- Blood (first 3 pints)
- Part A Hospice Aid Co-payment or co-payment
- Medical insurance
- Medicare Part A Deductible
- Part of Medicare B Deductible
- Medicare Part B Excess Charges
- Emergency trip in emergency situations (to the limits of the plan)
Detailed plan coverage for each benefit is provided in the official Medicare publication. 2012 Medigap Policy Selection: Health Insurance Guide for People with Medicare ,
All Medicare supplemental plans must comply with federal and state laws and must be identified as the Medicare Supplement insurance application. Insurance companies can only sell standardized policies. In other words, they all have to provide the same key benefits, but some plans offer additional benefits, so you can choose the one that suits your needs. Usually the only difference between the policy is the price, so it pays to compare apples with apples through different insurance companies when buying a particular plan.
Current Medicare supplements do not cover your prescription drugs. To get this coverage, you must register with Part D by contacting Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 or through the Medicare website during the open registration period.
Plans E, H, I, and J have been discontinued. If you have one of these plans, you can save it, but if you change plans, you can no longer get one of these plans.
