If you are 65 or you will be eligible for Medicare in another way (for example, you were turned off for 24 months), you might be wondering, “If I get Medicare, why should I pay a premium for additional insurance?”
Although it may not look like this, the truth is that paying a premium for a Medicare application is good, if not great. You can even say that Medicare is a golden ticket with additional insurance. That's why:
All the years you worked, you (or your company) had to pay an immune amount for health insurance. In addition, you probably had co-payments (for example, $ 20 when you see a doctor), co-insurance (for example, 80/20 plans, when the plan pays 80%, and you pay 20%), deductibles (the amount which you had to pay before the plan pays anything).
When you qualify for Medicare, your share of the cost of medical care is falling sharply, especially if you get an Additional Medicare policy. Briefly see how your costs will be broken.
1. Medicare Part B Premium
If you are eligible for Medicare, Part A (which covers inpatient hospital expenses) is already paid by taxes that you paid when you worked. The only premium you have to pay is part B (outpatient expenses, such as doctors, specialists, laboratory work, etc.).
In 2010, your premium part B will be $ 110.50 (if your income is less than $ 170,000. Usually your premium part B is taken directly from your social security check. You don’t even miss it, because most likely you will never see it first.
You have a deductible in Medicare Part A, and with Part B you have a deductible, co-payment and co-insurance. But here is the part where I mentioned the golden ticket.
2. Additional insurance covers gaps left by Medicare.
In terms of Medicare supplement, you get the following benefits (in a minute you will see why I call it a gold ticket):
o Low premiums
Compared to regular health insurance, premiums for the Medicare Supplement Policy are very affordable.
o Guaranteed insurance
It does not matter whether you are healthy or very sick. If you are applying for Medicare just now, a company that sells the Medicare Supplement insurance application cannot deny your coverage because of your health or pre-existing conditions. The only exception is if you have kidney failure.
o Freedom
With Medigap (the so-called because it fills in the gaps left by Medicare), you can contact any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare anywhere in the US
About the world of reason
With the Medicare Supplement Plan F (a very popular choice), all spaces left by Medicare will be covered. Practically without exception, you only have to pay the cost of the premium for part B, the premiums for the Medicare premium and the premium for part D (a low-cost, separate drug plan that pays for your drugs). That's all. If you are sick or traveling, or whatever happens, you can be sure that your medical expenses will be very, very predictable.
Honestly, with this combination you have access to a very affordable and powerful health care system, in which there is freedom and peace of mind. I hope you can now understand why I call this the “golden ticket”.
One more thing you should know. You can save even more money by making purchases (or, even better, by providing you with a specialized brokerage store). You see, most of the Medicare Supplement plans are “standardized.” This means that the only difference between Plan F from Company 1 and Plan F from Company 2 is price (premium). You can find the best coverage at the lowest price and keep some of this “golden ticket” in your pocket.
