After we start exploring Everything You Loved to Know About Medicare Supplemental Insurance, let's start with a brief examination of Medicare. It's a federally subsidized health care program, available to people who are either 65 years and older, under 65 but disabled, or who have end-stage renal disease. It covers a lot of the costs of health care and related supplies. But there are gaps in what Medicare will pay for, which is where the supplemental policies -- or Medicare supplemental insurance policies -- come in.
The four parts of the federal coverage are Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D. Parts An and B cover hospital and medical, respectively. Part D covers prescription drugs. Part C covers both An and B, and sometimes D, through privately administered health plans like HMOs and PPOs.
When you sign up for Medicare you can choose either the genuine program or to enroll in a Part C Advantage Plan. The original includes Part An and Part B, with the option to include Part D. People who choose this option can also buy a Medicare supplemental insurance policy. The supplemental policies are unnecessary for, and therefore not available to, people enrolled in Part C Advantage Plans.
Private insurers in all 50 states are licensed to sell Medicare supplemental insurance policies. In all, there are ten Medicare supplemental insurance policies to choose from. Regardless who you buy a policy from, it must include specific benefits mandated by the government. However, the price of the policies will vary, depending on which policy you buy, and from whom you buy it. It's important to do your homework and look for the best price.
Effective June 1, 2010, Medicare supplemental insurance policies for sale include Plans A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. Previously but no longer available are E, H, I, and J, except to people who bought the policies prior to June 1st. Please note that Medicare supplemental insurance Plans A, B, C, and D are unrelated to Parts A, B, C, and D, though the similar names can be confusing.
Standard Medicare supplement insurance benefits include coverage of Part A deductible, coinsurance hospital costs, hospice care coinsurance or copayment; Part B deductible, coinsurance or copayment, excess charges, and preventive care coinsurance; up to three pints of blood; skilled nursing facility coinsurance; and foreign travel emergency. Not all of the Medicare supplemental insurance policies include all of the benefits, and sometimes the policies cover only a percentage of the benefits. The federal government has created a very useful chart that provides an easy-to-read visual summary of which plans cover which benefits. It can be found in a publication called 2010 choosing a Medicare supplemental insurance Policy: A Guide to Health Insurance for People with Medicare.
The federal government sets the rules for the program, and residents of every state can buy the policies. But the benefits available in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are slightly different than the benefits in other states. Representatives in all of the 50 states' Departments of Insurance and State Health Insurance Assistance Programs can provide details and guidance to callers.
Because the program is complex and provides benefits to potentially millions of people, it may be necessary to seek information from a variety of sources. However, this article in intended to provide at least a solid foundation toward everything you Wanted To Know About Medicare Supplement plan.
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