subject: Medicare Supplement - A Beginner's Guide [print this page] Medicare supplement is something that is sought by senior citizens who are not receiving enough coverage from their standard Medicare health insurance. This situation applies to many seniors today who are glad for the additional coverage so they pay fewer out-of-pocket expenses for their medical needs. Medicare supplement is also known as Medigap. As the nickname suggests, this supplement insurance provides better coverage to fill the gaps of standard insurance. This comes in the form of helping to make up the cost difference between the 80% coverage provided by Medicare and the 20% you are still required to pay. Also, some medical expenses that go completely uncovered under regular Medicare are provided with beneficial coverage with Medicare supplement.
When you choose regular Medicare health insurance, you obtain it from the government. The same is not true of Medicare supplement. With this kind of coverage, you must speak with insurance companies in your area offering Medicare supplement policies to seniors like you. Fortunately, you get to choose from federally-regulated plans that are the same across the board even if prices vary from company to company. Insurance company policies and other fine print details of your plan may differ, but the coverage you receive from the plan you sign up for will be the same no matter what company you purchase coverage from.
By law, insurance companies cannot offer any other kind of Medicare supplement coverage than those set up under government regulation. There are 12 plans altogether, so if you see a company offering more than this, there is something wrong. However, a company does not need to offer all 12 if they do not want to. The various plans are named by letters of the alphabet ranging from A to L. However, a few plans in here have been removed recently and new plans have been added at the end with the letters M and N. Keep this in mind as you shop for Medicare supplement insurance.
If you know you are interested in signing up for a Medicare supplement plan, you need to get the timing right. You need to turn 65 and purchase Medicare Parts A and B to become eligible. Make sure you feel the need to get more extensive coverage before you jump into a Medicare supplement plan. However, sign up within six months of getting Medicare if you want to ensure your coverage despite preexisting conditions.
