Medicare Supplement Insurance

Medicare Supplement 101

You can only buy Medigap if you have Original Medicare. To enroll you must have Medicare Part B and be 65 or older. The first month you have Medicare Part B, you get a 6-month "Open Enrollment" period. During this period the insurance company can't deny you due to pre-existing conditions. Attempting to enroll after this period can prove difficult, and/or may cost you more.

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When comparing Medigap plans be sure to ask your broker some details about your insurance company of choice. One such question you need to ask is: "How often does the company adjust or raise premium rates?"

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The reason this question is important is that a Medigap Insurance plan is designed as a one-time enrollment product, you don't get an annual Medigap Open Enrollment Period, like with other insurance plans. Therefore, you need to have an idea beforehand of any routine adjustment to your monthly premium. Similar to other Medicare insurance products you will be notified before any changes go into effect.

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All Medigap policies offer the same basic benefits no matter where you live or which insurance company you buy the policy from. There are different types of Medigap plans offered within a given state and each type is named with a letter; such as Plan A-D, F, G, and K-N.  When comparing plans from different carriers the only difference between plans with the same letter is the price. Keep in mind that insurance companies don't have to offer every Medigap plan, but they must offer at least Medigap Plan A.

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Even though Medigap plans cover gaps in your Original Medicare coverage it doesn't cover things like:

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• Prescription Drug coverage (outside of Original Medicare benefits)

• Long-term care (nursing home)

• Vision care

• Dental care

• Hearing aids

• Private-duty nursing

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If any of these are of interest to you please make sure that you communicate this with your broker, especially for prescription drug coverage since you can incur a penalty.