How Can Medicare Supplemental Insurance Help Me?

There is a lot to learn about Medicare, including the various kinds of coverage that are available to participants. It may sounds intimidating but Total Medicare is here to help you navigate the system. You may be happy with your Original Medicare, which includes Medicare Parts A and B, and sometimes Part D. But, if you are concerned with gaps in your Medicare coverage, however, then you may want to investigate Medicare Supplemental Insurance, also called Medigap Insurance.

What Is Medigap?

While Medigap is associated with Medicare, it is not a government run program. Instead, Medicare-approved private companies provide private health plans that give applicants a way to cover the gaps that occur in health care coverage through Medicare Part A and B. That means that you can get coverage that isn’t available through Original Medicare, while allowing Medicare to continue to do its job. You don’t have to sacrifice your classic Medicare coverage in order to get things like dental and certain vision coverage.

The Rules

Of course, because Medigap is approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and works in concert with the Medicare program, there are rules that must be followed. These are mostly in place to protect you as a consumer. For example, every program must be compliant with Federal and State laws, and they must all comply with certain coverage requirements. That means that your Medigap plan must be standardized, and must also be identified with the letters A through N. These policies must offer similar benefits, no matter who is selling the policies.

In fact, according to CMS:

“Cost is usually the only difference between Medigap policies with the same letter sold by different insurance companies.”
All of this works to protect you, the consumer.

Buying Medigap Policies

A Medigap policy doesn’t have any overlap with your Original Medicare policies. It is also not available to those people who elect to use Medicare Advantage. Medigap is also not connected with Medicaid coverage. You can buy these policies from many different private companies, and with the guarantee that these companies have been approved to work with Medicare, you will know that no matter what your choice, you will get the coverage you seek.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful, of course. Because the policies are standardized, the main difference is cost. Monthly premiums can vary dramatically, so make sure you compare providers and pick one that is both highly rated and low cost.