Supplement Insurance for Medicare
Medicare is government provided health insurance for people age 65 or older or, in certain cases, people who are under the age of 65 and have certain disabilities.
Most people are provided with Medicare A, coverage for inpatient care and Medicare B, coverage for outpatient medical services. While many important health services are covered under Medicare, there are several medical costs that Medicare doesn’t cover—this is known as the Medicare gap.
Supplemental Medicare insurance bridges that gap, taking care of medical costs that would otherwise be paid out of your pocket.
Understanding The Basics of Medicare Supplemental Insurance
In order to understand Medicare supplemental insurance, it’s important to first know the basics of Medicare coverage.
Most people are covered under Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B.
Medicare Part A assists in covering inpatient services. This includes hospital stays, nursing facilities, home care, and hospice.
Medicare Part B assists in covering out patient services, such as doctors’ visits and preventative health care.
While Medicare covers many medical costs, there are limits to what Medicare covers. This is called the Medicare gap, or “medigap.”
Did you know that after sixty days of in-patient hospital care you are responsible for a portion of your coinsurance? After ninety-one days, the amount you are responsible for goes up – and after 151 days, you are responsible in full.
And although skilled nursing care is covered under Medicare Part A, it is only covered in full for the first twenty days. After that, your portion goes up and after one hundred days, you are responsible in full.
You may also be surprised to learn that under Medicare Part B, you are responsible for your full deductible for outpatient medical services, and that Medicare only covers 80% of your medical expenses. Depending on your needs, that other 20% can really add up.
Most surprisingly, Medicare does not cover any emergency care received outside of the United States.
Medicare supplemental insurance can help cover what Medicare does not. Let’s go over the basics of Medicare supplemental insurance.
Medicare supplemental insurance help pay your share of Medicare-covered medical services such as your coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles. Some Medicare supplemental insurance will also cover certain costs that are not included in Medicare coverage.
Medicare supplemental insurance helps to cover:
- Medicare A hospital co-insurance plus an additional 365 days after Medicare benefits end
- Coinsurance for Medicare B costs (the 20% not covered by Medicare)
- Deductibles for in-patient and out patient care
- Emergency medical care outside of the United States
On some Medicare supplemental insurance plans, you can set an annual out-of-pocket limit for your medical costs, and everything over that limit will be covered by your Medicare supplemental insurance.
For more information about available plans, visit our plans section. Or, to find out how affordable Medicare supplemental insurance can be, start your quote now!
