What Is Covered By A Medicare Supplement Plan?

It is important to realize that Medicare supplement plans operate differently from many of the health plans with which you may already be familiar. The fact is that they do not provide benefits in the same way that a conventional sort of coverage would. Instead, they are designed to assist with costs not paid by original Medicare plans.

Some of the costs that a supplement plan can cover include:

1. Medicare deductible amounts
2. Coinsurance payments
3. Hospitalization costs incurred once Medicare coverage is exhausted
4. Costs for skilled nursing care once Medicare coverage runs out

The paragraphs below will offer some useful information on how a supplemental plan works.

A supplement plan will require you to pay a monthly premium amount. Plans of this nature are sometimes referred to as Medicap plans. A plan pays most of the out-of-pocket costs you would otherwise incur. So, when you have a doctor visit, you will not be responsible for the 20% coinsurance amount that Medicare would typically require. Rather, your supplemental coverage will kick in at this point. With certain supplemental plans, you may need to pay some form of copay rather than the 20% coinsurance amount.

Supplemental plans of this sort are not the only available option, however. Medicare Advantage options exist which can also lower the costs connected to Medicare coverage. Such plans tend to provide even greater coverage that supplemental plans do not offer.

Now we will move on to a discussion of the ways in which supplemental plans and Medicare Advantage plans diverge. It pays to do your research to determine which option suits your circumstances best.

Medicare Supplemental Plans:

1. You may need up to three difference insurance coverage cards.
2. You will need to coordinate your coverage between Medicare itself, your supplemental plan, and a Part D prescription drug plan, if applicable.
3. This type of plan can help pay costs that would otherwise be paid out of pocket under traditional Medicare.
4. You will not receive coverage for vision, dental, or prescription drug needs.
5. There are no network restrictions.
6. You will receive no coverage for prescription drugs under Part D, therefore a Part D plan would be needed separately.

Medicare Advantage:

1. You will have just one insurance card.
2. There is just one company with which to coordinate your care.
3. You may receive ancillary benefits such as vision, dental, and prescription drugs.
4. There may be network limitations as to which doctors you may see.

Find out more about Medicare Advantage Plans 2021 here.

Supplemental plans can be ideal for those with existing coverage for prescription drugs through the military or through an employer plan.

This is a guest blog entry.