Medicare Supplements: Coverage, Standardization, and Price Variation
Medicare supplements, in terms of the provisions and coverage provided, are all standardized by the government. Contrastingly, in terms of prices and availability, they are not federally standardized.
Not all plans are offered by all providing companies or in all states. Also, while the plans are standardized by the federal government, the government did not standardize the premium prices. Therefore, the prices may be different for the same Medicare supplement plans with different insurance companies. That is correct. You can buy Medicare supplement Plan F in your area from one insurance company that wants $189 a month, or from another insurance company that wants $95 a month. There really can be that much variation, because there is no cap or standard.
Add that price variation to the fear that people already have of Medicare supplements, and that equals disaster. People are in a rush to quickly and efficiently obtain a Medicare supplement policy as they wish to be done with the stress. Ironically, this fear and rush to purchase a policy perpetuates these companies’ ability to charge so much for coverage that should not be that expensive. Plans for supplement insurance ARE the same. Prices for the plans are NOT.
What about parts? You hear about Medicare Part A or Part D, and then you hear about Plan A or Plan D. You’re sitting there, staring at the screen, trying to figure out if they’re the same thing, or what type of person would name them something like that to create so much confusion. By the way, they ARE different.
Part A and Part B are included in all Plans. They are both parts of Original Medicare Coverage. Part C acts in place of Original Medicare plans and is known as a Medicare Advantage Plan. Part D is prescription coverage. Plans A-L are the Medicare supplemental plans that you can buy to increase the coverage that you have by supplementing the coverage provided by Original Medicare, hence their name. Each Medicare supplement has varying levels of coverage.
Medicare supplements, also referred to as Medigap, are made to fit in with Medicare coverage and fill in the gaps where traditional Medicare lacks to provide coverage. Speaking with an agent who has an association with a specific insurance company will not behoove you as that person is most likely going to tell you that the policy and price they offer is the all-around best. The truth is that they may just want the sale.
You should instead find a Medicare attorney, broker, or another objective source that can help you understand this confusing world of plans, parts, and headaches so that you can get the medical coverage you need.
Learn more about Medigap. Stop by Richard Cantu’s site where you can find out all about a Medicare supplement policy and what it can do for you.