Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans
Below you will find a quick overview about Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans (Medigap). Please do not hesitate to reach out and request a no-cost consultation to review your situation.
Medicare Supplement Insurance, also known as Medigap, is additional insurance you can purchase from a private insurance company to help cover your share of costs in Original Medicare. While Medicare helps pay for many health care services, it doesn’t cover everything. Medigap plans are designed to help “fill the gaps” left behind by Original Medicare.
What Does Medigap Cover?
A Medigap policy can help pay certain out-of-pocket costs, including:
Copayments
Coinsurance
Deductibles
Some Medigap plans may also provide coverage for services that Original Medicare doesn’t typically cover, such as emergency medical care when traveling outside the United States.
How Medigap Works with Original Medicare
If you have Original Medicare and a Medigap policy:
Medicare pays its share of the Medicare-approved amount for covered services.
Your Medigap policy pays its share, helping reduce what you pay out of pocket.
Who Can Buy a Medigap Policy?
You can only buy a Medigap policy if you are enrolled in Original Medicare, which means you must have:
Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and
Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance)
Medigap policies do not work with Medicare Advantage plans.
What Types of Insurance Aren’t Medigap?
Medigap is not:
A Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan
Prescription drug coverage (Part D)
Employer or union coverage
Medicaid or other supplemental assistance programs
Medigap Open Enrollment Period
You get a one-time Medigap Open Enrollment Period that lasts 6 months. This period begins the first month you’re both 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B.
During this time:
You can enroll in any Medigap plan available in your area
Insurance companies cannot deny coverage due to pre-existing health conditions
You generally get the best pricing available
If you apply after this period:
You may be denied coverage
You may pay a higher premium
Coverage may be subject to medical underwriting
This enrollment period does not repeat every year, unlike Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period.
Types of Medigap Plans
All Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government. This means that plans with the same letter offer the same basic benefits, no matter which insurance company sells them.
There are 10 standardized Medigap plans available in most states, identified by letters:
Plans A–D, F, G, and K–N
The only difference between plans with the same letter is the price, which varies by insurance company.
Before choosing a plan we want to be sure you know the difference between your many options; In particular how Medicare Supplements and Medicare Advantage Plans differ. Many people sign up for Advantage Plans thinking they are Supplements, they are not.
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options. This is a proprietary website and is not associated, endorsed or authorized by the Social Security Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services or the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This site contains decision-support content and information about Medicare, services related to Medicare and services for people with Medicare. If you would like to find more information about the Medicare program please visit the Official U.S. Government Site for People with Medicare located at https://www.medicare.gov