What is Medigap (Medicare Supplemental Insurance)?
Medicare supplemental insurance is sold by private insurance companies to fill “gaps” in original Medicare plan coverage (Parts A & B). The original Medicare plan pays for many services, but not all, so you may want to consider a Medigap policy to help pay for your out-of-pocket costs. Some examples of out-of-pocket expenses are deductibles, coinsurance and copayments for health care services.
A Medigap policy only works with the original Medicare plan. If you choose to buy a Medigap policy, both the original plan and Medigap will pay their share of the Medicare-approved amounts for covered health costs. Keep in mind that Medigap can not be used towards payment of Medicare advantage plans’ copayments or deductibles.
Additional details:
- Generally you must have Medicare Part A and Part B to buy Medigap
- You will have to pay a Medigap premium
- A Medigap policy covers only one person
- Medigap insurance companies can only sell you “standardized” Medigap policies, identified by letters (Plans A through L)
- Usually the only difference between Medigap plans sold by private health insurance companies is the cost
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