Medicare Insurance

 Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap)

Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) is extra insurance you can buy from a private company that helps pay your share of costs in Original Medicare.

• You need both Part A and Part B to buy a Medigap policy.
• Some Medigap policies offer coverage when you travel outside the U.S.
• Generally, Medigap policies don’t cover long-term care (like care in a nursing home), vision, dental, hearing aids, private-duty nursing, or prescription drugs.
• If you’re under 65, you might not be able to buy a Medigap policy, or you may have to pay more.
• Medigap policies do not have networks or co-pays. 

Medigap policies are standardized, and in most states named by letters, like Plan G or Plan K. The benefits in each lettered plan are the same, no matter which insurance company sells it.
Price is the only difference between policies with the same letter sold by different companies.

Medicare drug coverage (Part D)
If you chose Original Medicare and want to add drug coverage, you can join a separate Medicare drug plan. Medicare drug coverage is optional. It’s available to everyone with Medicare. Most Medicare Advantage Plans include Part D coverage. In most types of Medicare Advantage Plans, you can’t join a separate Medicare drug plan. Plans cover a variety of brand-name and generic prescription drugs. Each plan has a list of covered drugs, called a “formulary,” that can vary in cost and specific drugs covered.

• Most plans have a monthly premium that you pay in addition to your Part B premium. You’ll also pay other costs when you get prescriptions.
• Plans divide the covered drugs on their formulary into groups called "tiers" based on cost. A drug in a lower tier will cost less than a drug in a higher tier.

4 Types of Medicare Advantage Plans

• Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Plans.
• Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Plans.
• Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) Plans.
• Special Needs Plans (SNPs)
• Most Advantage Plans include Dental, Vision and Hearing Aid coverage that original Medicare doesn’t cover.
• Advantage Plans have Networks and Co-pays.

Extra Help Paying for Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage (Part D)Extra Help is a Medicare program to help people with limited income and resources pay Medicare prescription drug costs.
You may qualify even if you have a higher income (like if you still work, live in Alaska or Hawaii, or have dependents living with you). Resources include money in a checking or savings account, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Resources don’t include your home, car, household items, burial plot, up to $1,500 for burial expenses (per person), or life insurance policies. If you qualify for Extra Help and join a Medicare drug plan, you will get the following:

• Help paying your Medicare drug plan’s monthly premium, yearly deductible, coinsurance, and copayments
• No coverage gap
• No late enrollment penalty
• You automatically qualify for Extra Help if you have Medicare and meet one of these conditions:
• You have full Medicaid coverage
• You get help from your state Medicaid program paying your Part B premiums (in a      Medicare Savings Program)
• You get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits

Plans for Military Veterans: Service members pay taxes for Medicare just like civilians. Don't leave these hard-earned benefits on the table. You may be eligible for affordable or $0 premium MA plans that offer benefits that the VA doesn't cover, like dental care.
With a Medicare Advantage plan, you can use healthcare providers and hospitals outside the VA system, which may be closer to home, especially in an emergency. And if you select a plan that includes coverage for Rx drugs, you can get your prescriptions from your local in-network pharmacy.