The main idea behind Medicare supplement insurance was to offer extra coverage above and beyond regular Medical care parts A & B for qualified people aged 65 and above or folks on disability under the age of 65.
Medicare Parts A & B are really good coverage on their own.
Part A helps pay for medical services while confined in a hospital setting and covers 80% of those services after a deductible is met ($1132 in 2011). The deductible is a “per benefit period” deductible which in most cases means you’ll have to meet the deductible each time you have a hospital stay.
Medicare Part B helps pay for your outpatient medical services. This would include things like primary care and specialist physicians and lab work, x-rays, outpatient surgeries, emergency room visits, and most other medical services in which you don’t have to spend the night in a facility. This works like Part A in that you have a deductible ($162 in 2011) and then Medicare pays 80% of most services. The part B deductible, however, is an annual deductible and only needs to be met once per calendar year. Medicare also has something called excess charges which allow a doctor to charge up to 15% over Medicare’s rates.
What is Medicare Supplement Insurance? This insurance is private coverage that picks up those gaps in coverage left by Medicare and is therefore often called “Medigap” or “Gap insurance”. So, these plans can cover all, or some, of the deductible, coinsurance, and excess charge gaps in regular Medicare.
Why should I buy Medicare supplement insurance? Although it’s not necessary to buy this type of insurance, it can be a very valuable policy in helping protect your assets and also lends a significant amount of “peace of mind” that you won’t be hit with major medical bills. It has been noted that about half of all bankruptcy is related to a person’s inability to pay for medical services received. Medicare supplement insurance can help you avoid that situation.
Who should I buy Medicare supplement insurance from? The great thing about Medicare Supplement Insurance is that they are standardized. So, once you identify which plan is best for you, you can shop the market to see who can offer the best rates.
You can pretty much feel comfortable going with whoever is offering the best rate for the plan you feel most comfortable with. You might use the services of a Medicare supplement insurance agency to identify the rates from several companies and maybe get some experienced details on which companies might be better for the long term.
Shopping for Medicare supplemental insurance can be tough, that’s why we have made a ton of information available to you. Our main website http://www.emedicare-supplemental-insurance.com is a good place to start with not too much information that won’t overwhelm you. After that you can move on to our blog that has a ton of information like general Medicare information to state specific supplemental information. If you are still wondering or just would like to talk to some one you can call us directly at 888-404-5049.