Medicare is a government-sponsored health care benefit that covers senior citizens and persons with special health conditions in the 50 U.S. States including Texas. Medicare covers basic health care needs, but it still leaves some bills that are covered out of one’s pocket or with Medicare supplement plans. Medigap is one of those provisions for out-of-pocket health expenses.
Expenses Not Covered
Some of the health care expenses that are not covered by Medicare are long-term conditions, dental conditions, custodial care, specialized care in a nursing home, home maker services, cosmetic surgeries, abroad health care services, eyes surgeries amongst others. These bills are either footed as they come out of the pocket or with Medicare Advantage Plans or Medigap Plans. Medigap is one of the Medicare Supplement plans. In Texas, there are ten standardized Medigap plans.
Standardized Plans
According to the Texas Department of Insurance, every private insurance firm that offers Medigap plans must offer Plan A. Insurance firms must also offer plans C and F if they decide to offer other plans apart from Plan A. Services included in the different Medigap plans include hospitalization, blood, hospice and medical expenses. The ten standardized Medigap plans are plans A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. You can always visit our Texas Medigap Insurance Plans page to view our Medigap chart.
According to data provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), there are 2,466,000 Medicare enrolees in Texas as at 2017. 29.1% of Medicare enrolees in Texas, as at 2015, are Medigap policyholders, according to the American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). The Plan F has been noted as the most popular plan in Texas with 456,627 enrollees, according to AHIP. Plan F is closely followed by Plans C, N, C, and D with 116,842, 45,867, 22,026, and 9,275 enrolees respectively.
Laws in Texas
Certain laws apply to Medigap in Texas, and these include the 30-day look policy which allows a return of plans after 30 days of purchase with a full refund. Texan laws also allow a 60-day open registration period where senior citizens and younger residents of Texas can buy any Medicare supplement plan.
The laws of Texas also ensure that during the open registration, Medicare plan A and B holders can buy any policy irrespective of their health history. Medicare users are also covered by a guarantee issue right that enables them to register for another Medigap policy outside the open registration period.
The overall purpose of Medigap is to make provision for out-of-pocket health expenses that are not covered by Medicare. The government of Texas also increases the benefits of Medigap with the different laws. It is, however, noteworthy that the Medigap plans vary with county and most plans in Texas are priced with attained-age rates.
Learn more about Medigap plans & rates in Texas at http://emedigap-plans.com/texas-medigap-insurance.plans.php. Our Texas Medigap Insurance brokers will help you compare Medigap Insurance rates and plans today. To talk to an expert in Texas Medigap coverage call toll free 888-452-7949 today!