Medicare, also known as Medigap, is a health insurance plan for people over 65, people under 65 with some disability and for people with End-Stage Renal Disease. Medicare supplement plan covers extra services which are not included in Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B. Such a plan is mostly offered by private companies. Purchasing a Medicare supplemental insurance plan is made easy because all private companies offer the same services and amount of coverage. Private companies sell Medigap facilities mostly to Medicare Part A and Part B recipients.  Before choosing a plan, make sure you do your research about the different types of policies and plans offered by Medicare.

MEDICARE PART A

Part A is an insurance program sponsored by the government which covers costs related to hospitalisation. It is also known as ‘Hospital Insurance’. Medicare recipients become automatically enrolled in Part A when they meet the Medigap requirements/qualifications. If Medicare taxes had been payed by you, you will be entitled to this insurance without any extra costs, also known as Premium-Free. But if you aren’t, you’ll have to pay about 413$ per month.  People above 65, to be eligible for Premium-Free Part A, need to prove that they were employed by the government which had Medicare covered and are receiving their retirement benefits. People under 65 need to prove that they are receiving disability benefits for 24 months or have End-Stage Renal Disease.

MEDICARE PART B

Also known as ‘Medical Insurance’ covers outpatient expenses. Part B is an optional Medicare supplement plan. Enrolling in Part B requires recipients to enroll in additional programs such as Part D, Advantage Plans and Medicare supplement insurance plan (Medigap plan). Recipients are required to pay 134$ per month. It covers two types of services: medically necessary and preventative services.

MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLAN

These are plans which combine and provide Part A and Part B benefits. Most of the Advantage Plans include Part D as well. This program helps to fill in the gaps left by the Original Medicare Supplement Plan. The recipient’s coverage will be dependent upon the type of plan he/she chose, and the specific hospitals/doctors included in that plan.

WHEN CAN YOU MAKE CHANGES TO YOUR COVERAGE

Medicare recipients believe that the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is the only time that they can make changes to their Medicare supplement insurance plan however, it is not. Apart from the AEP, you can make changes to your coverage from 1st January till 14th February. But you can make changes at any time of the year. If you have the Medicare Advantage Plan, two periods in which you can make changes are the AEP (15th Oct to 7th Dec) and Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period (1st Jan to 14th Feb).

The period during which you can make changes is available according to the plan you’ve chosen. You have three periods during which you can change your Advantage plan and the whole year for the supplement plan.

Learn more about Medicare Supplemental Insurance plans, rates and more at http://www.emedicare-supplemental-insurance.com.  Medicare Supplemental Insurance brokers will help you compare Medicare Supplemental Insurance rates and plans.  To talk to an expert in Medicare coverage toll free 877-202-9248 today!