Looking For The Best Medicare Supplement Insurance?

When shopping for the best Medicare Supplement insurance, you should first understand completely how Medicare works. Since Medicare does not cover all health care expenses, Medicare supplement insurance is sold as supplemental health insurance for Medicare recipients. There are a number of gaps in Medicare coverage, so this Medicare supplement insurance is often known as Medigap. Medicare supplement insurance is not a federal program like Medicare. Although health insurance companies provide Medicare supplement insurance coverage, they are strictly regulated by both the federal and state government. In fact, these plans have been standardized by the government.

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Don't throw your money out the window!

You still need to consider important things like the insurance company's financial ratings, customer service, claims paying history and the ease of doing business, and the agent you're working with. But assuming that you're dealing with a reputable, financially stable company that has all these things, then you're safe to let premium be the deciding factor in finding the best medicare supplement policy. By working with an independent agent who represent many different insurance companies, you'll be able to more easily shop around and compare prices in an unbiased manner.

Making sure you have the best Medicare supplement plan is very important. Here are some things that you may want to consider to make sure that you do that the best Medicare Supplement plan that is currently available to you:

1. Your same Medicare supplement plan may be available from another insurance company with lower premiums.

2. Your plan may not offer coverage for some of the services that you need, so you are having to pay out of pocket for them.

3. You are paying a monthly premium for your Medicare Advantage plan when there may be similar plans available that cost $0 per month.

4. Your Part D drug plan is too expensive, has a higher deductible and/or has higher co-pays than other available plans.

5. Your Medicare Supplement insurance company may have come out with new lower-premium plans that they have not told you about.

These are all reasons why you may want to shop around so that you can get the best Medicare supplement plan for the most affordable price.

Standardized Medicare Supplement Plans

Table Tutorial

* Plans F & J have an optional High Deductible of $1,860

Open Enrollment Period

This is the best time to make sure you get the best Medicare Supplement plan available, right from the beginning! The open enrollment period is a period of time that you are eligible to buy a Medicare Supplement policy from any insurance company and cannot be turned down or rated up for any medical questions on the application. You are eligible for open enrollment if you:

(A) are within 6 months of turning 65 years old (about to turn or have already turned 65);

(B) are within 6 months of purchasing Part B coverage for the first time; or

(C) were previously covered under Medicare (due to a disability, for example) and are within 6 months of turning age 65.

Guaranteed Issue Period

Individuals who are in a Guaranteed Issue period can also buy a Medicare Supplement policy and cannot be turned down for any reason. This is also a great time to make sure you have the best Medicare Supplement policy available since you have to make a change anyway! Individuals in a Guaranteed Issue period are not required to answer the medical questions. The following are definitions of categories of individuals who are eligible for Guaranteed Issue under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997:

(A) Enrolled under an employee welfare benefit plan that either: (1) supplements Medicare, and the plan terminates, or the plan ceases to provide all such benefits; or (2) is primary to Medicare and the plan terminates or the plan ceases to provide all health benefits to the individual because the individual leaves the plan; or

(B) Enrolled in a Medicare+Choice or a Medicare Advantage plan or Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and the organization's certification or plan is terminated or specific circumstances permit discontinuance including, but not limited to, a change in residence of the individual, the plan is terminated within a residence area, the organization substantially violated a material policy provision, or a material misrepresentation was made to the individual; or

(C) Enrolled in a Medicare risk contract, health care prepayment plan, cost contract or medicare Select plan, or similar organization, and the organization's certification or plan is terminated or specific circumstances permit discontinuance including, but not limited to, a change in residence of the individual, the plan is terminated within a residence area, the organization substantially violated a material certificate/policy provision, or a material misrepresentation was made to the individual, or:

(D) Enrolled in a Medicare Supplement certfiicate/policy and coverage discontinues due to insolvency, substantial violation of a material certificate/policy provision, or material misrepresentation; or

(E) Enrolled under a Medicare Supplement policy, terminates the policy and enrolls in a Medicare Advantage or Medicare+Choice, a risk or cost contract, or a Medicare Select plan, a PACE provider, and then the insured person terminates coverage within 12 months of enrollment; or

(F) Upon first becoming eligible for benefits under Part B at age 65 or older, enrolled in a Medicare+Choice or a Medicare Advantage or PACE provider and you disenroll within 12 months.

Generally an insurance company will require that you submit documentation as proof that you qualify under on of these conditions. You must apply within 63 days of the date of termination of previous coverage in order to qualify for guaranteed issue.

Buying Medicare Supplement after Open Enrollment

Many people don't realize that they can switch to the best Medicare Supplement plan even if you are not in the open enrollment period. You can change Medigap policies at any time as long as you can answer a list of health questions.

The health insurance companies are mainly looking for major health concerns, usually in the last 2 years. Each company will have a slightly different list of questions, but they are all pretty much the same. Here is a list of questions most likely to be asked if you are trying to switch to the best Medicare Supplement and you are not in open enrollment or the guaranteed issue period:

1. Are you currently hospitalized or confined to a nursing home? Or have you been confined to a nursing home in the last 2 years?

2. Within the last 2 years, have you been recommended to have surgery for joint replacement, a heart condition or other surgery but not yet had the surgery?

3. Are you bedridden or confined to a wheelchair?

4. Within the past two years have you had a heart attack, cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, heart surgery, emphysema, chronic lung disease, Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), or stroke?

5. Within the past two years, have you had or been treated for internal cancer, leukemia, malignant melanoma, Hodgkins's Disease, diabling arthritis requiring methotrexate, cirrhosis of the liver, Alzheimer's Disease, dementia, alcohol or drug abuse?

6. Within the past two years, have you had renal failure or have been advised to have kidney dialysis?

7. Have you had or been told by your physician you have Myasthenia Gravis, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, paralysis, Parkinson's Disease, Paget's Disease, Lou Gehrig's Disease or need an amputation due to disease?

8. Have you been diagnosed by a member of the medical profession for AIDS, AIDS-related complex (ARC), or tested positive for the AIDS virus or Hepatitis C?

9. Are you an insulin dependent diabetic?

If you can answer no to all of these questions, then you should be able to switch from your current plan to a new one, ideally the best medicare supplement plan available.

Insurance companies realize that most people who are on Medicare are on some medications. Don't worry about the medications you take. When you are changing policies, they will ask you what medications you are taking, but it's not usually an issue. Even the best Medicare Supplement policies don't cover medications, so the insurance companies are not really worried about them. Medicare Part D drug plans cover your prescription drugs. For more information on Part D drug plans click here.

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