Best Medicare Supplemental Insurance
Medicare supplemental insurance, which is popularly known as Medigap, is one of the various types of health insurance controlled by private insurance providers or companies
Related Topics (Sponsored Ads):
these companies provide a unique kind of coverage that covers the expenses of the healthcare services and supplies the original Medicare coverage does not cover, such as coinsurance, copays and deductibles.
Do not mistake Medicare supplemental insurance with Medicare Advantage plans, because they are different. A Medicare Advantage plan provides the insured Medicare benefits; on the contrary, Medicare supplemental, as its name describes, primarily supplements the original Medicare policy of the insured by making up for the deficiency coverage they offer.
How Medicare supplemental insurance or Medigap insurance policy works
The effectiveness of a Medigap insurance policy may only be activated if you have Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B insurance. Viz. Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B are prerequisites for the activation of the Medigap policy.
Similar to other types of insurance, the policyholder of a Medigap insurance policy will be required to pay a specific premium charge for the maintenance of this policy.
The payment you make for your Medigap policy does not simultaneously cover your Medicare Part B insurance; you will, however, be required to pay a premium for them separately. A Medigap insurance policy does not allow joint insurance but a separate insurance policy; hence, if you and your spouse decide to purchase a Medigap insurance policy, you will have to purchase it separately and pay for the premiums individually. Medigap policy only offers coverage for a single policyholder.
There has been a transformation in the degree of coverage provided by a Medigap insurance policy in the past years. Seventeen years ago, the Medigap insurance policy provided the insured with prescription drug coverage, which came to a halt sixteen years ago. If you need prescription drug coverage, you will have to purchase a Medicare prescription drug plan (Medicare Part D insurance). You will, however, be required to make separate premium payments for both even if you purchase both coverage from the same insurance provider or companies.
Furthermore, the medical conditions of the insured can not lead to the termination of Medicare supplemental insurance policy coverage, in as much as the insured pays their premium monthly and yearly on a regular basis, they will be able to renew their insurance policy irrespective of the kind of chronic diseases they may develop.
What insurance policy does
Medicare supplemental insurance policy primarily offers the insured coverage for various expenses they incur from their medical services or supplies that are not covered by their original Medicare insurance, such copayments, coinsurance and deductibles and other services that are not covered by Original Medicare, such as receiving medical care and attention when you are travelling out of the United States of America.
A Medigap insurance policy, however, does not offer coverage for all medical care, such as long-term care, dental or vision care, hearing aid, private duty nursing and eyeglasses for vision loss.
Characteristics of Medicare supplemental insurance policy or Medigap policy
There are primarily two characteristics of Medigap policies responsible for the benefits they provide to the insured. These characteristics are:
International coverage
Affordable premiums
International coverage
One of the primary characteristics of a Medigap insurance policy, which provides the insured with benefits that usually make them decide to maintain their policy, is the international coverage. What this means is, if you happen to travel to another country to visit your family or for a vacation, you will not be covered by Medicare Part A or Medicare Part B insurance, but Medigap policy—Medigap policy usually provides the insured with coverage for international hospital stays and emergency medical treatments.
Affordable premiums
The insured are usually provided with coverage for the expenses of medical care services and supplies that a regular Medicare Part A or B insurance policy will not cover at an affordable premium rate.
The best Medicare supplemental insurance providers or companies
There are several Medicare supplemental insurance providers in the current competitive market, with convincing and attractive offers. The best Medicare supplemental insurance companies among the plethora of them in the market include the following:
Cigna
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Humana
Aetna
Cigna
Cigna is one of the prominent Medicare supplemental policy providers, which are top-notch and highly available in the United States of America. They provide one of the best premium discounts coupled with household premium discounts, mostly if you and your spouse purchase the same policy. Irrespective of the discounts they offer, they do not by any chance allow their price to tamper with the quality they promise.
There are, however, a few kinds of higher Cigna plans that may offer the policyholder coverage for international hospital stays and emergency medical treatments. In addition to this, they provide the insured with a chance to select and keep a primary care physician in as much as they accept their coverage terms and conditions.
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare supplemental insurance provider is an umbrella corporation available in all fifty states in the United States of America. They are in contract with about ninety-five percent of the hospitals and healthcare services in the U.S.
Blue Cross Blue Shield provides several coverage options for those that live in the various states that place restrictions on Medigap policies. They also protect the insured from losing their coverage due to their unavailability during their enrollment dates by automatically renewing their coverage.
Humana
Humana is one of the popular Medicare supplemental insurance providers, and they are primarily prominent for the nine out of ten Medigap policy plans they offer to their policyholders. They offer coverage for policyholders from every state in the United States of America except Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Minnesota. Furthermore, they have some plans that offer international coverage.
Aetna
Aetna’s Medicare supplement coverage options are different from the other insurance providers that allow people to apply online because you will need to call or fix an appointment with an in-person representative if you intend to purchase their policy.
They offer a hundred percent and eighty percent coverage for Medicare Part A and B policies and international coverage, respectively. Furthermore, they also provide coverage for professional nursing expenses, which is never included in a standard Medigap policy.
Choosing the best Medicare supplemental insurance provider depends on your medical condition and the level of coverage suitable for your requirement. You will then need to compare and contrast several quotes (at least three different quotes) from different insurance companies because they all have different formulas for determining the insured premium cost.
It is, however, advisable to choose quality ahead of price.
