Do Medicare Supplements Really Help?

In the days before all the financial issues we have today, complete with budget cuts and worse, Medicare was a pretty solid program that actually pretty much took care of a person’s medical needs, even without a bunch of supplements. Over the years, however, especially during this past decade, programs are being trimmed or cut left and right and Medicare is no exception.

Services that were once included in basic Medicare are now services that have to be paid for out of pocket because of the cuts that have had to be made so that the program can stay solvent.

Medicare has been based on taxpayers’ money since the beginning. The idea has been that some taxes go toward funding Medicare.

The problem is that with the cost of medical care rising to enormous heights, the taxes are not able to keep up with the costs. In addition, though lawmakers have known there have been issues for years now, they have done nothing to really deal with them until recent years and as a result, it has become like putting a bandage on a wound that needs major surgery. If they had started to probe more and act sooner, the bandage may have been enough, but now the issue is that not only is Medicare in difficult, if not dire straits, but the entire U.S. budget and economy is going through an impossible time and “shoring up” programs truly can’t be done because there is no money to do it and there are over three trillion dollars worth of reasons why there is no money available and programs are being cut. It is an overwhelming situation that could have been avoided had the people who knew about it spoke up or had others figured it out sooner.

So, yes, there have been cuts in Medicare, but it still covers a lot. The issue is that for many special health issues, some outpatient services and more, Medicare coverage has been cut back. This is where Medicare Supplements come in. There are various supplements and Medicare Advantage, and they all cover different things, with Medicare Advantage being the broadest coverage available.

Medicare Supplements do help and they do work. To find out how they can help you and work for you, go to www.medicare.gov. There you can find a list of all supplements and what they cover and you can determine if any of them would be right for you. If you are finding that there are procedures or treatments that you are paying for out of your own pocket, a supplement could very possibly cover these things. If you are paying $200 per month for these treatments, they might be covered by a Medicare Supplement for under $100 per month, saving you at least $100 per month.

Check the Medicare website at www.medicare.gov to see if, how and where you can save money by purchasing a supplement. If you get the right supplement, it can work great, give you more complete coverage and save you money at the same time.