Don’t Be Fooled, Medigap is Private Health Insurance

Many people are in the dark when it comes to health insurance, what they need it for and when they need to buy it. Combine this fact with the everyday confusion of Federal government and you get the Medicare system that confuses so many. What you have to do is realize a few very important points about Medigap policies before you buy so you don’t make a mistake with your Medigap policy.

First, you need to know that Medigap policies are not sold by the Federal government, they are sold by private health insurance companies. This is a very big distinction to make because you are talking about a company trying to make a profit, not just serve the public. If a company tries to sell you Medigap coverage and attempts to sell themselves as a Federally run company you should go elsewhere.

In addition to the need to differentiate between Medicare and Medigap, you also need to make a distinction between Medicaid and Medigap. Medicaid is run by each state and they are given some Federal guidelines in order to be able to share the risk. There is no link from Medicaid to Medigap policies so don’t let a scrupulous insurance company attempt to sell you Medigap if you have Medicaid.