More Scrutiny Regarding Medicare Supplements

Most seniors are Medicare recipients. They depend on Medicare to keep them connected to the medical care they need. Without Medicare millions of individuals would go without medical care and would be subject to fend for themselves.

Over the years it has become increasingly important for individuals who are Medicare recipients to get Medicare Supplemental plans. These plans fill in gaps in Medicare coverage. That is why supplements are often called “Medigap” policies – because they fill those gaps.

Medigap policies and other supplements including Medicare Advantage are sold by independent insurance companies. As a result, there have been many issues surrounding the sale of these policies.

There are various Medicare plans and supplements from A through L. Each supplement covers different things and individuals on Medicare can choose the supplement that fits their situation the best.

The problems arise when they haven’t taken the time to compare. There have been no regulations on these policies as far as premiums go. Part F has the exact same coverage no matter where you purchase it from. However, the rates for this policy can differ tremendously from company to company. This means that if you purchase Part F from one company it could cost twice or three times as much as buying from another company. This makes it very important to compare with all companies and try to find the best price since the coverage is exactly the same.

The government has been looking more closely at these insurance companies and working on various ways to keep them in check. Regulations have been created to help keep insurance companies from misrepresenting information regarding Medicare supplements and from pressuring seniors to purchase policies that are not the right policy for their needs.