The Importance of “Creditable Coverage” with Medigap Policies

As was discussed previously, in certain instances it is acceptable for Medigap policies to exclude pre-existing conditions for a six month period after the start of the policy.  The policy can exclude the coverage of these conditions during this period but must start coverage at the end of the “pre-existing condition waiting period”.  There is a way to make sure that you skip this period and go right into having your coverage.

Having “creditable coverage” for a period of time before you start your Medigap policy will preclude the waiting period from happening.  As long as you had continuous coverage with another insurance company for at least six months prior to your Medigap policy your new insurer cannot make you wait.  This is, of course, if you did not have any “breaks” in coverage for more than the acceptable period of time.

This just gets more and more confusing for everyone, but if you had any breaks in your coverage for 63 days or more in the six months prior to Medigap you didn’t have continuous coverage.  Nobody quite knows where the 63 days comes from, but it is very important to making sure you have no wait for coverage.  Creditable coverage is very important to your Medicare supplemental insurance coverage.