Understanding Medicare Supplements

“Even the best health insurance plans have gaps in the level of coverage you receive. Supplemental health insurance is designed to fill in those gaps and cover the additional costs that come with illness and injury. These gaps can include deductibles and co-payments on regular insurance, prescription medication, lab tests, alternative medical treatment, lost income and living expenses, among other things. Supplemental health insurance is an often-overlooked insurance product, but thanks in part to Aflac (Stock Quote: AFL) and its famous duck marketing campaign, it’s becoming more popular. ”

Supplemental health insurance premiums are typically less expensive than regular health insurance because the maximum benefit is usually much lower. This is true of Medicare Supplements. They are designed to cover the items that are not covered by your basic Medicare policy. Your Medicare offers benefits for qualified medical expenses as is deemed “ordinary and necessary” up to the policy limit. With supplemental insurance, the benefits are allocated in dollar amounts for specific situations up to the policy limit. For example, you might get extra money per day for each day you spend in the hospital over the Medicare limit if you have a supplemental health policy. Those benefits wil be subject to a cap, however they will still help you deal with the expenses.

For example, if you are injured in an auto accident and your auto insurance pays your medical bills, your health insurance will not pay. With supplemental health insurance, that doesn’t happen. Policyholders still receive their cash benefit regardless of what other benefits are paid by other policies. Because of this, cash from a supplemental health policy can be used to pay deductibles on other insurance policies and minimize or eliminate the out-of-pocket expenses of the policyholder.

There are a variety of options available in the supplemental health insurance market. One option is a policy that is specific to a disease such as cancer or long term nursing home care. This can be used to supplement the cost of procedures, time off work, transportation to treatments, etc. Another option is a policy specifically for accidents. These policies typically pay out a death or dismemberment benefit as well. The most popular supplemental policy is for those on Medicare. Medicare doesn’t cover long term health care costs, in-home health care or prescription drugs, so seniors often also have a Medicare supplemental policy as well as long term care insurance.

If you feel that you need more coverage, it is a good idea to look into the supplements available and compare the cost and the coverage. The website www.CMS.gov can help you compare, or you can type in Medicare Supplemental Coverage into your browser and there are calculators and comparisons available. Make sure you are completely covered. Do some research and find the supplement that is right for you.

Some quotes from: The Basics of Supplemental Health Insurance
By: BankingMyWay.com Staff