A Medicare Supplement plan can help you pay for the out-of-pocket expenses from Medicare Part A and Part B. Evaluate your healthcare needs, your budget, and your anticipated costs to find the plan that best meets your needs.
Medicare Supplement Plans
Medicare Supplement Plans are a type of policy you can purchase to help cover the costs of out-of-pocket expenses from Medicare Part A and Part B.
What Can Supplement Plans Cover?
Medicare Supplement Plans can help cover some or all of the costs from the following expenses:
- Part A coinsurance and hospital costs
- Part B copays and coinsurance
- Your first 3 pints of blood
- Part A hospice
- Care in a skilled nursing facility
- Part A deductible
- Part B deductible
- Part B excess charges
- 80% foreign travel emergency care
Plans C and F cover the Part B deductible, and these plans are no longer available to people who became eligible for Medicare after January 1, 2020.
Available Medicare Supplements
There are ten available Medicare Supplement plans, lettered A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. Each covers a varying degree of out-of-pocket costs from Medicare Part A and Part B.
Plan A offers:
- Part A coinsurance and hospital costs
- Part B copays and coinsurance
- Your first 3 pints of blood
- Part A hospice
Plan B offers:
- Part A coinsurance and hospital costs
- Part B copays and coinsurance
- Your first 3 pints of blood
- Part A hospice
- Part A deductible
Plan C offers:
- Part A coinsurance and hospital costs
- Part B copays and coinsurance
- Your first 3 pints of blood
- Part A hospice
- Care in a skilled nursing facility
- Part A deductible
- Part B deductible
- 80% foreign travel emergency care
Plan D offers:
- Part A coinsurance and hospital costs
- Part B copays and coinsurance
- Your first 3 pints of blood
- Part A hospice
- Care in a skilled nursing facility
- Part A deductible
- 80% foreign travel emergency care
Plan F offers:
- Part A coinsurance and hospital costs
- Part B copays and coinsurance
- Your first 3 pints of blood
- Part A hospice
- Care in a skilled nursing facility
- Part A deductible
- Part B deductible
- Part B excess charges
- 80% foreign travel emergency care
Plan G offers:
- Part A coinsurance and hospital costs
- Part B copays and coinsurance
- Your first 3 pints of blood
- Part A hospice
- Care in a skilled nursing facility
- Part A deductible
- Part B excess charges
- 80% foreign travel emergency care
Plan K offers:
- Part A coinsurance and hospital costs
- 50% Part B copays and coinsurance
- 50% Your first 3 pints of blood
- 50% Part A hospice
- 50% Care in a skilled nursing facility
- 50% Part A deductible
The out-of-pocket limit for Plan K in 2021 is $5,880. After you meet your deductible, the plan pays for 100% of covered expenses.
Plan L offers:
- Part A coinsurance and hospital costs
- 75% Part B copays and coinsurance
- 75% Your first 3 pints of blood
- 75% Part A hospice
- 75% Care in a skilled nursing facility
- 75% Part A deductible
The out-of-pocket limit for Plan L in 2021 is $2,940. The plan will cover 100% for approved services once you meet your deductible.
Plan M offers:
- Part A coinsurance and hospital costs
- Part B copays and coinsurance
- Your first 3 pints of blood
- Part A hospice
- Care in a skilled nursing facility
- 50% Part A deductible
- 80% foreign travel emergency care
Plan N offers:
- Part A coinsurance and hospital costs
- Part B copays and coinsurance
- Your first 3 pints of blood
- Part A hospice
- Care in a skilled nursing facility
- Part A deductible
- 80% foreign travel emergency care
Plan N pays for 100% of Part B services, except for some copays for office visits and emergency services.
Plan Comparison
Plans F and G have the most coverage and higher premiums. These plans have high deductible options in some states, which cover all of your covered expenses after you meet the deductible. The high deductible options have lower monthly premiums, making them an attractive choice for people who want the promise of protection and can afford the deductible if needed.
Plans A and B are more basic levels of coverage, with accordingly low premiums. They leave you with potentially higher out-of-pocket costs for the areas not covered.
Plans M and N have premiums that fall in the middle, with coverage for most of the out-of-pocket expenses associated with Medicare Part A and Part B. The copay structure of Plan N is unique and follows most health insurance plans.
Who Can Buy a Medicare Supplement
Medicare Supplements are sold to Medicare beneficiaries when they are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. As of 2003 in Colorado, people under 65 who are eligible for Medicare can also purchase a Medicare Supplement within the six months after they first enroll in Medicare Part B.
People with Medicare Advantage plans cannot have a Medicare Supplement Plan and vice versa. If you sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan when you first sign up for Medicare and decide to switch within your first year, you can return to Original Medicare and add a Medicare Supplement.
These types of exceptions that allow you to sign up for a Medicare Supplement are called Guaranteed Issue Rights.
When to Sign Up for a Plan
The best time to sign up for a Medicare Supplement Plan is during your Medigap Open Enrollment, which begins when you are 65 or older and first enrolled in Medicare Part B. You then have six months to sign up for a plan without having to go through medical underwriting or being charged more for preexisting conditions.
With a Guaranteed Issue right, you can sign up when one of the following circumstances applies:
- You are in a Medicare Advantage plan and leave the service area or your plan stops giving care in your area
- You have Original Medicare and secondary coverage and the secondary coverage is ending
- You have Original Medicare and a Medicare SELECT policy but leave the SELECT policy’s service area
- You dropped a Medicare Supplement plan for a Medicare Advantage plan and decide to switch back in less than a year
- Your Medicare Supplement insurance company goes bankrupt or you lose coverage through no fault of your own
- Your Medicare Advantage plan was not following the rules and you left the plan
For help finding the right Medicare Supplement plan for your healthcare needs, speak with an expert from Medicare Peace of Mind.
