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Medicare Supplemental Insurance
Guide to Plans
Medicare Supplemental Insurance otherwise known as Medigap is private insurance that fills gaps in Medicare coverage. In most states, a Medigap policy must be one of ten standardized policies to help you compare them easily. Each policy has a different set of benefits. Two of the standardized policies may have a high deductible option.
Medicare does not cover everything. Your out-of-pocket costs for health care will include but are not limited to:
Your monthly Part B premium ($45.50 in 2000). Deductibles, coinsurance or copayments when you get health care services Outpatient prescription drugs (with only a few exceptions) Routine or yearly physical exams Vaccinations with a few exceptions Orthopedic shoes Custodial care (help with bathing, dressing, toileting, and eating) at home or in a nursing home. Most dental care and dentures. Routine foot care. Hearing aids. Routine eye care. Health care you get while traveling outside of the United States (except under limited circumstances) Cosmetic surgery.
The government has put together a set of excellent publications to provide you with all the information you need to know regarding Medicare and Medigap. The publications are available below for you to download using Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have the Reader, you can simply download it here.
Medicare & You 2001 Contains the Summary of Medicare benefits, rights and obligations, and answers to the most frequently asked questions about Medicare. http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/largeman.pdf
Medicare Supplemental Insurance Medigap Policies and Protections is a booklet explaining Medigap policies and what they cover, your rights to buy a Medigap policy when your health coverage changes, and where to get help. http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/finalmed.pdf
2000 Guide to Health Insurance for People with Medicare is an information guide to help beneficiaries with purchasing Medigap supplemental insurance, using Medigap supplemental insurance and other kinds of health insurance. http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/lgguide.pdf
Understanding your Medicare choices is a brief description of the Medicare health plan options. http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/und.pdf
Worksheet for Comparing Medicare Health Plans http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/workshee.pdf
If you have Medicare, you have certain guaranteed rights. You have them whether you are in the Original Medicare Plan or a Medicare managed plan.
You have the right to get emergency care when and where you need it, without prior approval. If you think your health is in serious danger because you have severe pain, a bad injury, sudden illness, or an illness quickly getting much worse, you can get emergency care anywhere in the United States. You have the right to appeal if Medicare does not pay for a covered service you have been given, or if your doctor or hospital does not give you a service that you believe should be covered. You have the right to know all your treatment options from your health care provider in language that is clear to you. Medicare must give you information about what is covered and how much you have to pay. Medicare managed care plans cannot have rules that stop a doctor from telling you everything you need to know about your health care, including treatment options. You have the right to have any personal information that Medicare collect kept private. Medicare may collect information about you as part of its regular business, such as paying your bills. The law requires Medicare to keep this information private. When Medicare asks for this kind of information, we must tell you that the law lets us collect it for payment and health treatment purposes. You have the right to know why we need it, whether it is required or optional, what happens if you don’t give the information, and how it will be used.
For more information about your Medicare
rights, call 1- 800- MEDICARE
(1- 800- 633- 4227).