What is Medigap?
Medigap is simply another name for Medicare Supplement Insurance. It pays for all or part of the bills that original Medicare has not covered. Some of these things that these plans help to cover are deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments. They are provided by private insurance companies in accordance with Original Medicare to fill in the coverage gaps.
Benefits of Medigap Policies
Medigap plans offer a sense of predictability in health care costs. They cater to what is not necessarily fully covered by Medicare, such as hospital coinsurance, skilled nursing facility care, and Part B excess charges. There do exist standardized plans a Medigap enrollee can choose from: A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, N. Each of the letters includes differently arranged benefits that are custom-tailored to individual health care and budgetary needs.
Enrollment and Eligibility
To be eligible for a Medigap policy, you will need to be enrolled in both Original Medicare Part A and Part B and live within the service area of a plan. You will have up to six months to enroll in the plan upon turning 65 and signing up for Part B.
Shopping for a Medigap Plan
Some of the important considerations when looking into the Medigap plans are the plan cost, coverage level, reputation of the insurance carrier, customer service, access to the network, discounts, or added benefits. These are going to help the beneficiaries understand the costs in relation to the coverage, coverage limitations, policy renewal, and how Medigap works along with other Medicare coverages.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.