Do I Need Medigap?

Medicare does a good job of protecting millions of older Americans against the financial catastrophe of high medical bills. But it doesn’t cover everything. This is where you need to ask yourself: Do I need Medigap?

Even if you sign up right away for both Medicare Part A (hospital coverage) and Part B (physician’s costs, lab fees and durable medical goods), an illness or injury – or even just the routine costs associated with maintaining your health with a pre-existing condition – can saddle you with significant out of pocket costs. These costs can significantly derail your retirement plan. This is where a Medigap plan can help.

For example: Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) are essentially just bare-bones 80-20 plans that also have significant copays and coinsurance amounts. If you have an injury or illness that results in $100,000 in medical bills, and you don’t have Medigap coverage, you may well find yourself looking at a $20,000 bill – that you must pay out of pocket.

That’s where Medigap comes in. Medigap, or Medicare Supplement Insurance, may help prevent or control significant and possibly unpredictable health care costs that you would otherwise have to pay out of pocket.

These plans aren’t government plans, per se. Rather, they are standardized plans issued by private carriers designed to work in conjunction with Medicare, and provide coverage for medical treatments and services that Medicare Part A and B do not cover.

Here are some of the reasons you may want or need to sign up for Medigap insurance:

• You want to protect your pension income or other sources of income against the costs of health care.

• You want to preserve and protect your financial legacy against the possibility of a serious medical issue – or series of issues.

• You have assets to protect against the risk of medical-related bankruptcy.

• You can afford Medicare premiums, but cannot afford a catastrophic hospitalization or expensive dread disease, even with Medicare coverage.

• You want to be able to use your benefits at any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare, without worrying about insurance provider networks.

• You want help with co-insurance costs or co-pays for Part A and Part B.

• You want or need help with hospice care costs.

• You want to travel outside the United States and want to be able to access benefits abroad.

• You want help paying skilled nursing facility care coinsurance payments.

• You have pre-existing medical conditions or you have a family history of medical issues.

• You are not already enrolled in Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) or you are unhappy with your plan.

• You looked at available Medicare Advantage plans but you don’t want to be confined to their network.

• You don’t want prescription drug coverage or you are getting prescription drug coverage from another source.

If any or all of the above considerations apply to you, Medigap coverage – also known as Medicare Supplement insurance – may be worth considering. But the clock is ticking: To preserve your options, it’s critical that you complete any enrollments during your Medigap open enrollment period. That means you must generally sign up for Medigap within six months of the beginning of the month in which you turn age 65 and you have signed up for Medicare Part B. You can actually ‘lock in’ your Medigap rate beginning at age 64 1/2. It would then be locked in for 18 months.

Do I need Medigap? Let us help you answer that question today.

To get the ball rolling and for more personalized service, please contact me today at 888-901-4870, from anywhere in the country or click here to fill out the contact form and we’ll respond promptly. We will answer your questions and assist you in finding the right Medigap plan for you.