If you’re near, at, or beyond retirement age, adequate health coverage is a legitimate concern. You know you should have Medicare coverage, but today that’s probably not enough. But when you start getting all those insurance terms thrown at you – supplement insurance, medigap open enrollment, and so on – it all gets more than a little confusing. So let’s clear up a little of the confusion with some explanations.
What is Medigap and What Does It Do?
Medigap is a supplement insurance plan sold through private insurance companies and designed to fill the gaps in basic Medicare coverage. Basic Medicare, for example, does not cover custodial care, private-duty nursing, eye exams and glasses, and many other necessary medical services and procedures.
So Medigap is a supplement insurance that will kick in where Basic Medicare falls short. The 11 plans are each designated by a letter – A, B, C, D, F, F+, G, K, L, M, and N – with each having a different level of coverage. They all offer basic benefits such as coinsurance charges, hospice care copayments, and other other basic, necessary areas of coverage.
Medigap Open Enrollment
The best time to buy Medigap is during the open enrollment period. This is a six-month period that starts automatically when you turn 65 and are enrolled in Medicare Part B. During open enrollment October 15th through December 7th, you can purchase any Medigap supplement insurance policy available in your state. Even if you have pre-existing health issues, you are still allowed to purchase any policy a company sells at the same cost as someone without those health problems – but only during open enrollment.
Gives us a call, we’ll help you qualify and simplify enrollment:
Supplement Insurance Outside Medigap Open Enrollment
Under the guaranteed issue right, if you are 65 or older, companies cannot deny you coverage and must sell you a Medigap policy regardless of your health status. This right also keeps insurance companies from imposing waiting periods for coverage of pre-existing conditions. Of course, the best available rate depends on a number of factors, but this remains an option if you happen to miss the Medigap open enrollment period.
If you miss the Medigap open enrollment, all is not lost – although there’s no guarantee an insurance company will sell you a policy if you don’t meet the underlining requirements. But you do have options, and one of them is the guaranteed issue right – which gives you 63 days to obtain Medigap after loss or termination of certain kinds of health coverage.
Make Medigap Easy
The easiest way to approach all this is by giving us a call at The Benefit Link so we can assist you. We are not affiliated with any insurance company and there is no charge for our services. Basically, we serve as your own personal benefits coordinator and provide the expert guidance you need.
Still have questions, or need more information on how to pick the plan that is right for you?
The Benefit Link is here to help! Give us a call and speak to a licensed insurance agent:
Use your retirement income wisely, find out if you qualify for medicare discounts.
Want help choosing the best plan?
We’ll send you our top recommendations!
Need answers now?
Get a Free Quote in minutes!
