Medicare Supplement, also known as Medigap, insurance schemes fill in the holes in basic coverage left by original Medicare, including deductibles, coinsurance, copayments, and specialized benefits. In 47 states, there are now up to ten different Medicare Supplement insurance plans home page which are described by the letters A through J (plans K, L, M, and N are not sold in all states). In addition to Medicare Supplement plans, other private companies offer Health Savings Accounts, or HSA’s; Retirement Accounts, or Roth Accounts; and catastrophic insurance policies for those who would not qualify for Medicare if they continued to be covered under their original Medicare coverage.
As with any insurance policy, Medicare supplement plan coverage is standardized, with each company providing a different selection of plans. Some basic areas of coverage are: Parts A and B. Plans can be customized to cover additional things not covered by the regular Medicare parts. One of the most common types of Medicare Supplement plans is referred to as a “fee-for-service” plan, meaning that you are required to pay a monthly fee in return for the benefits.
With Medicare supplement plans, private insurance companies typically offer plans which cover each of the following for patients eligible for the original Medicare program: nursing home care, hospital stays, hospice care, extended hospital stay (emergency or acute), and specialized health care such as dialysis or critical care. Most plans also cover inflation protection. This means that the premium you pay will not increase at a higher rate than the index price per unit of insurance premium, if given in current dollars. If the cost of regular Medicare increases at a certain level, your private insurance company will make up the difference.
Private insurance companies are required to cover at least some of the cost of health care benefits provided by their insureds when they become unable to pay for those services themselves. To help cover expenses, Medicare supplement plans may provide some or all of the out-of-pocket costs listed below. These costs are typically not paid by the plan unless they are absolutely necessary. They are usually listed in the footer of a Schedule A.
Wisconsin residents interested in obtaining a Medicare supplement plan in Wisconsin should contact a private insurance agent. Many carriers are represented by licensed Wisconsin insurance agents. These agents are able to assist people with selecting a policy that meets their needs. An insurance agent will typically help people with both health insurance questions and Medicare questions.
Insurance agents in Wisconsin can also help a person with Medicare questions and can refer them to standardized Medicare supplement insurance plans. Many private insurance companies offer standardized plans that have the same features as other plans, but are less expensive. For this reason, many seniors and retired individuals in Wisconsin choose to select from one of these standardized plans.