Medicare Coverage

For those Americans 65 years of age or older, or for those with certain disabilities, there is a federally-sponsored health coverage. You’ve probably heard of it. It’s called Medicare.

Many people think that Medicare alone will take care of them in their old age. Unfortunately, for most people, that may not be the case. At least, this may not entirely be the case. While Medicare provides fairly comprehensive health insurance, Medicare does not cover everything. Plus, there are deductibles and co-payments even for those things which it does cover.

In order to pay for the gaps in Medicare, many people end up purchasing supplemental Medicare coverage. These supplemental plans may be called Medigap or Medicare Supplements (MedSupp). By law these supplemental insurance policies must cover certain expenses that Medicare doesn’t cover, such as the daily coinsurance payment that you are still required to make for hospital stays under Medicare.

Some supplemental policies may also include such things as preventative medical care, at-home recovery and a prescription drug benefit, things for which your Medicare coverage doesn’t pay.

Depending on which part of the country you live in, you may have a choice in how your Medicare insurance is handled. You may be able to choose between a traditional fee-for-service plan or a managed care plan, similar to an HMO. Remember, if you choose the managed care plan you may not be able to choose your own doctor unless your doctor is part of the plan.

If you have a choice of plans keep in mind that should you change your mind and wish to change plans you must notify the plan administrator in writing and the change will take approximately 30 days to become effective.

As you approach 65 years of age it is good to keep in mind that Medicare by itself is not necessarily enough to cover all of your needs – you will still need to purchase supplemental care to fill in the gaps in Medicare.