A Medigap or Medicare Supplementary Insurance is primarily a private health insurance policy. These kinds of insurance policies are sold by the insurers to supplement original Medicare. A Medigap insurance policy covers those health care costs that are not covered by the Original Medicare Plan such as co-payments, deductibles and coinsurance. However, it is imperative to know that Medigap insurance doesn’t provide coverage on nursing home care, hearing aids, dental care and private nursing such as dressing, bathing, etc. Medigap policies are normally sold through the private insurance companies.

Things to know about Medigap insurance

Here are some things that you should know about Medigap insurance:

1. Coverage: It is essential to know about the types of coverage that are not provided by Medigap. These are veterans’ benefits, Medicaid, Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D), Tricare, FEHBP (Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Medicare Advantage Plans such as PPO and HMO, etc.

2. Prescription drugs: It is true that in the past some Medigap insurance covered prescribed drugs by the doctor. However, Medigap policies sold after 1st January 2006 are not permitted to provide prescription drug coverage. If you wish to have the drug coverage, then it is better then it is better to purchase a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D).

3. Premium: One can purchase Medigap insurance only when he has both Medicare Part A and Part B. He will be required to pay a premium to the private insurance company offering Medigap on top of the monthly premiums of Medicare Part B.

4. Single person: It is essential to remember that Medigap insurance provides coverage to single person. In case an individual and his wife wish to have Medigap coverage, then they’ll be required to purchase separate Medigap insurance policies.

5. Renew: You may as well know that standardized Medigap is guaranteed renewable even if an individual have medical problems. This implies that the private insurance companies can’t terminate one’s Medigap policy as long as he pays the premium on time.

6. Best time to purchase: The right time to purchase this kind of insurance is during the Medigap open enrollment period. The enrollment period starts on the day in which you turn 65 and have Medicare Part B. The period normally extends over 6 months.

Finally, the last thing that one should know is how insurers set prices for Medigap insurance policies. Medigap policies are primarily rated in 3 ways – Issue-age-rated or entry-age-rated, Community-rated or no-age-rated, and attained-age-rated.

Useful sites:

Private Medical Insurance – An internet based insurance business dedicated to getting consumers competitively insurance rates