Who’s on First? What’s on Second? And What’s a Medicare Supplemental or Advantage Plan?

Standard Medicare is made up of several parts. Most people are familiar with Parts A and Parts B, which include benefits for physician services, and hospital services. In addition, many people purchase Part D, which includes prescription benefits. Even all three of these parts, however, do not cover all necessary medical services. Therefore, many individuals also purchase Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans, referred to as Medigap, or Medicare Advantage Plans.

I Don’t Know is on Third, and is my Answer to the question Which Medigap Plan Should I Buy

Medigap policies can be purchased from different health insurance providers. Rest easy knowing that Medigap policies are standardized and regulated by the Center for Medical Services at the state and federal government level. Therefore, all of the benefits are standardized across plans, regardless of where you purchase it. The costs, however, are determined by each individual health insurance company, so you are able to shop around to find a good deal.

It is difficult to recommend one particular Medigap plan to all of my readers because there are many different Medigap policies. They are numbered (that’s not the right word) by letter. For example, there are currently Medigap Plans A through L. However, some of these Medigap policies get discontinued and others are created every year. Every state chooses which Medigap policies they want to offer to its residents. If you want to buy a Medigap policy, you would do well to work with an insurance broker to help you figure out which is the best plan for you that will work with your current standard Medicare plan.

A Medicare Advantage Plans are TOTALLY Different

Medicare Advantage plans are basically a package plan that is comparable to standard Medicare Parts A and B, which you purchase from a private health insurance company, instead of the federal government. The insurance company can bundle different additional benefits in with your Parts A and B. The co-payment amounts may be different, and the benefit amount may be different too. However, the covered services should be about the same as standard Medicare plans. You may have to pay some additional monthly premiums if your package includes more benefits, higher benefits, or lower co-payment amounts than if you had the standard Medicare package.

By the way, these Medicare Advantage Plans are called Medicare Part C.

So to recap, you can buy Medicare Parts A, B, and D. Or you can buy a Medicare Part C plan (Medicare Advantage), and in additional, you may also want to buy a Medigap Plan A through L. Got it? Good.