Co-Founder, TermInsuranceBrokers.com, Goldenzweig Financial Group, Las Vegas, Nevada
No. Part B is your Original Medicare physician insurance - it's one of the two parts of Original Medicare, the other being Part A (hospital insurance).
You must have both Medicare Part A and Part B in force to buy a Medigap plan.
Original Medicare pays for the first 80% of healthcare expenses, leaving you responsible for the other 20%. Depending on which Medigap plan you buy, it will cover all or a portion of the other 20% of expenses. The idea behind adding a Medigap plan to your Original Medicare coverage is to create a very predictable healthcare expense structure and limit costs your can be responsible for.
I hope the information is helpful. If you'd like to learn more about Medigap plans and how they help you, please feel free to contact me for help. I'm an independent insurance broker with a strong background in senior insurance products and am licensed in many states and with over 40 insurance companies. Thanks very much.
Renwanz Insurance & Financial Solutions, Carlsbad, CA
Here is how senior coverage stacks up:
Part A - covers hospital care, skilled nursing facility care, nursing home care (as long as custodial care isn't the only care you need), hospice, and health care services.
Part B - covers Physician care. It covers services like lab tests, surgeries, doctor visits and supplies like wheelchairs and walkers that are considered medically necessary to treat a disease or condition.
Once you have Part A and Part B, you can purchase a Medicare Supplement Plan such as Plan F, also known as Medigap. Plan F covers costs known as Medicare Part B excess charges. With Medicare Supplement Plan F you get the most complete coverage available. Because the plan covers costs in excess of Medicare-approved amounts, you may have no out-of-pocket costs for hospital and doctor's office care with this plan.
There is a Plan F "high deductible" option that can save you money on the monthly premiums, but the "high deductible" comes with a deductible of $2140 for 2014 before the plan pays anything.
As always, it is best to find an independent insurance broker that works with seniors to help navigate the choices.
Let me start by saying that Medigap isn’t the same as Part B but let’s get a better understanding of how Medicare works.
If you look at page 17 of the 2015 Medicare and You book you will see there are 2 main choices on how you can get your Medicare coverage. There is Original Medicare that includes Part A and B with the option to fill in the gaps in Original Medicare by buying a Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policy. Or there is Medicare Advantage Plan, Part C, which include Part A, Part B and in most cases Part D.
On page 92 of the Medicare and You book you will find that all Medigap policies are standardized. All polices offer that same basic benefits but different insurance companies may charge you different premiums for the same exact policy. It’s a good idea to use a good broker that represents multi companies that can show you not only the price difference but also the average rate increases because all Medigap policies go up every year.
Now there are different Medigap plans A-N, the easiest way to think about this is like car insurance. You can buy a car insurance policy with no deductible but by doing so your premium will be higher. If you choose to assume some of the risk, buying a policy with a deductible your premium will be lower.
As long as you’re in fairly good health (no major illnesses or recent hospitalization with in the last 2 years) you can show the market for the lowest price, remember Medigap plans always have a price increase each year and it’s always a wise decision to shop around every couple of years to find the best price. I am aware of one insurance company that once you are approved, will allow you to change between plans without re-looking at your current health, which may be a viable option if you want to save money with a higher deductible while you are in good health and then when your health starts to change you change your plan to a lower deductible.
If you have any other question feel free to contact me for a phone review or we can chat on Skype.
All great answers.
So I'll address a tangent to the question... Medigap Insurance comes in an alphabet soup that can be confusing for some. There are the PARTS of Medicare: Part A & B Make up your core coverage. There is Part D (for drug - Finally something from the Feds that kinda makes sense). Last there is Part C (Advantage Plans that are kind of an A + B + D package).
Complete Professional Opinion here... Despite all the marketing form the Advantage carriers about "better health", in my many years in the "medicare supplement market", I am NOT a huge fan of Part C - Advantage Plans. It's all about YOUR math. (note: Part C is NOT a "supplement", I just use the phrase to cover "all plans that give you more coverage than A & B do alone.) It's a longer discussion than I can type here... yet it's a simple discussion. Part C is the right thing for specific people at specific times. I talk to client s about the facts related to both. 90%+ of the people we serve, from all economic walks, PICK a Medigap Plan (& it's NOT Plan F.... call me & I'll tell you why).
Bottom line, be sure you work with an agent that can communicate both Part C & Medigap. Own what is best for YOU....
.JPG){kind=avatar}
You must have both Medicare Part A and Part B in force to buy a Medigap plan.
Original Medicare pays for the first 80% of healthcare expenses, leaving you responsible for the other 20%. Depending on which Medigap plan you buy, it will cover all or a portion of the other 20% of expenses. The idea behind adding a Medigap plan to your Original Medicare coverage is to create a very predictable healthcare expense structure and limit costs your can be responsible for.
I hope the information is helpful. If you'd like to learn more about Medigap plans and how they help you, please feel free to contact me for help. I'm an independent insurance broker with a strong background in senior insurance products and am licensed in many states and with over 40 insurance companies. Thanks very much.
Part A - covers hospital care, skilled nursing facility care, nursing home care (as long as custodial care isn't the only care you need), hospice, and health care services.
Part B - covers Physician care. It covers services like lab tests, surgeries, doctor visits and supplies like wheelchairs and walkers that are considered medically necessary to treat a disease or condition.
Once you have Part A and Part B, you can purchase a Medicare Supplement Plan such as Plan F, also known as Medigap. Plan F covers costs known as Medicare Part B excess charges. With Medicare Supplement Plan F you get the most complete coverage available. Because the plan covers costs in excess of Medicare-approved amounts, you may have no out-of-pocket costs for hospital and doctor's office care with this plan.
There is a Plan F "high deductible" option that can save you money on the monthly premiums, but the "high deductible" comes with a deductible of $2140 for 2014 before the plan pays anything.
As always, it is best to find an independent insurance broker that works with seniors to help navigate the choices.
If you look at page 17 of the 2015 Medicare and You book you will see there are 2 main choices on how you can get your Medicare coverage. There is Original Medicare that includes Part A and B with the option to fill in the gaps in Original Medicare by buying a Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policy. Or there is Medicare Advantage Plan, Part C, which include Part A, Part B and in most cases Part D.
On page 92 of the Medicare and You book you will find that all Medigap policies are standardized. All polices offer that same basic benefits but different insurance companies may charge you different premiums for the same exact policy. It’s a good idea to use a good broker that represents multi companies that can show you not only the price difference but also the average rate increases because all Medigap policies go up every year.
Now there are different Medigap plans A-N, the easiest way to think about this is like car insurance. You can buy a car insurance policy with no deductible but by doing so your premium will be higher. If you choose to assume some of the risk, buying a policy with a deductible your premium will be lower.
As long as you’re in fairly good health (no major illnesses or recent hospitalization with in the last 2 years) you can show the market for the lowest price, remember Medigap plans always have a price increase each year and it’s always a wise decision to shop around every couple of years to find the best price. I am aware of one insurance company that once you are approved, will allow you to change between plans without re-looking at your current health, which may be a viable option if you want to save money with a higher deductible while you are in good health and then when your health starts to change you change your plan to a lower deductible.
If you have any other question feel free to contact me for a phone review or we can chat on Skype.
So I'll address a tangent to the question... Medigap Insurance comes in an alphabet soup that can be confusing for some. There are the PARTS of Medicare: Part A & B Make up your core coverage. There is Part D (for drug - Finally something from the Feds that kinda makes sense). Last there is Part C (Advantage Plans that are kind of an A + B + D package).
Complete Professional Opinion here... Despite all the marketing form the Advantage carriers about "better health", in my many years in the "medicare supplement market", I am NOT a huge fan of Part C - Advantage Plans. It's all about YOUR math. (note: Part C is NOT a "supplement", I just use the phrase to cover "all plans that give you more coverage than A & B do alone.) It's a longer discussion than I can type here... yet it's a simple discussion. Part C is the right thing for specific people at specific times. I talk to client s about the facts related to both. 90%+ of the people we serve, from all economic walks, PICK a Medigap Plan (& it's NOT Plan F.... call me & I'll tell you why).
Bottom line, be sure you work with an agent that can communicate both Part C & Medigap. Own what is best for YOU....