MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT
A Medicare Supplement helps pay your portion of what Medicare approves. While Medicare covers hospital and doctor it does not cover it at 100%. There are deductibles of $1,360 for Part A hospital and $198 for Part B doctor. After every 60 days your out of the hospital the part A deductible can start over again. The doctor part B deductible is only once a year and after that Medicare will pick up 80% but you will be responsible for the other 20% and on top of that there is no out of pocket maximum, so that 20% can go on and on.
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After Medicare pays first the Medicare Supplement comes in and pays second. Depending on the plan you have, that will determine how much it pays as a second payer. The plans we have been putting our clients on have been Plan G and N. Plan F use to be the plan of choice as it was called the Cadillac plan as it picked up everything. If you turned 65 in 2020 Plan F is no longer an option.
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With a Medicare Supplement you can budget your health cost and know exactly what you will pay for the year no matter how bad a health year you have.
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For example, Plan G picks up everything Medicare approves but one thing the $198 doctor deductible. After that $198 is paid there will not be another expense as long as Medicare covers the procedure.
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Rookie FACT: Did you know that outside of the open enrollment (Turning 65 or obtaining Medicare Part B for first time) you can change your Medicare Supplement anytime you want, but first you will have to pass underwriting questions from the insurance company your switching too.
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Plan N will have a lower premium than Plan G because you will have more to pay on that plan. With Plan N besides the $198 Part B doctor deductible you also will pay $20 co-pay or less for each doctor visit. A $50 co-pay for emergency room visit (waived if omitted overnight in hospital). Depending on the State you live in you also could pay doctor excess charges if the doctor does not accept what Medicare pays. If you live in the following states you are protected from excess charges due to MOM (Medicare Overcharge Measure): Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. 90% of doctors accept what Medicare pays but it is something to beware of if you have Plan N.
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Rookie FACT: Did you know that your Medicare Supplement travels with you. If your in Florida three months of the year you can see doctors and even have surgery as there is no network. As long as the doctor or hospital accepts Medicare your good to go.
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What about the other plan letters? At the present time in Ohio there are plans A, B, C, D, F, G, L, M, N, High Deducible F, Select M and N.
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You can see what each plan letter covers in this Medicare Supplement Plan Letter chart.
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We feel that if your going to get a Medicare Supplement the main reason to get it is to have great coverage. Besides Plan G and N the other lettered Plans might have their place in certain situations but overall their not worth the premium you would have to pay.
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If someone is concerned about lowering their premium than maybe they would be better off looking at a Medicare Advantage Plan instead.
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Rookie FACT: A Medicare Supplement policy is guaranteed renewable. The only way you can lose it is if you don't pay your premium.
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Medicare Supplement Plans
It is all about Premium - When it comes to choosing a Medicare Supplement we give our clients a list of insurance companies with the lowest premium for Plans G and N.
Premiums are determined by age, gender, county, and tobacco status if not in open enrollment.
Premiums throughout the year for different companies go up and down like the stock market. One year United Healthcare has the lowest premiums for age 65 than Mutual of Omaha has the lowest the next year. If premiums are close a client might have a particular preference for a certain company but in general we compare the Medicare Supplement company as a middle man just paying the claims.
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It is like getting unleaded gasoline, maybe BP has it for $2,00 a gallon and across the street Shell has it for $1.50. Unleaded gas is unleaded gas just like a Plan G is a Plan G. Why pay more for the same exact thing.
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Premiums go up every year - Medicare Supplement premiums will increase due to client aging and the claims paid out for the company the previous year. An average increase can be as low as 3% on the low side to 9% on the high side. So what company has the lowest overall increase? While an agent can look up premium history increases for companies for the most part there is no guarantee of low increases for any company unless you have a crystal ball.
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We stay with proven companies with A+ ratings like United Healthcare, Anthem, Mutual of Omaha, Aetna, Medical Mutual, Cigna, Humana, and ones you probably have not heard of like Medico and National Guardian.
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Some Companies have Extras - United Healthcare, Medical Mutual and Anthem include a free gym membership with their Medicare Supplements.
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We always show our clients all their options (Medicare Advantage Plans vs Medicare Supplement with stand-alone RX Plan) when they turn 65 and receive Medicare.
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The number one question we receive is what is better a Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage Plan.
Truth is half of of our clients are on Medicare Supplement Plans and half our on Medicare Advantage. Some have been on both. There is no right answer it really comes down to the client and what gives them peace of mind.
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We have a chart that helps show the differences between both a Medicare Advantage Plan and Medicare Supplement when it comes to premium, network etc,.. See chart here.
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Need help finding the right Medicare Supplement Plan or to find out which RX plan helps you save the most for your prescriptions.
We would love to help you, Just click button below
for a No-Cost Consultation or call 216-659-7230 or by email dave@evergreenrs.net.