What are Medicare Supplement Plans (MediGap)

It’s important not to confuse Medigap “plans” with Medicare “parts.” The parts of Medicare are A, B, C, and D. Parts A and B are Original Medicare and cover inpatient and outpatient services. Part C is Medicare Advantage and Part D includes prescription drug coverage. Medigap plans offer supplemental coverage to Medicare Parts A and B.

Medigap policies don’t cover for everything. To be more specific, Medigap policies generally don’t cover prescriptions, long-term care, dental or vision check-ups, hearing aid or eyeglasses for example. Nevertheless, there are many remaining healthcare costs left behind by Original Medicare that a Medigap policy can help you with.

Medicare supplement plans are secondary payers to Original Medicare. Since Parts A and B do not cover 100% of healthcare expenses, Medicare supplements help pay the remaining costs. As long as the provider accepts Medicare assignment, they will also accept a Medicare supplement plan.

Depending on the plan, benefits in a Medicare supplement may include payment for coinsurance costs, inpatient and outpatient deductibles, extra days for hospital stays, hospice care, blood transfusions, and more.

The best time to enroll in a Medigap plan would be during your Open Enrollment period which starts as soon as your Part B is activated. Outside of this enrollment window, they can still apply for a policy but usually are not granted guaranteed issue rights, which means they may be denied enrollment into a plan.