Medigap Supplemental Insurance
WebMD Medical Reference
Medigap is extra health insurance
you can buy from a private company. A Medigap policy helps pay for health care
costs not covered by the Original Medicare plan.
Medigap plans can reduce out-of-pocket costs for many
people.
What Medigap Plans Cover
There are 12 kinds of Medigap plans. Each is given a
letter from A to L.
Every Medigap plan from A-J includes "core" benefits.
These benefits help pay for:
- The Medicare Part A co-payment for days
61-150 of a hospital stay.
- Up to 365 days in the hospital after all your
Medicare hospital benefits have been used.
- Co-payments for Medicare Part B services after
the $124 deductible.
- The first three pints of blood if you need a
transfusion.
Medigap plan (plan A) covers only these things. Plans
B-J cover more, including:
- Prescription drugs.
- Preventive services (such as routine checkups).
- Part B excess charges (the difference between
what a doctor bills you and Medicare's approved amount).
- At-home recovery.
- Co-payment for skilled nursing care.
- Emergency care outside the United States.
- Medicare deductibles.
This chart shows what Medigap plans A-J cover:
| Coverage |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
| Core Benefits |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| Part A deductible |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| Part B deductible |
|
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
|
|
X |
| Skilled nursing care
co-payment |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| Foreign travel emergency
care |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| Part B excess charges
(100%) |
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
X |
X |
| Part B excess charges (80%) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
| At-home recovery |
|
|
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
X |
X |
| Preventive services |
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
X |
| Prescription drugs (up to
$1,250) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
X |
|
| Prescription drugs (up to
$3,000.00) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
