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Medicare Supplement Plan: Hidden Risk and Benefits


The main objective of this post is to help you understand Medicare Supplement Plan and their role in your health care and also to help you select the right plan and right insurance company. 

Nowadays, there are a lot of insurance companies coming in on the market. They are opening one after another, all offering Medicare Health Services. There is no difference in benefits from one medicare supplement plan offered by one insurance company from the other, the only difference is the company itself. Some new insurance companies are only after the money made through medicare. 

We must look over those companies and determine if they outsource manpower outside their company. Usually, they don't last long and tend to sell their business to other companies as well. With this, you should know how unstable they are and if they suddenly stop selling new plans. 


Hidden Risks:
  • Prices increase very rapidly
  • look at the health questions/application to check if it has the potential to have higher expenses or high price increases. If you're new to Medicare, you don't have to answer health questions
  • Underwritings are different from one company to another, others have fewer questions and others are very good that they usually start from low then prices suddenly increase year after year

How will I filter them out?
  • Do not consider companies that have not been in the Medicare business for at least 5 years
  • If they don't have an A rating

Go after companies that have a history of price stability and have a solid foundation in Medicare.


Choosing a Medicare Supplement Plan

If you've chosen a Medicare Supplement Plan or have chosen to get a Medicare Supplement Plan that means you also have chosen to keep the Original Medicare Plan as your primary insurance. 

Why is this? Because basically, you get health care services from Original Medicare plan while Medicare Supplement Plan helps pay some of the health care costs that Original Medicare doesn't cover like coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles.

Medicare covers what is medically necessary.

Note: Definition of Terms
  • Coinsurance - An amount you may be required to pay as your share of the cost for services after you pay any deductibles. It is usually a percentage, for example, 20%.
  • Copayment - An amount you may be required to pay as your share of the cost for a medical service or supply, like a doctor's visit, hospital outpatient visit, or prescription drug. It is usually a set amount, rather than a percentage. For example, you might pay $10 for a doctor's visit.
  • Deductible - The amount you pay for health care or prescriptions before Original Medicare, your prescription drug plan, or your other insurance begins to pay.

Before diving into any Medicare Supplement Plan, you need to know if your State has any specific rules that overwrite Medicare in the consumer's favor and can impact your decision. You should also consider the future cost that will impact your budget. 

Things you should always consider:
  • geography
  • the plan itself
  • the company
For detailed information that will help you choose the best plan, you can download the Medicare Supplement Benefit Table.

Benefit
Medicare Supplement's role is to reduce financial risk. Thus, you need to have it as soon as your eligible because you cannot change your Medicare Supplement plan once you are critically ill. 
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