As a result of this year’s devastating hurricane season, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have decided to make special enrollment periods for those living in an area affected by a hurricane.
There are three different ways that an insurance company can price its Medicare Supplement premiums: community-rated (also called No-Age-Rated), issue-age-rated policies, and attained-age-rated policies.
The first period is The Annual Election Period (October 15th through December 7th). In this period eligible individuals may enroll or disenroll from a Medicare Advantage plan. The second period is The Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period (January 1st through February 14th). In this period Medicare Advantage enrollees have the opportunity to disenroll from their plan and acquire a Medicare Supplement plan, if they so choose.
A Medicare Supplement plan, also called a Medigap plan, is designed to cover the healthcare costs that Medicare won't. In order to show how important a Medigap plan can be in protecting you from out-of-pocket costs, we calculated how much money a Medigap plan would save you in the event of an unlikely, yet completely possible, serious medical issue.
On July 30th, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill that would lead to the implementation of Medicare and Medicaid. Back then, the program included Medicare Part A, hospital insurance, and Medicare Part B, medical insurance. Today, Parts A and B are called “Original Medicare”, and continue to help Americans with their healthcare costs.
Plan G offers comprehensive coverage for costs Medicare does not cover. It is identical to Plan F aside from one difference: Plan G policyholders must pay the Medicare Part B deductible.
The history of Medicare Supplement, or Medigap, plans goes back to the 1980’s. In order to strengthen consumer protection, the government created a voluntary program that would allow Medicare recipients to gain coverage for gaps in Medicare.