Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease. It is made up of two parts: Part A (for hospital expenses) and Part B (for medical and preventative services).

By itself, Medicare doesn't cover all of your medical expenses. In fact, Medicare is designed to cover only 80% of your medical costs. The remaining 20% is your financial responsibility. You'll pay out-of-pocket costs such as inpatient hospital stays, deductibles, co-payments, durable medical equipment and doctor services. These can easily add up to thousands of dollars and you have to pay them out of your pocket. A Medicare Supplement Insurance plan may help cover those costs, protecting your savings and giving you peace of mind.

One of the benefits of pairing a Medicare supplement insurance plan with Medicare is the flexibility to use any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare.  And, you are not limited by a network.

If you do choose a Medicare Supplement, it's important to know that this type of plan does NOT cover your Prescription medication.  To have those covered, you should add a Part D plan to cover your Prescriptions.

 

To summarize then, A Medicare Supplement Plan is usually paired with a Part D (Drug) Plan.  You should have BOTH and you'll pay for both. What makes this different from a Medicare Advantage Plan is that the Medicare Advantage Plan usually includes a Part D (Drug) Plan and both parts are one price (and sometimes zero dollars).

You are able to explore all of your options with various carriers.  You do not have to have the same carrier for your Medicare Supplement and Prescription Drug Plan.  You can not have a Medicare Supplement Plan, a Part D plan and a Medicare Advantage Plan all at the same time.  The Medicare Advantage Plan stands on it's own.  You can have separate Medicare Supplement and Part D plans.

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What's the difference between Medicare (Original Medicare), Medicare Supplement (Med-Sup) and Medicare Advantage (MA,MA-PD)?

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Medicare is a health insurance program for:

• People age 65 or older.

• People under age 65 with certain disabilities.

• People of all ages with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant).

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Medicare has different parts that help cover specific services:

• Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) - Part A helps cover inpatient care in hospitals, including critical access hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities (not custodial or long-term care). It also helps cover hospice care and some home health care. Beneficiaries must meet certain conditions to get these benefits. Most people don't pay a premium for Part A because they or a spouse already paid for it through their payroll taxes while working.

• Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) - Part B helps cover doctors' services and outpatient care. It also covers some other medical services that Part A doesn't cover, such as some of the services of physical and occupational therapists, and some home health care. Part B helps pay for these covered services and supplies when they are medically necessary. Most people pay a monthly premium for Part B.

• Medicare Part D (Prescription Drug Coverage) - Medicare prescription drug coverage is available to everyone with Medicare. To get Medicare prescription drug coverage, people must join a plan approved by Medicare that offers Medicare drug coverage. Most people pay a monthly premium for Part D.

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Cost & Coverage

• Visit Medicare.Gov

• Ultimately, you will be covered for roughly 80% of your health care costs by having only Original Medicare leaving you personally responsible for the remaining 20% with no maximum.  This means that your financial exposure could be unlimited.

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Medicare Supplement Plans (Med-Sup, Medigap, AARP™)

Medigap is Medicare Supplement Insurance that helps fill "gaps" in Original Medicare and is sold by private companies. Original Medicare pays for much, but not all, of the cost for covered health care services and supplies. A Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policy can help pay some of the remaining health care costs, like:​​

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• Copayments

• CoInsurance

• Deductibles

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Some Medigap policies also cover services that Original Medicare doesn't cover, like medical care when you travel outside the U.S. If you have Original Medicare and you buy a Medigap policy, here's what happens:

• Medicare will pay its share of the Medicare-approved amount for covered health care costs.

• Then, your Medigap policy pays its share.