How to buy Medicare Supplement Insurance

The Medicare Supplement Plans are totally administered and sold by the private health insurance companies and there are twelve standard Medigap plans available. There are a lot of medical costs that are covered by the Original Medicare plans. Rather to say almost all of the medical costs are covered by the original Medicare plans but still there remain some costs that the Original Medicare does not cover therefore in such situations there is the need for the Medicare Supplement Plans. It helps the beneficiary to pay for those costs are not been included under the policy coverage of the original Medicare plans. These plans range under the letter covers A through L and each of them have their own policy coverage. But all of the other plans provide the basic benefits of plan A and B. The plans A and B are known as the basic plans as these plans provide benefits similar to the Original Medicare.

The most basic eligibility criteria of the Medicare Supplement Plans are that a person must be enrolled in part A and B of the Original Medicare to get enrolled to Medicare Supplement Plans. There is an advantage when one is under the open enrollment period. This begins within six months of turning 65 or enrolling in part B at the age of 65 or older, a person may obtain a Medicare Supplement Plan on a guaranteed issue basis. The enrollment under guaranteed issue basis means that the person may not need to go through a medical screening for the enrollment. Other than the advantage of the open enrollment the insurance company from whom you are going to purchase the Medigap plans may ask for medical screening and also may require obtaining an attending physician's statement if necessary.

The best time to buy Medigap insurance is during your Medigap open enrollment period, which is the six-month period that begins on the first day of the month in which you turn 65 and enroll in Medicare Part B. During this period, insurance companies cannot use medical underwriting, so they cannot refuse to sell you a Medigap policy, charge you more because of health problems or make you wait for coverage to start, except in some cases for pre-existing conditions. After the open enrollment period, Medigap insurance companies are generally allowed to use medical underwriting. Therefore, there is no guarantee they will sell you a policy. Outside of purchasing a Medigap plan during an open enrollment period, an individual may acquire Medigap insurance following a medical screening. Guaranteed issue of Medigap insurance may also be available to people who do not qualify to participate in an open enrollment period when they lose certain types of coverage. For people over the age of 65, the guaranteed issue right is applicable to Medigap plans A, B, C, F, K and L. Individuals under the age of 65, however, are only guaranteed access to Medigap Plan A. Companies may not place restrictions on a person's right to access Medigap plans when guaranteed issue rights apply.