Do You Know Your ABCDFGKLMN’s? 😵

When you’re in Kindergarten, you have to learn your ABC’s

When you join Medicare, you have to learn your ABCDFGKLMN’s.

I don’t know about you, but Kindergarten sounds easier.😥

These are the different lettered “plans” (different from Medicare’s Parts A,B,C, and D) of Medicare Supplements.

Supplemental plans – also known as “Medigap” plans – are insurance policies that you can add on to Original Medicare (Parts A and B – hospital and medical insurance, respectively).

Why would someone need to add insurance to Original Medicare?

Just like their name suggests, Medigap plans cover the gaps in Original Medicare.

Gaps in Original Medicare include things like Part A and Part B’s deductibles, co-insurances, hospital costs, and foreign travel emergencies.

If you are in good health, a supplemental plan may seem unnecessary.  But trust us when we say that these plans come in HANDY when you need them.

You can read about my Grandmother’s story HERE.

She unexpectedly had to stay in the hospital for over 100 days and had to pay ZERO out-of-pocket because she had Original Medicare with a supplement.

But, going back to learning your ABCDFGKLMN’s: there are so many supplemental plans to choose from!  How does one make heads or tails of the choices?

Here’s some good news:  all these supplemental plans are standardized.  That means, no matter where you live, a Plan A or a Plan G supplemental plan is the same.  They will cover the same thing no matter if you live in Montana or Missouri.  Now, a Plan G (or whatever supplemental plan) may cost a little more or less depending on where you live and what insurance carrier you go with, but they all cover the same thing.

Now, let’s get down to brass tacks. What supplemental plan is BEST?

While I’d like to give you a straightforward answer, I’m going to have to nuance things a bit here.

The best supplemental plan is the one you can afford.

Different supplemental plans are surely better than others as far as their coverage (Original Medicare + a Plan G is what we like to call the “Cadillac of Healthcare” – you can’t get much better coverage than that).

But not everyone can afford this option!  And that’s okay!  Our biggest concern as Medicare agents is protecting our client’s out-of-pocket exposure.  We want you to have the biggest protection from having to pay out-of-pocket costs as your budget will allow.

The reason we refer to ourselves as “The Medicare Navigators” is that sometimes this world of Medicare can feel a little bit like being lost at sea.  There are late fees you didn’t know about, different lettered Parts AND Plans, costs you didn’t see coming, and the ever-present siren call of insurance companies, trying to lure you with their “no-premium” plans.

Sometimes it’s nice to have an unbiased guide at your side.