Medicare Supplement Rates

High Deductible Options

Medicare supplements have high deductible options on Plans F and J. On these two plans, a person with Medicare Parts A and B can choose a plan with a deductible of $1,900. In 2007, the deductible was $1,860. The benefit for the insured is lower premiums. Often the premiums are half of what they would have been if the standard Plan F or J had been chosen. Obviously, the downside is more financial responsibility on the part of the insured. With a high deductible plan, the insurance company ...

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2/1/2008 12:00:00 AM Comments(0)

Medicare Deductible Changes

Each year Medicare adjusts the Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B deductibles. These adjusts seem to reflect higher costs of providing health insurance coverage due to inflation and the rising cost of health coverage. The Medicare Part A deductible went from $954 to $992. That is a $42 change (4.4%). The Medicare Part B deductible went from $124 to $131. That is a $7 change (5.4%). Each year these deductibles seem to rise. Fortunately, a Medicare recipient can purchase a Medicare Supplem...

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3/1/2007 12:00:00 AM Comments(0)

Medicare Supplement Bill Payment

If you have a medicare supplement, also known as a medigap policy, how is your doctor paid for the service provided? Medicare supplement insurance companies in most cases pay the doctor directly. This is the case if the doctor "participates" with Medicare. It would be advisable to have the doctor's office note on the Medicare claim form that you have a medicare supplement and want the doctor paid directly. You also want to be sure that the doctor has the right insurance company name and poli...

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7/1/2006 12:00:00 AM Comments(0)

Medicare Supplement Rates

Attained-age. This means the medicare supplement rate increases as you get older. This may be each year or every 5 years (at age 70, 75, 80, etc.) for example. Often medicare supplement rate increases are very modest, like just $4 per year as you get older. Another component to rate increases is inflation. Companies sometimes adjust rates to address the rising cost of health insurance as well as inflation in the marketplace. Medicare supplements are also sold as issue-age policies. This...

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5/1/2006 12:00:00 AM Comments(0)

High-Deductible Medicare Supplements

There are two Medicare Supplement Plans that come in a high-deductible option. Those are Plans F and J. Medigap Plans with the high deductible option do not begin to pay until the insured has personally paid $1, 730. This amount is the 2005 deductible which can be raised each year. The advantage of the high deductible policy is that the premiums are lower. The disadvantage is that the policy does nothing until you have personally met the deductible. This could make the out of pocket cost mu...

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6/1/2005 12:00:00 AM Comments(0)