Copyright 2011 © All rights reserved Utah Medicare Insurance
Contact Utah Medicare Insurance: Bret Harding (801) 372-2647
Utah Medicare Insurance
Get an Instant Utah Medicare Insurance Quote!
Start Saving on Your Medicare Advantage & Medicare Supplement Plans Today!
Call Bret Harding (801) 372-2647
Are You Confused About Medicare in Utah?
Medicare has several gaps and doesn't pay for all of the health care services you may need when you turn age 65. If you are in the Original Medicare Plan, you may want to buy Medicare supplemental insurance, also called Medigap insurance. This is health insurance that helps pay for some of your costs in the Original Medicare program and for some care it doesn't cover.
Medigap insurance is sold by private insurance companies. By law, companies can offer only 12 standard Medigap insurance plans, plans, named A through L. Each plan has a different set of benefits. (Beginning in 2006, Medigap Plans H, I, and J, cannot be sold with prescription-drug benefits, although people who already had those policies can keep them.)
You are advised to study all the Medigap plans before deciding which is best for you. No matter which insurance company offers a particular plan, all plans with the same letter cover the same benefits. For instance, all Plan C policies have the same benefits no matter which company sells the plan. However, the premiums can vary.
All 12 Medigap policies cover basic benefits, but each has additional benefits that vary according to the plan. Briefly, Plan A is the most basic plan. Plans B-L offer everything in Plan A and provide even more coverage. Plans K-L offer similar services as Plans A-J, but the cost-sharing for the basic benefits is at different levels.
None of the Standard Utah Medicare Insurance Plans Cover:
• Long-term care to help you bathe, dress, eat, or use the bathroom
• Vision or dental care
• Hearing aids
• Private-duty nursing
• Prescription drugs
FYI: In addition to the standard A-L Medigap policies, Medicare SELECT is a type of Medigap policy that can cost less than standard Medigap plans. However, you can only go to certain doctors and hospitals for your care. Check with your state insurance department to find out whether or not Medicare SELECT policies are available in your state.
Medigap Basic Benefits
Medigap Plan A is the most basic plan. All plans A-J must offer the following basic benefits:
Utah Medicare Part A
After you have paid your hospital deductible ($1,068 in 2009), the Original Medicare plan pays all your hospital costs for up to 60 days in a benefit period*. If you stay in the hospital more than 60 days, you pay $267 (in 2009) a day for days 61 through 90. If you stay longer than 90 days in a benefit period, the cost for each day is $534 (in 2009) for up to 60 days over your lifetime.
All 12 Medigap plans cover; that is, pay, your costs for days 61 through 150. In addition, once you use your 150 days of Medicare hospital benefits, all Medigap plans cover the cost of 365 more hospital days in your lifetime. If you have the high-deductible options, Plans F or J, you must first pay your annual Medigap deductible before your costs will be covered. If you have Plans K or L, you will have to pay a portion of the hospital deductible ($1,068 in 2009), before your costs will be covered—unless you have already met the annual out-of-pocket maximum for the year.
*A benefit period begins the day you go to the hospital and ends when you have been out of the hospital for 60 days in a row. If you go into the hospital again after 60 days have passed, you begin a new benefit period.
Utah Medicare Part B
After you pay your yearly Part B deductible ($135 in 2009), Medicare generally pays 80 percent of doctor and other medical services. It pays 50 percent of mental health services and 100 percent of some preventive services.
Medigap plans cover all or part of your share of the services mentioned above—20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for doctor services and 50 percent for mental health services. The "Medicare approved amount" is the amount that Medicare decides is a reasonable payment for a medical service.
Blood
The Original Medicare plan doesn't cover the first three pints of blood you need each year. Plans A-J pay for these first three pints.
Utah Medicare Supplement Insurance “Extra Benefits”
Some people want to have the extra benefits offered by Plans B through J and are willing to pay for more them. Medigap Plans B through J also cover all the basic benefits of Plan A. Plans K and L offer similar services as Plans A-J, but the cost-sharing for the benefits is at different levels.
Plans F and J also have a high-deductible option. You will have a lower premium with the high-deductible option, but you will have to pay more out-of-pocket before the policy will begin to pay benefits.
Medicare Part A Hospital Deductible
Medigap Plans B through J cover the hospital deductible ($1,068 in 2009) for each benefit period. This benefit usually saves you money if you have to stay in the hospital.
Get an Instant Utah Medicare Insurance Quote!
Start Saving on Your Medicare Advantage & Medicare Supplement Plans Today!
Call Bret Harding (801) 372-2647