Medigap plans offer some of the best coverage for people on Medicare
with no network and most of your medical bills paid for you.
I'm going to cover in this video the differences in the Medigap plans,
what they cover, how they work right alongside Medicare,
and how not to pay too much when it comes to your Medigap insurance.
So stick around.
My name is Russell Noga with Medisupps.com.
And along with my top agent Diana Firth,
we have been helping people with their Medigap insurance for the last 12 years.
Not just when they start,
but for years to come to save them the most money.
Now as I encourage all my videos, grab a pen and paper.
I'd like you to take notes during this video.
It's going to help you out.
But, as well, check out our phone number which is 1-888-891-0229.
You can call us after you finish this video.
And we can make sure you're in the best spot
with your Medigap insurance.
I'll start just by briefly explaining what Medigap
plans are and why you might even need one to begin with.
Everybody who comes on to Medicare
enrolls in Medicare Part A and Part B.
That includes people who go over to an Advantage Plan,
which I'll discuss more on in just a bit.
Medicare Part A covers hospitalization.
And Medicare Part B covers your doctor services.
These two do not pay all of your medical bills.
They have expenses in them that you are required to pay.
These include deductibles, coinsurance, and co-pays
that they don't cover.
Now, those expenses are called gaps.
Those are the gaps in Part A and Part B.
That's where the term "Medigap" comes from.
A Medigap Plan helps you cover or pay for those gaps or expenses
that Part A and Part B do not cover.
So diving a little bit more into those gaps.
Let's say you go into the hospital
and you've got Medicare Part A and Part B only.
Which most people don't have.
They'll either add a Medigap Plan to that or a Medicare Advantage plan.
Well, if you go into the hospital, there's a large deductible to pay.
Close to $1,500 if you do enter and are admitted to the hospital.
Now if you leave for 60 days or more, and you go back into the hospital that year,
you're required to pay that deductible again.
So it's not an annual deductible, that's a per occurrence within a benefit period deductible.
And a benefit period is that 60 days.
Medicare Part B, your doctor services,
that's anything outpatient.
So most of what you're going to be using it for.
Hopefully, you stay out of the hospital.
But Medicare Part B again, doctor services.
Prior to Medicare paying 80% of your medical bills,
you will also need to pay a deductible for Part B.
Now that is just a once per year deductible.
And in here we are in 2021 that is $203.
So if you go to see your doctor anytime throughout the year,
the first $203 every medical bills you're required to pay.
After that, Medicare will pay 80% of your medical bills.
However, you are still required to pay the 20% that's remaining.
A Medigap Plan will help you pay that 20%.
So now that we know what Part A and Part B cover.
Let's just put those aside for now.
Because we're getting into alphabet soup, as I like to call it.
The parts of Medicare have letters, it's A and B and then there's a Part D drug plan,
which I'll talk about in a little bit.
But then we have the actual Medigap plans they are also lettered.
So I don't want to confuse you with all of these letters.
Let's get on to the actual Medigap plans.
Now there are 10 plans available.
Really, there are just two, maybe three different plans that most people enroll in.
And those are Medicare Plan G, Medicare Plan N and now a high deductible,
Plan G, and I'll cover each one in detail.
Now each plan has their uses.
I'll start with Medicare Plan G because it is the
most popular plan now and it does have the most coverage.
You might be saying, "Russell, hey, that sounds great.
I want the most coverage."
Well, let me tell you the differences of the plans
because they each have their uses.
Now Plan G does have the most coverage.
You simply pay that Part B deductible I mentioned.
Remember, Medicare prior to paying 80%,
somebody's got to pay that deductible, the first $203 at least for this year.
In 2022, if you're watching from the future,
it will probably be just a few dollars more than that.
It goes up a little bit each year.
Once you meet that deductible Medicare comes in and pays 80%.
If you have a plan G and pay that first $203, Medicare will pay 80%
and Plan G will pick up the remaining medical costs.
Everything for the rest of the calendar year up to no limit.
I said it was great coverage. That's fantastic.
So Plan G, a great option for people who want that
kind of coverage and have everything taken care of after just one small deductible.
So if Plan G sounds like the best option for you,
and you don't even want to know about the other plans, well just give us a call.
You see our phone number down there.
Or you can visit my website, Medisupps.com.
I'm one of the few, if not the only person now, who lets you see the rates online for free.
Everything we do is free for you.
And you can get quotes from the top carriers on Plan G
or any of the plans by visiting us at Medisupps.com.
But let's talk about the next plan which is Medicare Plan N.
Fantastic plan. I love Plan N.
We have thousands of clients on Plan N.
Plan N has lower premiums than Plan G.
Now you don't quite get the same coverage. But it's not bad.
Plan N is very similar to Plan G where you still pay the annual Part B deductible.
This year 2021, that's $203.
Now again, that's an annual deductible.
That is not per occurrence or per doctor's visit,
just once per calendar year.
Then Medicare will come in, pay the 80%.
The difference with Plan N though and why you
have lower premiums is you could have a few additional out of pocket expenses.
With Plan N, you pay that deductible.
And if you go back to the doctor that year, you might have a copay of up to $20 per visit.
It will never be more than $20.
And it could be no copay, it just depends what you go for,
and how they code it.
I won't get into the complexity of the codes and what you go for.
That is all dependent on them, and let them file the claims.
You don't pay the copay when you're in the doctor's office.
They bill you later for it if you're going to get a copay.
Again, another option with Plan N or another out
of pocket expense that could happen is if you visit the emergency room,
there is a $50 copay if you're not admitted.
If you go to an urgent care center, there's not that copay.
But if you actually go to the ER at the hospital,
there is that $50 copay if you're not admitted to the doctor.
There's one more thing on Plan N that could come up very, very rare.
It's what's called Part B excess charges.
Now, what that means is
doctors can either accept the assigned rates from Medicare for their entire practice.
And just basically bill what Medicare tells them to.
Or they can charge up to a 15% extra bill, if they do not accept assignment, is what it's called.
Now most doctors, about 96% in this entire country,
accept the assigned rates for Medicare.
They're very rare to ever see any excess charge.
In fact, if you ever do, it's probably going to be less than $20.
They are not very common.
Best way to find out is just call your doctors and ask,
do you take Medicare assignments?
Chances are they do and you'll never see an excess charge.
So Plan N again, with those lower premiums, sometimes $30 less per month than Plan G.
Let us help, we'll tell you.
Give us a call right now, we'll tell you what the difference
in those premiums are. And if Plan N is a good option for you.
Especially for people who want to get off those Medicare Advantage plans which
have a lot of out of pocket expenses for various things you could come up with.
And we get the calls every year from people saying,
"Please get me out of this advantage plan. I'm getting bills in the thousands."
Up to $7,500 that they can charge you extra.
That guy on TV never tells you about. Let's face it.
Well, Plan N is a great alternative to an advantage plan.
Because guess what, you have no network.
You can pick and choose what doctors you want to go see.
And you don't have to get prior authorizations,
like many of those Advantage plans require that you do.
So let us shop the rates for Plan N.
That's the difference between that and Plan G.
Now, let's move on to that last plan,
which is a high deductible Plan G.
So yes, there are two different Plan G's.
One being the standard Plan G, which I already talked about,
where you pay the Part B deductible and they get 100% coverage
for the rest of the year.
Now, again, in 2021, that deductible is $203.
Well, high deductible Plan G means just that,
it's a much higher deductible.
In fact, in 2021, it's $2,370.
After that, Plan G will come in, pay the difference 100% up to no limit
and you'll have no more medical bills for the rest of that year.
I know what you're probably thinking,
"Russell, I like the sounds of 203 bucks, a lot better than $2,370.
Why on earth would I ever do that?"
Well, it's got much lower premiums than a standard Plan G.
Standard Plan G might be anywhere from $100 to $130.
And the high deductible plan G could be around $40 or $50 per month.
So for people who are wanting to get off a zero premium Advantage Plan...
I know you're out there. I know you're listening.
...high deductible plan G could be a great option.
Guess what? You have no network you get to choose your doctors.
And in the event God forbid, something happens that's a major medical issue, you've got great
coverage in place and your max out of pocket on a high deductible Plan G will be $2,370, in 2021.
So it's a great option if you are very, very healthy,
and you just want something in place,
that could be considered close to somewhat a catastrophic plan.
However, usually those deductibles are 10,000 or beyond.
In this case, your deductible would be $2,370.
And after that, you get 100% coverage.
So good option for the people who fit in that group.
Most people want a lower deductible though, and want their coverage to kick in quicker.
In that case, Plan G or Plan N is definitely the way to go.
Now, as I mentioned at the beginning of this video,
I was going to tell you how to shop for these plans.
Well, the most important thing to remember when it comes to any of these Medigap Plan letters is
the insurance carriers all carry the same plan letters with the same benefits within that letter.
That means a Plan G from one company
is identical to a Plan G with another.
Their rates, however, are entirely different.
And they all have rate increases every year.
Just to make it a little more confusing.
That is why we do what we do.
Again, for no cost to you.
We're independent insurance brokers.
That means we represent the top companies
and we can shop them all to show you what the lowest premiums are.
If you try doing this yourself, you're going to be calling them every year because you get
rate increases every year from each one.
Let us do it for you. It's entirely free.
Our clients love our services.
Now over 12 years helping well over 20,000 people
with their Medigap insurance.
They get in the lowest premiums with the best company
and then we shop the rates every year to keep them there.
It's very easy.
Again, you can visit Medisupps.com, my website where you can get free online quotes.
Or the easiest way is just to give us a call now at 1-888-891-0229.
We'll discuss every plan again and answer all of your questions
to make sure you understand it first.
Then we'll shop those premiums and make sure that you are in the best spot with
your Medigap insurance and your Part D drug plan.
Again, my name is Russell Noga. Thanks for watching.
Give us a call. I promise you'll be glad you did.