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What is Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Insurance?

A Medicare Supplement (Medigap) insurance, sold by private companies, can help pay some of the health care costs that Original Medicare doesn't cover, like co-payments, coinsurance, and deductibles.

If you have Original Medicare and you buy a Medigap policy, Medicare will pay its share of the Medicare-approved amount for covered health care costs. Your Medigap policy pays its share.

A Medigap policy is different from a Medicare Advantage Plan. Those plans are ways to get Medicare benefits, while a Medigap policy only supplements your Original Medicare benefits.

What you need to know about Medicare Supplement policies

  1. You must have Medicare Part A and Part B.
  2. If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can switch to a Medicare Supplement insurance policy, but make sure you can leave the Medicare Advantage Plan before your Medicare Supplement insurance policy begins.
  3. You pay the private insurance company a monthly premium for your Medicare Supplement insurance policy in addition to the monthly Part B premium that you pay to Medicare.
  4. A Medigap policy only covers one person. If you and your spouse both want Medigap coverage, you'll each have to buy separate policies.
  5. Any standardized Medicare Supplement insurance policy is guaranteed renewable even if you have health problems. This means the insurance company can't cancel your Medicare Supplement insurance policy as long as you pay the premium.
  6. Medicare Supplement insurance policies sold after January 1, 2006 aren't allowed to include prescription drug coverage. If you want prescription drug coverage, you can apply for a stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan (Part D).
  7. A person cannot have a Medigap/Medicare Supplement Plan and an Advantage Plan at the same time. If you want to switch back to Original Medicare and have a Medigap/Medicare Supplement Plan-you must coordinate the end of the Advantage Plan with the effective date of the Supplement so they are not in-force at the same time. 

Information obtained from www.medicare.gov

By contacting the phone number on this website you will be directed to a licensed agent.

Medicare