The Original Medicare Part A and Part B offer insurance coverage for your medical expenses. However, they fail to cover all the costs associated with health care services and medical supplies. Medicare Supplement insurance plans, often referred to as Medigap, are designed to pay for these “gaps” in Original Medicare Part A and B. If you’re enrolled in Original Medicare and are researching your options for Supplement plans, you’ve come to the right place.

Benefits and coverage

In all states but three states (Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin), people can select from the ten standardized Medicare Supplement insurance plans. The plans are labeled A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. The basic benefits across all plans are the same, but some offer additional benefits. You can then select the one that meets your needs to a greater extent. Here are all the benefits covered by the insurance plans:

• Medicare Part A coinsurance and hospital expenses up to an additional 365 days after Medicare benefits are exhausted
• Medicare Part B coinsurance or copayment
• The first three pints of blood for a medical procedure
• Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayment
• Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance
• Part A deductible
• Part B deductible
• Part B excess charges
• Foreign travel emergencies

Plans may cover between four and nine of the above benefits. However, all plans fully cover Medicare Part A coinsurance and hospital costs. To understand the coverage in detail, it’s advisable to visit the Medicare government official website.

Cost and premiums

Medicare Supplement insurance plans are offered by private insurance companies. Your monthly premium can vary from one organization to another and insurance companies use one of three methods stated below to set monthly premiums:

• Community rating : The monthly premium for a particular type of Medicare Supplement insurance plan is the same for buyers of all ages. Although the premium may increase in the future because of inflation and other factors, it won’t increase as you get older.
• Issue-age rating: The monthly premium is determined based on your age when you buy the plan. The lower your age, the lesser your monthly premium. The amount won’t change as you grow older, but it may increase because of inflation and other factors.
• Attained-age rating: The monthly premium is based on your current age. That means as you get older, the premium will only increase. Additionally, your monthly premium can go up because of inflation and other factors.

Top Medicare Supplement insurance plan providers

If you’re considering buying a Medicare Supplement insurance plan, here are a few top-rated insurance providers that you might want to check out before.

• Mutual of Omaha: Mutual of Omaha has been around for over a century and has an A+ rating from AM Best for its financial strength. Their website features in-depth information that helps buyers determine which plan is right for them.
• Cigna: Cigna is known for offering Medicare Supplement plans at lower monthly rates than many other insurance providers. Their website is full of useful information and gives you a detailed comparison of the various plans they offer: Plan G, N, A, F, and the high-deductible variant of Plan F.
• Aetna: Aetna is one of the oldest insurance providers that is highly rated for its financial strength. The company offers a wide range of Medicare Supplement plans: A, B, D, G, N, C, F, and high-deductible versions of Plan F and G.
• Humana: Humana offers all types of plans, except the high-deductible plan G, in most states in the country. Their plans also come with benefits other providers don’t generally offer, such as fitness programs, prescription discounts, discounts for using electronic payments, and more.