What Is Medicare Supplement Insurance?

Medicare Supplement Insurance, also known as “Medigap” insurance, provides supplemental health insurance coverage for Medicare beneficiaries. Individuals in the “original” Medicare program may want to obtain Medicare Supplement (”Medigap”) insurance because Medicare often covers less than the total cost of the beneficiary’s health care. We also offer Medicare Advantage plans across the country.

Why Do I Need A Supplement?

Medicare Supplements fill in the gaps between what Medicare pays and what you must pay out-of-pocket for deductibles, coinsurance, and co-payments. Medigap policies only pay for services that Medicare deems medically necessary, and payments are generally based on the Medicare-approved charge. The organizations we represent will help cover these expenses, while providing you with the strength and stability of some of America’s most respected Insurance Companies.

Why choose Medicare65.com and work with Nevin & Witt

We have been successfully serving our customers with their Medicare and Insurance needs since 1950. We specialized in Medicare Supplements and Medicare Advantage plans for:  Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,  Montana,  Nebraska,  Nevada,  New Hampshire,  New Jersey,  New Mexico,  New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Insurance Providers

What is Your Situation and How Can We Help?

 Typically, we find our clients fit one of four general categories when shopping for a Medicare supplement. Please select the category that best describes your situation to find additional information on what to search for:

- I am new to Medicare and am shopping for a Medicare supplement for the first time
- I got another Medicare supplement rate increase and am shopping for better rates
- I have a Medicare advantage plan and want to consider switching to a Medicare supplement
- I have had Medicare only For more than 6 months and would like to now Get a Medicare supplement

Situation: New to Medicare

When you're just getting on Medicare you have a lot of rights & privileges that make it fairly easy for you to ensure you get the best deal on your Medicare supplement. You are in s guaranteed issue situation which allows you to go with whatever plan and with whatever insurance company is going to give you the best deal.

You will first have to make a fundamental decision on how to receive your Medicare benefits. You can get them through Original Medicare or you can choose one of the privatized Medicare Advantage plans.

Original Medicare allows you to see a greater number of doctors and medical facilities and is pretty black and white about what they will cover and what they won't for Medicare supplements.

Medicare Advantage plans typically have a more restrictive physicians and medical facilities network and, although they have outlines of coverage, it has been proven that they will sometimes make decisions on medical bills based on whether they feel a particular treatment was necessary. Medicare Advantage can also include some "bells & whistles" including your Part D drug plan and sometimes dental, vision, or even gym memberships.  We are a full service organization, and offer both options.

So, in summary, you might look at Medicare supplements at being easier to use in that you have a much wider choice of doctors and medical facilities and typically are not surprised by Medicare's claim decisions. You can look at Medicare Advantage plans at being lower cost plans that can provide additional benefits above and beyond what Original Medicare will provide but that have a smaller doctor's network that is frequently changing and that may surprise you with medical claims denials due to the insurance company's decision that a particular procedure or treatment was deemed unnecessary.

Whether you decide to stick with Original Medicare or if  you want a Medicare Advantage plan, our representatives can help with either option.

Medicare supplements are standardized with plan letter designations from A-L. However, typically only 3-4 of these plans will make most sense for most people. For instance, plan F is currently the most popular plan on the market. This is probably because plan F covers all of the deductible, coinsurance, co-pay, and excess charge gaps in Medicare. The great thing about the standardization of these plans is that once you decide which plan you want to go with you can then price shop pretty comfortably. The standardization of these Medicare supplement plans includes:

•Benefits - a plan letter F from one Medicare supplement insurance company will work identically to a plan F from any other Medicare supplement insurance company in regards to what it will cover.

•Claims processing - claims will be processed electronically from all companies. This is mandatory per Medicare. So, you don't have to worry if it's easier to work with one company's coverage versus another.

•Claims decisions - the Medicare supplement insurance companies cannot make decisions on claims. Medicare makes the decision on whether a claim. So, unlike under 65 health insurance coverage you don't have to worry about how one company handles claims versus another.

•Doctor's Network - any doctor that takes Medicare will take any company's Medicare supplement insurance. So, you don't have to worry about whether one Medicare supplement insurance company allows you to see more doctors or would be better received by doctor's than another.

So, once you figure out all of the above information it's time to shop. You can take a couple of different approaches here. You can do all the research yourself on which companies offer which plans and then call each company and get their pricing. If you're analytical and have some time on your hands you can look at this as a challenge. You can also apply directly with a lot of these insurance companies and never have to talk with an agent. What's the downside to this? There really is only a couple of areas that might hurt you if you decide not to work with an agent:

1.There may have been a company or a few you didn't contact that had better rates for the plan you decided to go with. Your Medicare65 agents work with all the major providers and can let you know within a 5-10 minutes conversation which companies will offer the best deals. Also, if you are not in a guaranteed issue situation, your Medicare65 agent can help you understand which company would be best for your medical history to try to avoid a decline for coverage.

2.As your rate increases each year your Medicare65 agent can help you re-evaluate your coverage to determine if another company might provide a better rate. This can help you save hundreds or thousands of dollars over your lifetime.

Situation: I Have a Medicare Supplement but Shopping For Better Rates

This is a pretty straight-forward situation and comprises about half of our new clients. We have found that many Medicare supplement insurance agents will sell a Medicare supplement to a client and not check back with them annually to re-evaluate options. Over the years the client forgets who their Medicare supplement agent was and they start researching other plans after their rates go up and many of them find Medicare65.

We can help you look at other Medicare supplement insurance companies that can provide the same plan you currently have and help you find the best rate available to you. At this point, we're more than likely going to have to answer the medical questions and qualify for coverage. Your Medicare65 agent can help you understand which companies would be most likely to cover you based on any medical conditions and get you the best combination of good pricing and coverage.

Of course, occasionally we run across situations in which the Medicare recipient is in the best plan available to them. This is typically because the client has a health condition that would exclude them from switching to another company … or at least another company that would offer a lower price.
When our clients switch from a particular Medicare supplement plan, let's say plan F, with one company to a Medicare supplement plan F from another company we tell them they are typically going to see 3 main changes:

1.They're going to pay less for their plan
2.They're going to pay it to another Medicare supplement insurance company
3.They will have a different Medicare supplement insurance company's logo on their card

Other than the above they:

•Can continue to see the same doctors
•Claims will continue to be paid electronically
•Medicare will still make the claims decisions - not the Medicare supplement insurance company

Switching to another company is a pretty easy process and the application typically only takes about 10 minutes to complete and your Medicare65 agent can handle most of it for you over the phone.  There's nothing to lose by switching if you can save some money and get the exact same benefits you had before.

Situation: I Want Off Medicare Advantage and Back to Original Medicare & a Medicare Supplement

Our agency offers Medicare Advantage plans also.  When they first came out we were told they were the best thing to happen to Medicare recipients since well … Medicare. The insurance companies called them "all-in-one" plans and their name "Medicare Advantage" plans seem to promise a lot.  These types of plans are right for some people and not for others.  While we offer all options, we would be happy to help you evaluate the best option for you.

Situation: On Medicare A & B Only for More than 6 Months and Now Want a Medigap Policy

This situation is not all that common because most folks that have stayed on just Medicare parts A & B have done so either because they didn't feel they needed a Medicare supplement or felt they couldn't afford one. In both these situations we often find that when they are ready to go ahead and get a Medicare supplement they have a medical condition or conditions that would cause them to be declined by most or all Medicare supplement companies.

There are some folks who have been blessed with good health that just didn't want to spend the money for a Medicare supplement if they didn't feel they would use it and only decide to now strongly consider purchasing a Medicare supplement because a close friend or relative just went through a major medical event and either didn't have a Medicare supplement and had to pay out a lot of money for their treatment or they did and were very happy they didn't have to pay a lot of money for their treatment when they otherwise would have.

Whatever the case, in this situation, you will have to go through medical underwriting to qualify for your Medicare supplement at this point. The easiest thing for you to do is contact a Medicare65 agent at 1-800-247-9889 to help them understand your options and guide you through the various plan options. Pricing, and underwriting requirements.  You can also get a quote here and we can take your application over the phone if you prefer.

Medicare Supplements Are Not One Size Fits All

Although certain Medicare supplement insurance companies sell more policies than others and certain plans are more popular than others, there is not one Medicare supplement choice that makes sense for everyone. There a lot of considerations for your Medicare supplement shopping criteria including medical underwriting guidelines, financial stability of Medicare supplement insurance companies, and the rate increase history of the Medicare supplement companies. So, to ensure you get the best deal on a Medicare supplement, call Medicare65 and speak with one of the caring agents that will be able to understand your situation and preferences, educate you on your Medicare supplement options, and make recommendations for your best Medicare supplement option as though you were a member of their own family.

What If I Am Losing My Group Retirement Health and Prescription Drug Plan?

If you are losing your retirement health and drug plan coverage, or turning 65, we can help you in the same way we have helped retiree's from such companies as American Express, American Airlines, Eastman-Kodak, Conoco-Phillips, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Whirlpool-Maytag, Alcatel-Lucent, PepsiCo, AT&T, Exxon, Microsoft, General Electric, IBM, Apple and many others.