Medigare Supplement Plan B, Medigap Plan B, Medicare Plan B

Medigap Plan B Benefits and Coverage
Medicare Supplement Plan B, also called Medigap Plan B, offers the same benefits as Plan A. In addition, it will also pay your Part A hospital deductible for you. This is a significant benefit as the deductible in 2017 is $1,316, and tends to go up slightly each year. Having Medigap Plan B means that you will never have to worry about that deductible going up.

medigap plan b
Medigap Plan B covers several gaps in Medicare so that you will not have any costs for those services.

Your hospital deductible is a per-incident deductible, not an annual one, so this is an important benefit. Medicare Plan B will pay the deductible even if you incur it more than once in the same year.

Here’s an example: Joe has a heart condition that causes him to have an overnight hospital stay in March. Then he is admitted again in July for the same condition. Because his hospital stays are more than 60 days apart, he would normally have to pay the $1,316 deductible TWICE.

Fortunately, Joe planned ahead and purchased a Medigap Plan B policy. That policy pays both deductibles for him. He owes nothing to the hospital for his semi-private room during the stay.

His Medigap Plan B policy does not cover some things, like foreign travel or excess charges. Joe could consider one of the other Medicare supplements that cover the hospital deductible and these things, such as P Plan F or G.

Medigap Plan B Costs
Each insurance company that offers Medigap Plan B sets their own rates. These rates can vary widely by region. Your zip code, gender, age, tobacco usage and eligibility for household discounts also affect the rate.

The insurance companies themselves also all have different loss ratios from their existing clients. Just remember that the benefits are standardized so a Medigap Plan B with one carrier has the same benefits as Plan B with the next. Choose a carrier with low rates and a good stable history of low rate increases. Our quoting software can provide all of that information for you.

Medicare Plan B is not the same as Part B
Medigap Plan B is just one of the many different supplements you can purchase to help offset your medical expenses. It is not the same as Part B, which is your outpatient medical coverage that you purchase directly from Social Security.

People must have Part B for outpatient coverage, and then they still need a supplement to help them pay for the things that original Medicare doesn’t cover. Just make sure not to confuse the two – and if you feel uncertain, give us a call.

Because these two things are similarly named, many people find the terminology hard to understand. It’s very important to understand the difference before you make an insurance choice.