Do I Have to Have a Supplemental Insurance if I Qualify for Medicare?

Medicare supplement insurance is also known as Medigap. This insurance provides additional coverage to Medicare Part A and Part B. Medicare is the public health insurance that the government provides to senior citizens. When you qualify to receive Medicare, you may choose to add a Medigap policy, or you may choose to add Medicare Part C. Your choice depends on your needs and the premiums you are willing to pay.

Qualifying for Medicare

• You can be eligible to receive Medicare when you turn 65 years of age. Whether or not you need to pay premiums for all Medicare coverage depends on your work history. People who have paid Medicare tax or whose spouse has done so do not pay for Medicare Part A coverage, which is hospital insurance. If neither you nor your spouse has paid Medicare tax, you can purchase Medicare Part A once you turn 65 years of age and you enroll in Medicare Part B, which is medical insurance. Medicare Part B, Part C (coverage provided by private companies that adds benefits to Part A and Part B) and Part D (prescription drug coverage) require monthly premium payments from all members.

Medicare Planning

• When you become eligible to enroll in Medicare, you may choose different options of how to create your health insurance. To start, you need to have basic Medicare coverage, which is Part A and Part B (which is a requirement to add other Medicare coverage). Once you have original Medicare, you may choose to add new policies to make your coverage more complete. You may choose to add a Medigap policy plus a prescription drug plan (Part D). You may also choose to add a Part C plan, also called Advantage Plan. Whether or not you need to add a Part D plan to your Part C plan depends on whether the Advantage Plan includes prescription drug coverage.

Choosing Coverage

• In any case, you are not required to add a Medigap policy, or a Part C or Part D plan. However, you may need to do so based on your health conditions. If you know you have many expenses with health treatments, specialist doctors, prescription drugs and other coverage not included in Part A and Part B, you probably need to add extra coverage, such as Medigap. You do not need to add Medigap insurance if you add a Part C plan. If the coverage provided by Part A and Part B is enough for your needs, you do not need to add Medigap or a Part C plan.

Warnings

• You must be careful when you are making the decision of whether or not to add Medigap to your basic coverage. The best moment to enroll in Medigap is within six months of enrolling in Part B. If you enroll during this period, the companies providing Medigap must provide all options to you at their normal prices even if you have a pre-existing condition. However, if you enroll later, they are allowed to charge you higher premiums and reject you in some cases.