Supplemental Health Insurance Plans for Medicare in Colorado

Originally, the two parts of Medicare, A and B, were created in 1965. Original Medicare coverage was for hospital care, preventive services and home-health care. In 1997, Medicare Advantage was added, which allowed users to buy policies from private companies. Part D, which handles prescription drug coverage, became the fourth kind of Medicare in 2003. Medicare is not free, and many beneficiaries purchase Medicare supplement policies, which helps them afford Medicare's premiums, deductibles and co-payments. The companies that sell Medicare supplement plans in Colorado are overseen in by the state Division of Insurance, part of the Department of Regulatory Agencies.

Plan A

• Plan A is the most basic and least expensive of all of Colorado's Medigap plans. All other Medicare supplements include the same benefits, plus more. Plan A offers 100 percent coverage for the Part A hospice co-insurance, co-insurance for an additional 365 days of hospital treatment after Medicare benefits have run out, the cost of the first three pints of blood per year and Part B co-insurance.

Plans B and C

• Plans B and C have the same benefits as Plan A, plus 100 percent coverage of the Part A annual deductible. Plan C also has coverage of the annual Part B deductible, as well as benefits for medical services you receive while outside of the country.

Plan F

• Plan F comes in two forms, a regular plan and a high-deductible plan. Plan F offers all possible Medigap benefits. In addition to the ones carried by A, B and C, Plan F also has coverage of the Part B excess charges. Plan F usually has the highest monthly premiums, but if you purchase the high-deductible Plan F option, monthly premiums will be lower. You will have an annual deductible you must reach before benefits will begin. In 2011, the Plan F yearly deductible was $2,000. Foreign travel emergency coverage has its own separate annual deductible.

Plans G and N

• Plan G has almost all the same benefits as Plan F, but it does not offer coverage of the Part B deductible. Plan N has the same benefits as G, except that it you will need to make co-pays for office visits and visits to the emergency room instead of getting 100 percent coverage of the Part B co-insurance costs.

Plans K, L and M

• Medigap Plans K, L and M all offer cost sharing. This means more out-of-pocket costs but lower monthly premiums. Plan K covers 50 percent of most benefits and Plan L offers 75 percent. Plan M has 100 percent of most benefits, except for the Part A deductible, which it covers at 50 percent. Plans K and L have annual out-of-pocket limits. In 2011, Plan K's is $4,640 and Plan L's is $2,320.

Medicare SELECT

• Colorado allows Medigap to be sold as a Medicare SELECT option. Medicare SELECT plans operate similar to HMO plans, where users must get all their medical services from inside an approved network of providers. Medicare SELECT offers fewer choices regarding where you can get your health care but also results in lower out-of-pocket costs.