Louisiana Medigap Policies

Medicare is a health insurance program created for senior citizens. Parts A and B Medicare were the original plans, and offer preventive services, hospice and hospital benefits. Later, Parts C and D were added, which offer additional benefits. Even with four parts, Medicare does not cover some kinds of services. Medicare also requires a number of out-of-pocket costs such as premiums and co-payments. This led to the design and sale of standard Medicare supplements, called Medigap, to help fill in the holes. Medigap is regulated in Louisiana by the state Department of Insurance.

Available Medigap Plans

• Medigap policies are sold by private insurance companies. As of 2011, there are ten standardized Medicare supplement plans, most of which are available in Louisiana. Each plan's benefits have been set by Medicare and cannot be changed, The only difference between a Medigap policy sold by one company and the same policy sold by another will be the cost. In 2011, residents of Louisiana can choose from Medigap plans A through D, F, G, M and N.

Service Areas

• Insurance companies in Louisiana are allowed to sell Medigap policies by county. Not all policies are sold in all areas, and insurance companies do not have to sell every Medigap policy. If you have a policy in one county and then move to another where your insurance company does not offer that plan, you will have to either choose another policy or switch to a different company.

Medicare SELECT

• Louisiana allows insurance companies to offer Medigap plans as Medicare SELECT plans. These include the same benefits as regular Medigap plans but are available as HMO-type policies. These require you to get your treatment through an approved network, but they also have lower monthly premiums.

Benefits

• All Medigap policies in Louisiana have the same basic benefits. These include the reasonable costs of the first three pints of blood you use each year, coverage of the coinsurance for Part A hospital stays and hospice care, an additional 365 days of hospital benefits after Medicare stops and the coinsurance for Part B Medicare. Each plan also has extra benefits, such as coverage for health emergencies, which occur outside of the United States, the deductibles for original Medicare and the coinsurance for preventive services.

Plan F

• Plan F is available in three ways in Louisiana. The first is the regular plan, which features all the benefits available through Medigap. The second is the same plan offered as a Medicare SELECT option. The third is a high-deductible plan, which also has the same benefits, but which comes with an annual deductible thatmust be reached before insurance benefits begin. In 2011, the annual deductible for Plan F was $2,000.