Medicare Supplemental Insurance in Kansas

Medicare is health insurance offered through the federal government to people aged 65 years or older. Medicare Parts A and B are often called traditional Medicare, and offer services such as hospital care, ambulance transportation and preventive services. However, traditional Medicare does not cover many other kinds of medical services, leading users to purchase supplemental policies. Medicare supplements are offered through private insurance companies, and states are allowed to control which plans can be sold in their areas.

Medicare Part D

• Medicare Part D covers only prescription medications. In Kansas, customers can add Part D to the Medicare Part A and Part B, or can receive it through buying a Medicare Managed Care or Medicare Advantage health insurance package. Since Part D is offered through private insurance companies, each company is allowed to set its own monthly premiums. Enrollment is not automatic when you qualify for Medicare, and you must join during the open enrollment period, which lasts from November 15 through December 31.

Medicare Advantage

• Medicare Advantage is also called Part C. These plans bundle Medicare Parts A and B with other benefits, usually Part D prescription coverage and services like vision and dental care. Medicare Advantage plans vary in services and in the amount you have to pay for premiums. You can purchase Medicare Advantage in different ways as well, such as through HMO and plans, private fee-for-service policies and as complements to medical savings accounts. In Kansas, any standard policy can be sold as a Medicare Select policy in Kansas, a PPO plan where customers pay lower premiums in return for getting health care through an approved network of providers.

Medigap Plans

• As of 2010, the state of Kansas allows ten different kinds of standard Medicare supplements, also called Medigap. Medigap policies can be bought as Medicare Select plans as well. Basic Medigap plans include Plan A and B, which offer Medicare Part A hospice care co-insurance or co-pay, Medicare Preventive Care Part B co-insurance and extended hospitalization benefits. Plan B adds coverage of the Medicare Part A deductible. Plans C, D, F and G offer foreign travel emergency services, Plan G covers excess charge costs.

High-Deductible Plans

• Some Kansas Medigap plans are high-deductible policies, which lets people pay lower monthly costs but makes them responsible for higher yearly deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. Plan F, which features the basic benefits, skilled nursing facility co-insurance, foreign travel emergencies and both Part A and Part B deductibles, is offered in both regular and high-deductible versions. This Plan F has an annual calendar year deductible of $2,000. Plans K and L also have yearly out-of-pocket expenses and only cover a certain amount of benefits. Plan K offers 50 percent for Part A hospice care co-insurance or co-pay, skilled nursing facility co-insurance and the Part A deductible, while Plan L covers 75 percent.