subject: Medigap Insurance Pays For Medicare's Part A Charges [print this page] Medicare only pays for up to 60 days in the hospital after you have met its Part A deductible. What's likely to be your biggest expense when it comes to health care? That's going to be hospitalization, which includes a $1,132 deductible.
What Is The Part A Deductible?
In 2010, your Medicare Part A benefits don't begin until you have met a deductible of $1,100 per benefit period. Here's how that works. You can think of a benefit period as a spell of illness that continues until 60 days after you are released from the hospital. If you need to enter a skilled nursing facility immediately after you leave the hospital for temporary rehabilitation, your benefit period may last until 60 days after you leave the nursing facility.
What if you leave the hospital or nursing facility too soon and have to be readmitted? As long as you're readmitted within those 60 days, that's considered to be part of the same benefit period. In that case, you will not be charged a second deductible. That means you do not have to spend $1,100 again to meet the Part A deductible before Medicare pays your hospital bill.
Medicare only provides complete coverage for the first 60 days you are in the hospital. The number of days you were hospitalized after your first admission will be added to the number of days you're there after you have been readmitted. If those two stays add up to 60 days and you're not ready to be released, you'll have to come up with a portion of the daily hospital charges going forward.
From the 61st day though the 90th day of hospital care, you will be charged $275.00 per day. If you still require hospital care after that, you'll be charged $550.00 a day from the 91st through the 150th day.
How Can You Get Protection From Benefit Period Deductibles?
Medicare does not limit the benefit periods it will cover during your lifetime. However, with each benefit period carrying another $1,100 deductible, we're talking major medical costs if you need to be hospitalized within several different benefit periods.
With Medicare Supplement Insurance, you can be reimbursed for the Part A deductible regardless of where you fall in the benefit period structure. Different Medigap Insurance Plans will reimburse you for 100, 75 or 50 percent of the deductible. Of course, the Medigap Plans that offer partial reimbursement typically have lower monthly premiums.
Going with a low-priced Medigap Plan may sound appealing, but remember that you may not be able to change plans after your health deteriorates. During your open enrollment period, insurer cannot refuse your application for Medigap Insurance, or charge you higher than standard rates, or limit coverage for pre-existing health problems.
Your medical history is completely irrelevant during open enrollment, which typically begins on the first day of the month in which you are at least 65 and enrolled in Medicare Part B. This golden opportunity only lasts for six months, though. Outside of open enrollment, you may not be able to find an insurer that will allow you to enroll in a different plan with a pre-existing condition. That's why you may save in the long run by enrolling in the Medigap Plan with the best protection when you have the chance.
by: Wiley Long
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