subject: Medicare Supplement Insurance - Determining Your Eligibility [print this page] Have you heard about Medicare supplement insurance? It is what you can sign up for to add onto your regular Medicare insurance when it simply does not provide you with enough coverage for your medical needs. This applies to many seniors, but you may still find yourself wondering if this is right for you. Conducting enough research on the topic is important to make the best financial decision for you. There are a few things you need to know about Medicare supplement insurance to decide if this kind of coverage is not only beneficial for you, but if you are even eligible to get it.
The first requirement to benefit from Medicare supplement insurance is that you must be over age 65 and also possess standard Medicare health insurance. In other words, you cannot have supplement insurance without the basic insurance as well, named Parts A and B. In addition, if you participate in Part C Medicare insurance coverage plans, also known as a Medicare Advantage Plan, you cannot also have Medicare supplement insurance. In fact, it is strictly illegal for an insurance company to sell you supplemental coverage if you already have Advantage coverage.
Next, you may be wondering if you can have a joint plan with your spouse who turned 65 sooner than you and obtained Medicare supplement insurance before you did. You must know that there are no plans that overlap to provide coverage for multiple people. This means the supplement insurance policy your spouse has will not cover you under any circumstances. Therefore, it is important for you to look through your options and find coverage that will suit your individual medical conditions. You may choose the same coverage plan as your spouse or you could choose to go a completely different route. Once you obtain Medicare supplement insurance, you will continue to pay the premium on Medicare Part B as well as the supplement insurance premium.
If you are looking for a Medicare supplement insurance plan to cover prescription drug costs, you must know that you are looking in the wrong place. There are currently no supplement insurance plans that cover the cost of prescription drugs. Perhaps you have spoken with a friend who has coverage with their supplement insurance plan, but this is only possible if they purchased a particular kind of coverage before January 1, 2006. Today, you need to look into Medicare Part D for your prescription insurance coverage options.
by: Richard Cantu
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