A Secondary Insurance to Medicare

Supplemental plans cover many costs that Medicare doesn’t cover and many of the remaining costs Medicare only partially covers. Depending on the plan, they can pay the 20% Medicare doesn’t pay as well as the Part A deductible ($1,316).

  • Medicare supplements also have many other benefits. Such as:
  • Skilled nursing facility care
  • Foreign travel emergency
  • Hospice care
  • Cost of blood

The Plans

There are different supplement plans ranging from A through N, but the primary plans with the most value are the plans F, G, and N.

Benefits Plan F Plan G* Plan N
Basic benefits
Part B coinsurance
Part A deductible
Skilled nursing facility coinsurance
Foreign travel emergency
Part B excess charges
Part B deductible

*Best Value

Plan F

Plan F brings you up to 100% covered. It covers the part A deductible, the part B deductible and even picks up the 20% that Medicare doesn’t cover. In addition, plan F covers up to 100 days in a nursing home and foreign travel emergencies up to $50,000. Until recently, this has been the most popular plan. Plan F is the most comprehensive plan on the market. Consequently, it is also the most expensive one. In years past this was the best plan available, but since the emergence of new plans, like plans G and N, plan F is no longer the best value for your money. Our sources have informed us that plan F will no longer be available for purchase in 2020. If you already have the plan you will be grandfathered in, but it would be wise to compare other plan prices with plan F. Most often plan F receives the most frequent and largest price increases because it is considered first dollar coverage and insurance companies don’t like paying that first dollar.

Plan G

Plan G is now, in my opinion, the best plan on the market. It is nearly identical to plan F, the only difference is that you would be responsible for paying the part B deductible every year. This year it is $183.00. You can look at plan G like this: after you pay the first $183, plan G becomes a plan F and it covers everything exactly as plan F. The perks to having a plan G is that you will not experience as frequent or as large of rate increases as the plan F. Why is this? Because the insurance company does not like paying out the first dollar. Since you are responsible for the first $183, it helps take a small burden off the insurance company. It also deters the policy holder from running to the emergency room for something that does not require immediate care. The difference in price between the plan F and G starts at $300 dollars a year and goes up as you get older. Why would you pay the insurance company $300 dollars when you could just pay $183?

Plan N

Plan N is similar to plan F and G and is a great option for people who do not go to the doctor very often. Like plan G, plan N requires you to pay that Medicare part B deductible every year before your supplement kicks in. However, it also requires co-pays to doctor’s offices and emergency room visits. For office visits, that co-pay is always $20, even if you see the best specialist in the world. For emergency room visits, the copay is $50 and is waved if you are admitted to the hospital. The difference in price between plan N and plan G is $186 per year. That means you would have to go to the doctor nine times a year to make up that difference. If you had plan F you would have to go to the doctor over fifteen times to break even with plan F.

Plan N does not cover part B excess charges. If a doctor does not accept the Medicare assignment(most do), then you would be responsible for the excess charges. And since a doctor can only over charge 15% of what Medicare approved, these are usually minimal charges.