Medicare Supplement Plans - Finding the Right Plan for All Your Needs

Finding the right Texas Medicare supplement plans can be a challenging task. Many companies now are offering many types of insurance plans that meet the requirements for this type of insurance. The problem comes in with knowing what you really need or are eligible for. In addition, you need to figure out what type of plan will be the most beneficial in your situation for the lowest cost. This by itself can be a bit overwhelming for many people.

Much of the confusion comes from the fact that there are only ten types of plans that may be issued for Texas Medicare supplement plans. They are all different in what they cover and how they affect the money that a person needs to spend. Some are designed for those who are using many expensive prescription drugs, while others are aimed to help people who have severe illnesses and are already in hospitals or may be entering one soon. Finally, some plans are designed to help those in good health who merely need to work to maintain it. Each plan is based on Medicare and the areas where it does not offer coverage or it is very limited. However, each of these is very different.

Determining which Texas Medicare supplement plans are right for you is further complicated by the rates that different insurance companies charge for the different types of plans. For one person a plan from United HealthCare might do the trick and for someone else Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas or Mutual of Omaha may work best. Some consumers find Texas Medicare Advantage Plans work while most other seniors will see that a traditional supplement plan give the most security. Also, prices can vary a great deal by zip code and this makes it difficult for a person to know if they are getting a good price or not. Most people do not have the time or desire to spend all the time that would be required to thoroughly investigate all the various insurance companies to determine who has the best rates for the plans they think they need.

In view of these issues, it may be wise in many cases for a person to contact someone who specializes in Texas Medicare supplement plans. They can eliminate much of the stress that goes along with trying to figure all these complex issues out. By letting them use their training and experience in this type of insurance to help you with your needs, you can be confident that your needs are being addressed and that they best solutions will be found. In most cases, a professional will meet with you, go over your needs and then set about obtaining quotations for you from various companies. They can then go over the results with you and help you decide what fits your needs and your wallet.

What Benefits Does Your Local Medicare Supplement Company Offer?   Medicare Supplemental Insurance - How to Choose an Advisor?   How To Apply For Medicare Supplemental Insurance And Get The Best Rates   Help With Your Medicare Supplement Choices   

Medicare Supplement Plans, The Easy Way

So many of my clients have expressed their frustration and confusion when trying to sort through the masses of information around and about Medicare and Medicare Supplement Plans.

This article is not going to clear up all of that confusion. However you will find some very helpful information about accessing assistance in your quest for information and some hazards you will want to sidestep.

You do not have to "go it alone." There are many reputable insurance professionals that are ready and able to help you. How do you find a good one? Some questions you should ask to determine if you are dealing with one:

1)You will want to make sure that you are dealing with an independent agent or broker. This type of agent does not work for just one carrier. They are not limited to talking to you about just one company's options. The independent agent forms relationships with multiple carriers. This enables him/her to fit the solution to you rather than try to you into the limited options they have the ability to offer. There is the added worry that the agent will lose the connection with that one company and then no longer have the resources to provide service to you or your policy.

2)If your agent doesn't start out by finding out some key things about you and your lifestyle, he/she is just not doing a good job for you. Questions like: How much traveling to intend to do? How is your health? What is your budget? Are you comfortable with sharing some of the cost for your medical expenses or do you want total coverage? The answers to all of these questions are key if the agent is going to recommend the right plan for you.

3)Does the agent specialize in Medicare specifically? The world of insurance is extremely diverse. Look for an agent who specializes in Medicare. Someone who is up to date on the laws and the changes is going to be able to advise you. It is wise to avoid a "jack of all trades" when it comes to Medicare. There is a lot to know about any genre of insurance.You are better with someone focused on the segment that you are dealing with.

4)How long has the agent been in business? Each year thousands of people get into the insurance business. Each year the vast majority of those new agents leave the insurance business. Work with an agent who has established longevity in the industry and demonstrated a commitment to it. Avoid brand new agents. This will ensure that your agent will be there down the line for customer service.

5)Does the agent present the information in a way that is clear and understandable? This would seem almost too basic to mention, but it is key. A competent, caring agent should be able to clear up the confusion for you. If an agent does their job properly, you will feel confident that you understand your options and that you have made the right choice for your circumstances. Avoid agents that use "insurance speak" terms and phrases that only insurance people would know.

6)Ask yourself if it seems like the agent trying to help you or themselves. All insurance professionals are in business to make a living. It is the ethical insurance professionals who live by the fact that it is only by taking care of the customer, that you take care of yourself.

Help is available. Just take a deep breath, remember these points and you will find the right person to help you understand your Medicare and Medicare Supplement Plan options.

Let us help. Don't tackle medicare alone. For the latest information about Medicare or to compare medicare supplement plan options and rates in your area, call 888-347-5552 or visit www.medicarequote4u.com.

What Benefits Does Your Local Medicare Supplement Company Offer?   Medicare Supplemental Insurance - How to Choose an Advisor?   How To Apply For Medicare Supplemental Insurance And Get The Best Rates   Help With Your Medicare Supplement Choices   

Medicare Supplement or Medigap Plans: Ways to Find Coverage Without Losing Your Mind

Just a quick glance at a government manual about choosing a Medicare Supplement policy can be enough to send you to the doctor with a headache. That's not even including the additional information that is out there specifically about Medicare and the basic coverage that it affords. If you are interested in learning more about Medigap plans but are intimidated by the technical language or are unsure of where to begin your search, there are a few factors to take into consideration. With a methodical approach to researching your health care options, and a few professional tools to guide you, the process can be much simpler than you would think at first.

A great way to get started, before even turning to professional help or conducting specific research into the differences between Medigap plans, is to make a list of personal priorities that you have for health care. There are specific benefits to each plan that deserve to be looked at, but it can focus your search and keep you from losing your mind if you go into this search with a clear head and a laundry list of what it is that you want to ideally find in a policy.

With this in mind, it's then possible to start sorting through each Medigap policy by comparing them side by side. You could make your own chart according to the features that you are looking for in Medigap plans, or you could start off by looking at charts that have already been created. These are readily available online, either through independent medicare supplement consultants or through the federal Medicare website. Search engines can also be a useful tool.

Another good way to differentiate between each Medigap policy and maybe gain a wider perspective on the best coverage for your needs would be to ask for word of mouth recommendations. If everyone in your peer group is around the same age and is in need of similar health care, then it makes sense to figure out what Medigap plans are working for other people, or if they recommend turning to professional guidance for this. Because health care is such an important expense, its well worth the time and effort it takes to compare these policies and enlist the help of a qualified independent Medigap consultant.

What Benefits Does Your Local Medicare Supplement Company Offer?   Medicare Supplemental Insurance - How to Choose an Advisor?   How To Apply For Medicare Supplemental Insurance And Get The Best Rates   Help With Your Medicare Supplement Choices   What Is Supplemental Security Insurance?   

Can Telemedicine Improve Medicare Supplement Insurance Care?

Telemedicine isn't for the space station, but it is designed to reach into communities where there's less access to specialists, like in rural areas. Imagine being able to talk to your doctor "face-to-face" without having to go to her office. That means no more hassles of getting wheelchairs in the van, or trying to find streets that have been cleared of snow in the winter to keep your doctor's appointment. If you're in a small town, it can also mean you won't have to journey across the state to see the closest specialist.

What does telemedicine offer you if you're eligible for Medicare? The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has already proposed new policies to increase the use of telemedicine. Seniors and those with disabilities are among those most likely to benefit from the increasing use of technology-delivered medicine.

Mobility often becomes more challenging as we age, but with video conferencing, you can still "see" and talk with your doctor without risking a fall while traveling to a doctor's appointment. Even in rural areas with little access to specialists, Medicare and

Medicare Supplement plans can offer you more healthcare options.

Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans Can Increase Access To Healthcare

You may have heard that our aging population is expected to put a greater demand on the existing healthcare system. With telemedicine, even towns that have trouble attracting specialists will be able to connect you with specialists in urban settings.

As Dr. Debra Lister of Douglas, Georgia explains, "It's so far for our people here to get to a specialist. Some of these people just can't travel - some of our elderly and poor people couldn't have made the trip. An awful lot of them would not have received care."

Thanks to telemedicine, Lister's clinic is typically able to connect patients through video conferencing with a specialist within two months. That's just about half the time it takes to get an in-person appointment with a specialist.

This new access makes Medigap Insurance even more valuable. You probably realize that Medicare doesn't pay for all of your healthcare costs. Medicare only pays for 80 percent of a pre-approved fee for doctor services. Medigap plans not only pick up the remaining 20 percent, but also help when specialists charge more than Medicare's pre-approved payment. With the right Medigap coverage, you could have access to the best specialists no matter how far away their practice is or how expensive their services are.

Telemedicine Offers A Bridge To Improved Care

At the University of Nebraska Medical Center, an interactive video system is bringing Dr. Thomas Magnuson face-to-face with his patients in nursing homes around the state. He can communicate with family members and the staff at the nursing homes in the same way. Magnuson, who's a psychiatrist, says, "We have a lot of isolated places. We just had a big patient population out there that wasn't being seen."

Magnuson uses video conferencing to see and hear his patients just as if he was in the room with them. This technology can link specialists from urban centers with rural doctors and their patients can get the care they need when they need it. Even more remarkable, technology is allowing surgeons to perform "long-distance" operations by using remote-controlled robots.

Many rural hospitals already have some form of telemedicine, but the growth of telemedicine technology is expected to continue. Just as telemedicine is bridging the distance between patients and specialists, Medicare Supplement Insurance is eliminating the financial barriers that have separated people from the healthcare they need.

What Benefits Does Your Local Medicare Supplement Company Offer?   Medicare Supplemental Insurance - How to Choose an Advisor?   How To Apply For Medicare Supplemental Insurance And Get The Best Rates   Help With Your Medicare Supplement Choices   

Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans and Medicare Part D

"I have a Medigap Plan to supplement my Medicare. Do I still need to enroll in a Part D plan?" If you have wondered this, you are not alone. Even if prescriptions aren't important to you now, there are reasons to enroll in a plan.

Of course we know that the chances of us needing some type of medication as we get up in years is great. If you wait until you need medication to enroll and don't join when you first receive your Medicare, you will most likely have to pay a penalty. The penalty assessed will be 1% of the of the Part D National Base Beneficiary Premium per month that you could have enrolled but didn't. This penalty is added to the premium of the Plan you choose. The National Base Beneficiary Premium is $32.34 for 2011. If you delay your Part D enrollment for 1 year, you will have a penalty of $3.88 on your monthly premium for whatever plan you choose. The penalty is permanent.

Medicare's drug program is called Medicare Part D. Part D is offered by private companies. These companies and the various prescription plans that they make available must be approved by Medicare.

All must cover certain drugs and meet certain coverage criteria to be approved. However the plans can vary greatly in terms of premium, co-pays and total out of pocket expenses. If you have original Medicare you can enroll in a stand alone Part D prescription plan along with your Medicare Supplement plan. Many Medicare Advantage plans include Medicare Part A, B and D coverage. There are some that only cover A and B and require a separate Part D.

In light of the fact that all of the plans are have different cost sharing, a key part of your strategy for keeping your health care cost to a minimum is a comparison of the plans available in your area. Your prescriptions are unique to you and the choice of your drug plan should be based on your drugs. You can get a detailed report comparing all of the plans in your area by visiting http://www.medicare.gov and using the Medicare Plan Finder. This nifty program will show you all of the plans and how they relate cost wise to your unique list of prescriptions. You will also see the quality rating for each plan.

There are limited times when you can sign up for Medicare Part D. For instance, you can sign up when you are turning 65. You have a seven month enrollment period. This is called your Initial Enrollment Period (IEP). It begins 3 months before the month of your birthday, includes the month of your birthday and ends the last day of the third month after your birthday. There is also the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). During the AEP you can enroll in a Part D plan for the first time or change from one plan to another. There are also various Special Enrollment Periods (SEP) when you can enroll under certain circumstances, for instance if you are losing employer coverage you may qualify for an SEP.

The Part D plans change from year to year. Premiums change, formularies change, co-pays change and new plans come available. Why not make the most of the AEP each year by reviewing your drug coverage and making certain that you are in th

Medicare Supplement Insurance: A Right of Passage?

Rights of passage - you got your drivers license, became old enough to drink, got married, had children, hit 40, then 50 and became eligible for United of Omaha, retired, and now you're 65 and are eligible for Medicare. Embrace it and the challenges that come with it. Shopping for a Medicare supplement plan is one of those challenges - but it's really not that difficult.

If you're over the age of 65 and do not have a retiree medical plan through a former employer or union or a government retiree plan and are not on Medicaid for medical coverage then you've likely had the pleasure of researching your options.

It's especially difficult if you're looking into this insurance when you're first turning 65. If you've already gone through this you'll know what I mean when I say your mailbox becomes cluttered with the marketing materials from all of the various providers of Medicare supplement providers and all of the educational material from Social Security and Medicare. You'll get brochures and outlines of coverage and applications and scores of "Choosing a Medigap Policy" Guides (Medigap is another term for this insurance) and Medicare and You and notices and requests to send your information back on a card.

Maybe even worse are the phone calls and the unexpected visitors at the door all wanting to help you understand why their plans are best.

It is one of the worst forms of information overload you'll ever experience. You'll have a stack of Medicare and Medicare supplement guides 1 foot tall. They start about 6 months before your 65th birthday and just keep coming until several months after. Even after the age of 65 you'll be bombarded towards the end of every year with offers from different companies. Many of them seem a little too good to be true - and they usually are.

To make things even a little more frustrating is that you have to forget everything you've ever known about health insurance prior to the age of 65.

You see, this insurance policies does not have doctor's networks. They are not PPO's or HMO's. When you get a Medicare supplement you don't have to worry about your doctor taking, or even preferring, one Medicare supplement companies plan over another's. Your network is the Medicare network and the doctor's office files medical claims with them - not with the Medicare supplement insurance company. Once Medicare approves the claim they will notify your Medicare Supplement Insurance provider that they have to pay their part. So, the Medicare supplement insurance company can't make a decision if they want to pay a claim or not. If Medicare approves they have to pay their part. If Medicare does not approve the insurance company doesn't pay anything either.

Also, the plans are standardized groups of benefits classified into plan letters. So, you might end up buying a plan F or a plan G or C. Regardless of which plan letter you go with it will work identically without regards to which company you get it from.

So, when you're shopping for your coverage don't fret. Choose your plan, shop rates, and buy.

What Benefits Does Your Local Medicare Supplement Company Offer?   Medicare Supplemental Insurance - How to Choose an Advisor?   How To Apply For Medicare Supplemental Insurance And Get The Best Rates   Help With Your Medicare Supplement Choices