Nebraska Medicare Supplemental Insurance (Medigap)

All seniors age 65 or older need to understand the differences in Medicare policies and how they affect them. Most seniors will need a lot more medical care than Medicare Part A, the automatic government plan that they are enrolled in without premium payments. At 65 most seniors begin to look into their options for Medicare supplemental insurance to help cover extra costs, and high deductibles along with co-payments that Part A has.

Medicare Part B is easy to enroll through your Medicare or social security offices. This Medicare supplement plan extends the basic Medicare to include many more treatments and other medical costs like transportation. Medicare Part B is not free and enrollment is not automatic. There are monthly premiums but they can be deducted from your social security income automatically. All other Medicare supplemental insurance is handled through private companies.

Even though health insurance for seniors including Medicare Part C, Part D and Medigap are private they are regulated by the federal government so policies will be uniform from one company to the next. However, that does not mean every health insurance company will offer them, or offer the same plans as the next.

Some Nebraska health insurance companies offer Medicare Part D, the coverage that handles prescription medicines in their Part C plans sometimes referred to as Advantage, or other names.

Medigap plans are designed to help seniors pay for the gaps in care that occur with Part A and B. It usually combines all of the supplements along with prescription drug coverage in one policy and helps reduce or eliminate the deductibles and co-payments.

Nebraska senior citizens can contact their local social security office, and federal Medicare office to get more information on what is available to them to help with extended health insurance coverage if they cannot afford premium payments. In some cases Medicaid can help low income seniors cover the costs that Medicare Part A does not include.