Medicare Part B, after a small annual deductible, pays 80% toward your outpatient medical treatment. While most diseases and medical conditions are covered by Medicare Part B, internal cancer is a condition which seems to cause people the most concern when thinking about future medical costs. After all, radiation, surgery and chemotherapy for cancer can be particularly expensive, even when you are only paying 20% of the price of treatment. Medigap plans are one way in which individuals can supplement their coverage under original Medicare and lower their financial risks.
Pre-existing cancer should not cause undue financial worry for people entering Medicare for the first time. When you first enroll in Medicare Part B, you are given an open enrollment period during which you can get any medigap plan you wish without health underwriting. Your plan can become effective the same day as your Part B, or at any time within 6 months afterward. Since the insurance carrier cannot turn you down for any health reason during this enrollment period, it is one of the best times to enroll in a medicare supplement
Medicare supplements are standardized by our federal government so that you as a consumer can more easily compare prices between carriers without having to worry that benefits differ. Medicare supplements are categorized into plans A - N, and each one fills in various gaps in your original A & B benefits. Plan A, which covers the least amount of gaps, still offers coverage for the other 20% of Part B medical expenses that you would normally owe. This means your coverage for normal forms of cancer treatment like chemotherap and radiation are quite good under any medigap plan. Choosing which one suits you the best is a matter of assessing how much you are able to pay for a supplement and whether you are willing to share in any of the deductible or co-insurance cost-sharing in order to lower your monthly premiums.
It should be noted that consumers also have private Medicare health plans available to them called Medicare Advantage, or Part C. With most of these plans, the premium you pay for the coverage is considerably less than the cost of a supplement, but you will pay copays and co-insurance for various types of medical services as you go along. Many of these plans have higher cost-sharing for cancer treatments — sometimes as much as 20%. Although the plans do have an out-of-pocket-maximum to protect you from spending past a certain amount annually, a serious illness like cancer can often cause you to reach this limit. You should carefully evaluate whether you can afford this higher financial exposure before you consider an Advantage plan.
Assessing how your medicare supplemental coverage provides benefits for cancer treatment is a routine but wise precaution. While there is no crystal ball that we can look into to know our medical future, we know that cancer is common and also costly. Your personal tolerance for medical financial risk as well as how much you can willingly spend for coverage will guide you in choosing supplemental insurance. Consulting a professional insurance broker who can explain benefits for each type of coverage will also save you time and effort in finding a plan, as well as ensuring that plan is most suitable one for your lifestyle habits, monthly budget and individual needs.
Want to find out more about Medicare Part A & B Benefits, then visit Danielle Kunkle’s site on how to choose the best medicare supplement for your needs.