Individual Medicare SupplementsMedicare is for people age 65 or older, or those under age 65 with certain disabilities, or those with permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplant. Medicare has three parts: Part A covers hospital charges. There is no cost to you and you are enrolled automatically when you sign up for Social Security. Part B covers doctor charges. There is a monthly cost and you must sign up during one of the three enrollment periods. Part D covers prescription drugs.
Signing up for Medicare Part B triggers your Medicare Supplement (Medigap) open enrollment. The Medicare Supplement open enrollment period is the six months after you are age 65 AND enrolled on Medicare Part B. Once your Medicare Supplement open enrollment period begins it can’t be changed or restarted. During your Medicare Supplement open enrollment period, the insurance company cannot deny you any Medicare Supplement policy it sells, cannot make you wait for coverage to start, and cannot charge you more for a policy because of you health problems. In addition, they may not impose a pre-existing condition waiting period if you have had prior “creditable coverage” for six months. If you wish to purchase a Medicare Supplement plan after your open enrollment period, some insurance companies will require medical underwriting, and may decide not to offer you coverage. We offer Medicare Supplement plans through Regence BlueShield, Premera BlueCross, Kaiser Permanente, and Aetna. Please contact us for more information on Medicare or the Medicare Supplement plans available to you. |
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