Medicare, Medicare Supplements, and Medicare HMO's:
Medicare is a federal health insurance program for people 65 years of age or older, and certain people with disabilities or End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure). It pays for much of your health care, but not all of it. There are some costs that you will have to pay yourself. These costs are called your out-of-pocket costs.

A Medigap policy is a health insurance policy sold by private insurance companies to fill the "gaps" in the Original Medicare Plan coverage. "Medigap Policies" are also called "Medicare Supplement Insurance"

Medicare has two parts: Part A (Hospital Insurance) helps pay for:
	Inpatient Hospital Care
	Some Skilled nursing facility care
	Hospice care
	Some home health care
Part B (Medical Insurance) helps pay for:
	Doctor's services
	Outpatient medical and surgical services and supplies
	Durable medical equipment
	Some other medical services that Part A doesn't cover

Medicare Supplement Plans:
There are 10 standardized Medicare Supplement plans called "A" through "J". Each planA through J has a different set of standardized benefits. Plan A offers the least amount of benefits and Plan J offers the most benefits. The following chart lists the benefits in the 10 standardized Medicare Supplement Plans:

Basic Benefits (Included in all 10 plans)**
	Inpatient Hospital Care: Covers the Part A coinsurance and the cost of 365 extra days of hospital care during your lifetime after Medicare insurance coverage ends.
	Medical Costs: Covers the Part B coinsurance (generally 20%of the Medicare-approved payment amount)
	Blood: Covers the first 3 pints of blood each year.

	Policy Names:
	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J
Plan Benefits:
Basic Benefits
Medicare Part A Deductible
Medicare Part B Deductible
Medicare Part B Excess						100%	80%		100%	100%
Skilled Nursing Coinsurance
Foreign Travel Emergency
At-Home Recovery
Basic Drug Benefit								$1,250	$1,250	$3,000
Preventive Care
High deductible option

**All the proceeding information was taken from a booklet called "Choosing A Medigap Policy" which is put out by the Health Care Financing Administration that runs Medicare.

Medicare HMO's:
Another alternative for people with Medicare Parts A & B is to assign their benefits to a Medicare HMO. You will have to choose a Primary Care Physician (PCP) from the carrier's list of doctors and he will have to refer you to specialists similar to an individual/family plan (IFP) HMO. The advantage to a Medicare HMO is that it usually costs less than a supplement and has additional coverages built in like dental, vision, unlimited prescription drugs, and hearing aids. These additional coverages are not included with Medicare or the Supplements.

For additional information about Medicare and Senior Health Plans go to my links page, click on Blue Cross, then click on the Mature Individuals section. This section will give you additional information on Medicare and Senior Health Plans available from Blue Cross.

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