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(Medical-NewsWire.com, June 15, 2013 ) Austin, TX -- Medicare, a federal program designed for adults age 65 and older, is a longstanding health insurance vehicle whose benefits cover many, though not all, medical costs. Consisting of Parts A and B, basic Medicare is coordinated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). An additional program designed to cover expenses not addressed by basic Medicare consists of a range of Medicare Supplement Plans. These plans, frequently called Medigap, are regulated by CMS and overseen by state and federal governments.
Basic Medicare services leave certain expenses payable out of pocket. These costs include co-payments and deductibles, as well as coinsurance percentages. Medicare Supplement Plans are designed to supplement areas not addressed within Parts A and B. Extended hospital stays, blood infusions, skilled nursing, hospice care, foreign travel emergencies and preventive care number among those areas. Specific Medigap policies provide Part B premium payments and establish out-of-pocket limits on co-payments.
Seniors enrolled in Medicare may well be motivated to subscribe to a Medigap plan because the plans are tailored to supplement Parts A and B, covering significant expense categories. A notable attribute of these plans is that they do not restrict patients’ access to providers. All Medicare-covered providers are accessible to patients with Medigap. A convenient reference for looking into Medicare Supplement Plans is available at www.medigapplansguide.com/medicare-supplement-plans.
This resource provides information on plans available to residents of each zip code. Major insurance carriers here describe their strategies in supplementing basic Medicare benefits.
An alternative program for delivering services not covered by Medicare Parts A and B is available through Medicare Advantage Plans. These plans are privately administered, as are Medicare Supplement Plans. Advantage Plans are required to include all services covered by basic Medicare. They provide a variety of supplemental services as well. Out-of-pocket expenses to subscribers can change annually.
Membership in an Advantage Plan involves joining a Health Maintenance Organization, Preferred Provider Organization, Private Fee-for-Service, Medicare Medical Saving Account, or other managed care provider. Such groups often limit provider access by patients to health care establishments within their networks.
The Affordable Care Act of 2010, known as Obamacare, commenced a review of federal payments to Advantage Plans. It had been found by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission that the federal government’s average payments to Advantage Plan insurance companies were significantly greater than comparable costs under standard Medicare. Spending on administrative costs for Advantage Plans was reported to be excessive in relation to service costs.
Media sources have recently publicized an Obama Administration objective of reducing its Advantage Plan funding in 2014. Senator Marco Rubio predicted that consumers subscribing to Medicare Advantage Plans would lose benefits because of inadequate funding.
Realistic considerations involving the scope of Advantage Plans may have turned the tide against such cutbacks. Medicare Advantage Plans merit the name because they offer specific rewards not available through basic Medicare or Medigap plans. Three noteworthy subscriber magnets are dental and vision coverage and catastrophic insurance. These Advantage Plan features may have factored into widely reported protests against diminution of federal funding to Advantage Plans. It has been reported over the past several months that Medicare Advantage Plan administrators may in fact receive increases, rather than reductions, in government payments.
Such political storms highlight an essential difference between Medicare Supplement Plans and Advantage Plans. Advantage Plans cost the Federal Government a substantial amount of money. They are therefore subject to greater scrutiny. Medigap, a program regulated directly by federal and state governments, is not liable to as many challenges as are the Advantage enterprises.
About Medigap Plans Guide com:
Medigap insurance does not require you visit doctors in a network however, and for a relatively low monthly pemium you may obtain a plan that offers 100 percent coverage of the gaps in Medicare. This alone is truly outstanding coverage and is great demand from the baby boomers headed our way.
Medigap Plans Guide com
Charles Elliot
(888) - 348 - 0398
info@medigapplansguide.com
Source: EmailWire.Com 
Source: EmailWire.com
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