Medicare Supplement Articles

Feds Adopt National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Standards for Medigap Insurance

In early May 2009, the federal government adopted new standards for Medicare supplement insurance. The standards were developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and were set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in order to apply the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.

The Medicare supplement insurance standards were originally set by the NAIC in 1979 and have been advised numerous times since then. The recent changes to the standards include changes to the Medicare Supplement plan options that were believed to be confusing and duplicate benefits that are available in the Medicare Part B – physician and outpatient services – plan. These changes include the following:

• The addition of hospice benefits to each Medicare Supplement plan option
• The elimination of preventative and at-home recovery benefits for all Medicare Supplement plan options.

More About Medigap Insurance

Medigap insurance, also known as supplement insurance, is an insurance policy that Medicare subscribers can take out in order to cover healthcare expenses that are not already covered by Medicare.  Medigap insurance policies are offered by private insurers and are available for all Medicare subscribers that are interested in enrolling in such programs.

All Medicare subscribers should be aware of how Medigap insurance plans work with their existing Medicare policies. For example, some Medicare subscribers that have Medicare Plan D may be able to have Medigap insurance cover the cost of prescription medications that are not covered by Plan D.

Other Medicare Changes

In addition to the addition of hospice benefits and the elimination of preventative and at-home recovery benefits to the Medicare program, the system will undergo several other changes in 2010. These additional changes include the elimination of four Medicare Plans and the addition of two new plans.

All Medicare subscribers should review their existing plans and learn more about the changes that will impact them. Some Medicare subscribers will want to make changes to their Medicare accounts after they learn more about the new option available to them. These changes need to be made during the open enrollment period from November 15 to December 31, 2009 in order to be applied to the 2010 Medicare year.

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