A Medicare Supplement: Protecting Your Savings

In 1965, Medicare became a part of the Social Security program. When President Johnson initiated former president Harry S. Truman as the first receiver, he could not have imagined the monster it would become. When the baby boomers fully flood the rolls, there will be around 77 million Americans taking benefits. Currently, the number hovers around 43 million.

Of those 43 million, many will select a Medicare supplement plan to help in paying for uncovered bills. These plans are private insurance supplements obtained by individual recipients to pay for such items as co-pays for extended stays in hospitals or particular nursing facilities. For while Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B pay for the bulk of services for seniors (those 65 and over), they do not pay 100% for everything. When you consider the cost of hospitalization and extended nursing homes stays, it is a good idea to have a supplemental plan.

Pretend, for instance, that you are in the hospital and are diagnosed there as needing long term care in a skilled nursing facility. Medicare Part A, which all persons or their spouses who paid into forty quarters of FICA will be eligible for automatically upon reaching age 65, covers up to one hundred days in such a facility. It pays in full for the first twenty days. After that, however, the next eighty days demand a co-pay of $124 per day. Clearly, that can add up to a large amount rapidly, and that is only one of the situations where supplemental insurance can really make a difference.

There are several different kinds of of supplemental plans to consider. There are HMO's, PPO's, private fee-for-service plans, and special needs plans. When choosing the perfect plan for you, it is great to have a place to go for clarification. Wading through all the confusing, dense terminology can be mind numbing. Fortunately, there are insurance places that offer policies from a variety of nationally recognized companies who have made it their job to find the most affordable plans and offer them to eligible folks, along with lots of easy to understand information

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When securing your Medicare supplement, make sure to do so through a reputable Medicare affiliated site.

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