Medicare insurance is a government-sponsored health insurance program that is available to all Americans who are 65 years old or older. It is also available to people under the age of 65 under certain circumstances. Although Medicare is a beneficial program that has helped the United States meet many of its health care goals for Americans who are over 65, it doesn't always cover the total cost of health care. Medicare supplement insurance plans, sometimes called "Medigap plans," are private insurance plans designed to make up for the gap between what Medicare pays and what health care providers charge. These plans are sold by companies that are private, but they are governed by federal and state law.

Who is Eligible?

You must already be in the Medicare program and receiving Part A and Part B to be eligible for Medicare supplment insurance. You have an open enrollment period that occurs within six months of your 65th birthday or the date you enroll in Medicare Part B. During this period, you can buy a supplementary Medicare health insurance policy without having to pass a physical. Once your open enrollment period has expired, your insurance company may require you to undergo medical screening before they will issue a policy to you. In addition, if you have opted to be a part of a Medicare Advantage plan, you cannot buy Medicare supplment insurance.

In general, if you are over 65 and receive Medicare, you are eligible to buy a supplemental Medicare insurance policy. Some people under the age of 65 receive Medicare because they already get Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits or have end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, federal law does not require insurers to offer supplemental Medicare health insurance coverage to anyone under the age of 65.

Those companies that do sell such policies to people who are under 65 can require applicants to undergo medical screening before agreeing to issue the policies, unless they are prohibited by state law from doing so. In fact, many states do require that insurance companies offer supplemental insurance to Medicare recipients who are younger than 65; however, some states limit eligibility to people with certain conditions or bar those with some conditions from buying the policies.

How to Choose a Medicare Supplement Insurance Policy

In order to make it easier and less confusing for consumers, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has sorted all the available Medicare supplment insurance policies into ten different categories and given each category a letter ranging from A through N. Each letter designation represents a different set of benefits. In general, the higher the cost f the premiums, the more benefits you get from the policy. It's important that you do cost comparisons only among plans that are available in your own state because some states require insurers to provide additional coverage beyond the standard for the rest of the country.

Although most Medicare supplement insurance premiums are paid by the individuals who receive the coverage, some retirees are covered by their former employers. In these cases, the employer chooses the plan and decides which benefits the policy will provide, within the limits of the law.