A Complete Guide to Medigap Plan G

What you need to know about the most comprehensive Medicare supplement – Medigap Plan G

As an insurance professional who has been in the game for more than a few years, I am always surprised to see the amount of people who don’t know this one simple truth: Medicare isn’t free.

First off, the Medicare Part B Premium is a monthly cost that very few people adequately plan for. At $198 a month, this amount is enough to derail any carefully-plotted retirement plan. In addition, Original Medicare falls drastically short of offering all the coverage that we need as we grow older.

Medicare Supplement Plans are an effective way to fill the gaps in your retirement healthcare coverage. Medigap Plan G is perhaps the most effective among them, paying coinsurance and hospital costs that Original Medicare does not and saving thousands in the process.

Do I Need a Medicare Supplement Plan?

There is no way around it: Original Medicare is not equipped to cover the sometimes-staggering costs of extended or unexpected medical care.

Take an extended hospital stay, for example. Medicare Part A will require a deductible of $1,408 (2020) before it kicks in, but only for 60 days. After that, you’re on the hook for all the hospital copays. Part B has a smaller deductible, but after it’s met, it only covers 80% of approved services.

Paying 20% of your medical expenses out of pocket would be hard to handle for a knee surgery. Just imagine how devastating it would be for something like cancer.

Medicare supplement plans, or Medigap for short, are designed to provide coverage where original Medicare does not. And unless you’ve got a few hundred thousand dollars to spend on healthcare in retirement, it’s something you might want to consider.

What is Medigap Plan G?

Medicare supplement Plan G is one of the more comprehensive supplement plans. While it does not pay 100% of out-of-pocket expenses like the recently discontinued Plan F, it has a lower premium than that plan did.

Medigap Plan G is one of the most popular supplement plans that we offer, and for more than one good reason. Firstly, it covers your entire share of any medical cost covered under Original Medicare (except for the Plan B deductible). Secondly, it has wonderful coverage.

In the case of a hospital stay, Plan G will cover all expenses, including the hospital deductible. It will also cover the coinsurance on all Part B medications, which are things like injections, painkillers, chemotherapy, and other clinically-administered drugs as part of treatment.

What Plan G Really Covers:

Here’s a quick look at the basic benefits offered by Medigap Plan G:

• Part A Hospital coinsurance, as well as hospital costs for 265 days after Original Medicare benefits are exhausted
• Part A coinsurance and copayments for hospice care
• Part A deductibles
• Part B coinsurance for preventative care services & products
• Part B extra or excess charges
• First three pints of blood for any medical procedure
• Emergency foreign travel medical care

For a more complete list of benefits, as well as a look at how Plan G compares to other Medigap plans, check out the Medigap Plans Benefits Grid.

“High Deductible” Plan G: The Same Coverage for Less

While high deductible plans are certainly not for everybody, there are some situations in which High Deductible Plan G might be a better option.

High Deductible Plan G offers all the same coverage as regular Plan G. The only difference is that in addition to the Part B deductible, you’ll also have to fork out $2,340 in an additional deductible before Plan G coverage kicks in.

Plans like these are good for people who are a) generally healthy, and b) are not concerned about the higher deductible.

Find Out More about Medigap Plan G

With the recent decommission of Medicare Plan F, I expect that Plan G is going to become the most popular Medigap option in the country, if it isn’t already. Give us a call if you’re interested in learning more about Medicare Advantage, Medigap Plan G, or anything else related to your ongoing retirement success strategy.