One of the more popular ways to for someone to have their Medicare coverage in Florida is with a Medicare Supplement. This is because Medicare by itself does not cover all of the out-of-pocket expenses one will have when using the insurance. For example, Medicare Part A has a deductible of $1,632 in 2024, which you owe before Medicare starts to pay for inpatient hospital care.

Florida Medicare supplements, come in a variety of coverage levels. Each type is known by a corresponding letter A through N, with a few letters missing due to updates of the Medicare law over the years.

Medicare Supplements, sometimes referred to as “Medigap,” are insurance policies that pick up the out-of-pocket costs that Original Medicare by itself does not cover. Such as the hospital deductible in Part A of Medicare, and more commonly the 20% coinsurance of Part B.

Medicare Supplements are not like your traditional insurance plans where there are networks of doctors. These plans are not HMOs or PPOs. That means with a Medicare Supplement, you can go to any doctor, any hospital anywhere in the United States that accepts Medicare. Without referrals.

Private companies provide Medicare Supplement plans in Florida, like United Healthcare with AARP, and Humana. However, they are standardized by the federal government. Meaning one plan with the same letter, offered by different insurance companies operate the same. Cost is usually the only difference.

The plans are basically a commodity. Not much different than buying a car. For example, if you were shopping for a car and went to a dealership on the edge of town and looked at a car for $40,000, you may want to another dealership to see what the price may be.

So, being a savvy consumer, you drive across town and look at the same car, with the same features and same color at another dealership. Luckily, at the other dealership the car is only $35,000. Since it is the exact same car, you decide to save yourself $5,000 and buy it there.

Medicare Supplements are the same way. A plan G offered by company A the same as it is with company B, but the monthly premium may be different.

Now that we have the basics of a Medicare Supplement covered, lets dive into the coverage itself. Today, we are going to examine the two most popular coverages Plan G and Plan N.

Plan G is simple. You have the Part B deductible of $240 in 2024 (subject to change from year to year), and after you meet that, the supplement picks up the rest. As long as the procedure is approved by Medicare, and Medicare pays its portion, the Medicare Supplement will do the same. The Maximum you will have out of pocket for covered medical expenses on any given year, is the Part B deductible.

With Plan N, you will also have the Part B deductible of $240 in 2024, but after you meet the deductible there will be $20 copays for office visits and $50 copays for Emergency Room visits. However, the ER fee is waived if you are admitted as an inpatient within 24 hours.

Plan N also does not cover excess fees. Excess fees are an additional 15% that some doctors, in some circumstances are allowed to charge, but these are somewhat rare. These fees also have to be communicated ahead of time, so they will not ever come as a surprise.

One thing that should be known is that Medicare Supplements do not cover prescription drugs. You will need a separate plan known as “Part D” to help pay for expensive prescription drug costs at the pharmacy.

Even if you do not take any prescriptions, you may want to still carry the coverage because if you do not, you may be subject to burdensome penalties down the road. Penalties for Part D are based on the National Beneficiary premium, and are 1% of the average premium, multiplied by the number of months that you have not been covered by “creditable prescription drug coverage”.

The coverage is not usually too expensive. The average Part D premium in Florida costs about $35/mo – a cheap way to protect yourself, against a potential $600/mo prescription drug bill.

Medicare Supplements with a Part D plan in Florida are a great option if you are traveling around the country in your RV or are a snowbird who goes back and forth from state to state. It is also a good option if you want the peace of mind of having little to no - out of pocket costs. With one of the highest satisfaction rates of any insurance plan in the industry, you can be confident that you will have peace of mind during your retirement years.