Plan G is the new Cadillac plan of Medicare supplements, according to many insurance agents. It is just the best plan available, they say, or maybe this is the best plan to fit your needs. They state that Plan G is just as good as Plan F used to be. With Plan G, you pay only your Part B deductible. And all other medical expenses will be paid after that. The best thing next to Plan F (which is only available nowadays to enrollees who turned 65 before January 1, 2020).
Plan F didn’t require anything other than insurance premium payments (your monthly bill) to start coverage by the insurance company and Medicare. No Part B deductibles, no copayments, and definitely no ridiculous OOPM.OOPM is part of standard insurance plans before 65, yet when going onto Medicare, that terribly high expense is now much less(Medicare supplement plans do not have an OOPM). As Plan F is no longer available, to many people, Plan G just seems to be the next best thing. It is even placed after Plan F on the charts, showing it is of high quality.
Let’s revisit Plan G. Pay their part B deductible to gain all other coverages. This would mean Part A, B, and not D (prescriptions), yet all medical bills. As hospital and doctors’ visits are fully covered after meeting this deductible, patients will only be left with the monthly premium for the insurance. This comes with a higher cost compared to other plans under Medicare, as it has the most comprehensive benefits. Also, many people are on these plans now, with F being only for a certain few, causing claims to be made, and this shoots up the rate of the insurance for this category. Therefore, with higher coverages and more people making claims, the premiums are the highest with these plans. There are other Medicare supplement plans, and I would like to visit one of those plans today. My favorite, Plan N.
Well, geez, you might say, Plan N. I had heard that when we get further into the alphabet of Medicare, the plans just aren’t as good. The coverage is much less, and complicated to determine what might be left over for someone to pay. This is quite true for some of these supplement plans. Plan K and O seem confusing and not very appealing, with 50% coinsurances and other underlying expenses. Upon reviewing the plans about two years ago, I determined that Plan N is quite attractive, and I will explain why today.
Plan N aligns nicely with Plan G. There is the same Part B deductible, and it still has the same rules as other Medicare supplements when it comes to an unlimited network and foreign travel benefits. There’s a monthly premium payment, and the premium for Plan N is quite lower than Plan G.Much lower, as Plan G’s can easily cost up into the $400 range nowadays, while a Plan N might only be $100 a month. The additional costs (what makes Plan N different) consist of $20 copayments to see the doctor and $50 for the emergency room. This is a new introduction to copayments, yet $20 twice a year to see the doctor and maybe one emergency room visit at $50 is much less than the $400 premium monthly for a Plan G insurance plan. The next part is hard to explain to others, and confusing sometimes, and that is the Part B excess charge. Let me define that one area that is not covered under Plan N.
The Part B excess charge is an up to 15% additional fee that can be added to an insurance bill by any doctor who does not accept Medicare. Therefore, when ending up with a doctor who does not accept Medicare, there can be an additional charge. Reality is, supplements are covered when visiting a doctor that does accept Medicare. It is very rare that a doctor does not accept Medicare, and I always advise my clients to never go to a doctor who does not accept Medicare. This seems to only happen, maybe towards the end of someone’s life, when a specific doctor is needed and only available outside of Medicare’s acceptance.
They have proven that this Part B expense is added to medical bills for less than 1% of the time, and maybe at only 5% of the bill total (not 15% – the allotted allowed total). When working with clients nationwide, I have learned that people are concerned about this in some areas, with a low number of doctors available to them. Then, in major cities, especially states where the Part N excess charge is illegal (Ohio, for example), people can take advantage of the cheap Part N premium rate, and barely have less coverage than a Plan G.
This has saved consumers thousands of dollars over an entire retirement of paying these insurance rates, mostly just the Part B deductible. Coverage is very similar to Plan G, with the copays and excess charge being the difference between the two. Low copays, low premium rates, and all other coverages are seamlessly the same as Plan G. What a win! I hope reading this has opened your eyes to the cost savings associated with these Plan N’s and how you can reach out to an agent at any time to apply for a Plan N. No need to wait until open enrollment, Medicare Supplements can be applied for at any time of the year. This might be a nice cost savings for you, and there is no need to wait. Apply today!
