What is Medigap insurance, and who needs it?

• Medigap supplemental insurance policies are sold by private insurance companies to fill some of the gaps in medical expenses that Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B don't pay. Someone might be thinking about getting one of these medigap policies for the first time, either at age 65 or later. Or she might already have a policy but is thinking of changing to a different one that she's eligible for. In either case, you should know about some important differences among policies in order to make a good choice.
• Medicare Part A and Part B together pay only about half of all medical expenses for seniors. Medigap insurance policies fill some of these gaps by covering some costs and services that Medicare doesn't.
• A Medicare Part C managed care plan, also called Medicare Advantage, is another way to fill gaps in Medicare payments. If an older adult is enrolled in a Medicare Advantage managed care plan, she does not also need a medigap insurance policy.

Does the government regulate what medigap insurance policies cover? The federal government regulates what medigap insurance policies cover. Only 12 types of policies, known as Plans A through L, are offered. Every policy issued within any one of these 12 plans provides the same coverage as every other policy within that plan, no matter which insurance company issues it. Still, other terms besides coverage -- such as when the policy will begin paying, and how the insurance company goes about raising premiums over the years -- differ from policy to policy.

It's worth spending the time to compare the plans. And once the person you're caring for understands which plan might be best, decisions about those other terms require careful attention to the policy's fine print.