Health Coverage Legislation: How Will it Impact Medicare Supplemental Insurance?
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According to The Examiner, the major change that seniors could see would be higher premiums for Medicare Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage. This is based on the claim that insurers are able to lower premiums for Medicare Advantage because they are being subsidized by taxpayers when they overcharge for Medicare A and B.
But, if Medicare Advantage will cost more, will supplemental insurance be affected? Will it be more useful?
Medicare supplemental insurance - also known as Medigap - is health coverage offered by private companies that works in conjunction with Medicare to supplement its coverage. Supplemental insurance doesn't always offer drug coverage, but it has almost no co-pays.
Since supplemental insurance is offered by insurance companies, it will be impacted by health coverage legislation. But, since it isn't an alternative to Medicare, it isn't going to face the same legislation as Part C.
If Part C premiums will go up based on insurance companies no longer being able to overcharge for Medicare A and B, supplemental insurance could become more popular as a means of getting better coverage to compensate for Medicare gaps.
This means that unless insurance companies are regulated to prevent overcharging, supplemental insurance prices could go up based on demand.
However, if supplemental insurance is offered by the non-profit cooperatives that are part of current health coverage legislation, it could mean that Medigap plans won't see a price change.
Either way, there is talk in congress of NOT raising costs for those who already have Medicare plans of any kind, so those who rely on Part C or on supplemental insurance for now may be in the clear.