Guide to Medicare Supplement Insurance

A Medicare supplemental (or medigap) policy is one that covers health care costs that Medicare doesn't, such as copayments, deductibles and coinsurance, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Timing

• The best time to buy a medigap plan is during the medigap open enrollment period. This begins on the first day of a month that a Medicare recipient is 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) and extends for six months. Medigap companies cannot deny coverage based on health during this period.

Plans

• Medigap plans are regulated by state and federal law, and in most states, companies can only sell standardized medigap plans lettered from A to N, with the same benefits for each letter, though cost can differ.

Illegal Practices

• It is illegal for medigap salesmen to try to pressure or mislead anyone into buying a policy, to claim that the policy is part of Medicare or any other government program, to sell a medigap policy to someone who already has one, or who has Medicaid.