Word: medigap
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...true that AARP has seen a windfall, becoming the nation's largest Medigap insurer (providing drug coverage in circumstances that Medicare doesn't cover). In 2004 AARP earned $197 million in insurance-related royalties and an additional $23 million from investment insurance premiums, in both cases mostly from Medigap...
...severely limited in its coverage of nonhospice, nonacute chronic care. While hospice-care coverage is thorough, it requires that two doctors declare that the patient has six months or less to live, which discourages many doctors and patients. Even if you're covered by Medicare, consider buying Medigap policies, or private supplemental insurance, to cover what Medicare does not. And if you qualify for Medicaid, the federal and state program for low-income people, you may be eligible for better long-term coverage than Medicare patients...
...problem for many seniors. Medicare doesn't cover prescription drugs unless they are associated with a hospital stay. True, about two-thirds of the 39 million Medicare-covered seniors have some kind of prescription-drug insurance through either their former employer or one of the many so-called Medigap insurance plans. But these plans are often expensive and require high co-payments, so even those with some drug insurance coverage fret over their costs...
...continue. As seniors become more dependent on these remedies, they are also subjecting themselves to the increasing cost of the medicines. While only a third of Medicare recipients are completely without drug coverage of any kind, many of those who buy supplemental insurance through former employers, Medicaid, HMOs or Medigap must still pay a stiff part of their drug costs...
Which HMO or Medigap policy should you choose? The most comprehensive ranking of Medicare HMOs and Medigap policies I've seen was in the September issue of Consumer Reports (a copy is available for $3 from Consumers Union Reprints, 101 Truman Avenue, Yonkers, N.Y. 10703-1057). Or for $49, you can get a customized report from Weiss Ratings (800-289-9222) on the Medigap and HMO options in your area. The reports also include an evaluation of the plans' financial health and therefore their ability to make good on their promises...