Word: medigap
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...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...
Second, do your Medigap paperwork now, so that your new policy will take effect Jan. 1. Otherwise you risk having a break in your coverage...
Third, understand that if you entered a Medicare HMO for the first time in the past 12 months, and your old Medigap insurer still offers the policy that you carried, the insurer is required to take you back...
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...