Medico Medicare Supplement Plans F, G Plan N Benefits

Medico Insurance was established in the 1930s. It initially offered accident and health insurance, but as it grew, it started offering other types of insurance policies. In the 1960s, before Medicare existed, it started offering health insurance policies to seniors.

Medico Insurance maintains an A- rating with AM Best, indicating they have the financial assets to cover all of their insurance policies in full.

Medico-Medicare Supplement plans were first offered in the mid-1970s, and the company has continued to provide various Medico-Medicare Supplement plans ever since.

Compare Medico-Medicare Supplement Plans

Medigap plans are intended to cover the many gaps and limitations in coverage provided by classic Medicare Part A and Part B. Although these Medicare plans cover most healthcare needs, they do have limitations in coverage and require out-of-pocket payments for Medicare premiums, deductibles, copays, and co-insurance. Medico Medicare Supplement plans are intended to fill in these gaps.

The federal government regulates Medicare Supplement plans, and they are the same regardless of which insurance company offers them. Every plan with the same letter provides the same benefits; thus, Aetna Medigap F plans to provide the same coverage as Medico Medicare Supplement plans. This level of standardization can be confusing to seniors: if all of the plans are the same, how do you decide which insurance company to enroll with for Medigap coverage? Why choose one of the Medico Medicare Supplement plans?

While the plans are the same, there are differences among insurance companies. Some factors to consider when choosing an insurance company for Medicare Supplement insurance:

• Customer service
• Testimonials, comments, and reviews from seniors who have enrolled in Medico Medicare Supplement plans
• How the company sets its Medicare premiums
• Possible Medicare premium discounts

How is Medico Insurance Company Customer Service?

An unresponsive insurance company that isn’t willing or able to patiently and happily answer questions about Medicare and explain its Medicare policies can be infuriating.

Medico has long been recognized as being very responsive to its customers’ needs, changing and adapting to ensure everyone enrolled in one of its Medico Medicare Supplement plans is satisfied. The company maintains an environment of integrity and has a policy that all of its employees take ownership of their work and take pride in satisfying their customers. In addition to being devoted to its Medicare customers, Medico maintains an excellent working environment for its employees, helping them to achieve a work-life balance while also meeting their career goals.

Medico-Medicare Supplement Plan Rates

Insurance companies can set their Medigap premiums using three different methods:

• Community-rated
• Issue-age-rated
• Attained-age-rated

Community-rated refers to a method that applies the same premium to everyone living within a particular community. Issue-age-rated refers to a method that takes your age when you enrolled in the insurance plan into account when setting the premium. Attained-age-rated premiums gradually increase as you get older.

Medico-Medicare Supplement plans purchased in different states may use different methods of setting the premium, so it is important to ask your insurance agent about this before enrolling in one of the Medico Medicare Supplement plans. If you are enrolling in one of the Medico Medicare Supplement plans at age 65, in general, issue-age-rated is the method most beneficial to seniors followed by community-rated.

Do Medico Medicare Supplement Plans Have Discounts?

Medico offers several different premium discounts to customers who enroll in Medico Medicare Supplement plans:

• A household discount, if both spouses enroll in one of the Medico Medicare Supplement plans
• A discount if another adult lives in the house, even if that person doesn’t enroll in one of the Medico Medicare Supplement plans
• A discount for paying the premium through automatic bank withdrawals
• A discount for not using tobacco products

Medico Medicare Plan F Benefits

Medicare Supplement Plan F has always been the most popular Medigap plan available due to its extensive coverage. Unfortunately, starting in 2020, individuals who are newly enrolling in Medicare cannot enroll in Plan F. Individuals who enrolled in Medicare before 2020 can keep Plan F.

Plan F covers:

• Part A coinsurance
• Part B coinsurance and copays
• Part A deductible
• Part B deductible
• Part A hospice care coinsurance and copays
• Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance
• An additional 365 days of hospital costs after Medicare Part A benefits are used up
• The first three pints of blood needed per year
• Medicare Part B excess charges
• 80% of foreign travel emergency care costs

Plan F comes in the regular version and in a high-deductible version. In the high-deductible version, Plan F benefits only kick in after a deductible is met each year, paid out-of-pocket. In 2020, this deductible is $2,340. The monthly premium for the high-deductible plan is much lower than the regular plan, and seniors who are generally in good health and require little healthcare may prefer the lower premium.

However, if a senior develops a chronic health condition or suffers from a series of acute health conditions, the Medicare healthcare deductibles can add up and may have a devastating financial impact over time.

Medico Medicare Plan G Benefits

Plan G is a new plan, implemented for the first time in 2020. It is intended to take the place of Plan F. Plan G is identical to Plan F except unlike Plan F, it does not cover the Medicare Part B deductible. In 2020, the yearly Part B deductible is $198, and this will need to be paid out-of-pocket every year for healthcare before any of the Medicare benefits become available.

Medico Medicare Plan N Benefits

Plan N and Plan G are very similar in coverage. One difference is that Plan N doesn’t cover all of the Part B copayments, and Plan N beneficiaries will need to pay out-of-pocket $20 for doctor’s office visits and $50 for visits to the emergency room that don’t lead to hospital admission for Medicare-covered healthcare.

The other key difference is that Plan N does not cover Part B excess charges. Most doctors agree to accept the payments Medicare provides for various services; doctors who have done so are said to have “accepted assignment.” If doctors choose not to accept assignment, Medicare allows them to charge up to 15% more than the fee reimbursed by Medicare, and the patient is expected to pay this excess charge.

Although this may not be a problem for most Medicare beneficiaries, for seniors who regularly receive healthcare from specialists, it is essential to ask if they have accepted an assignment before enrolling in Plan N. Those excess charges can add up to a hefty out-of-pocket fee.

Medico-Medicare Supplement Sample Rates

Seniors may be mystified by the maze of fees, premiums, and deductibles that using Medicare involves. Here is a sample of what someone who makes less than $87,000 a year and enrolls in Medicare and a Medigap plan might be paying in 2020:

• Medicare Part B monthly premium $144
• Medicare Part B yearly deductible $198
• Medicare Part D monthly premium $32.74
• Medicare Part D yearly deductible $435
• Medicare Part D copay for a generic medication $3.60
• Medicare Part D copay for a non-generic medication $8.95
• Plan G monthly premium $300
• Plan N monthly premium $200
• Plan N copay for doctor visits $20
• Plan G high-deductible monthly premium $67
• Plan G high-deductible yearly deductible $2340

It needs to be kept in mind that Medigap premiums vary by your zip code, what insurance company you enroll in, what method they use to set the premium, whether they offer premium discounts, and possibly your current age. Ask for quotes before enrolling in one of the Medico Medicare Supplement plans.

In this example, if our senior enrolled in Medicare Part A, Part B, and Part D, and also one of the Medico Medicare Supplement plans, namely Plan G, she would pay out of pocket $476.74 per month in premiums and $198 in yearly deductibles. If she takes medication, she will also pay Part D deductibles and a copay for each prescription per month.

Medico Medicare Supplement Plans Enrollment

When seniors turn 65, they need to decide if they want to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan or enroll in classic Medicare plus one of the Medico Medicare Supplement plans. This decision can be complicated, and it is best to speak to an agent for guidance. Unlike classic Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans are usually run by an HMO that requires a PPO network.

The best time to enroll in one of the Medico Medicare Supplement plans is during your Guaranteed Enrollment Period, which starts in the month when you turn 65 and then extends for six months. During this period, insurance companies are required to enroll you in the Medigap plan of your choice regardless of your health status.

You can sign up for a Medigap plan outside of your open enrollment period, but insurance companies can insist on access to your health records, possibly require a physical, and can deny you coverage or charge you a higher premium based on your health status.

Once you have enrolled in one of the Medico Medicare Supplement plans, as long as you pay your premiums the insurance company cannot cancel any of the Medico Medicare Supplement plans for any reason, including your age and your health status.

*Please note, that we are not a Medico insurance company. This is simply a review.