Medicare Supplement Plans in Delaware: Explore Your Options
Medicare Supplement (also called Medigap) plans pair with Original Medicare to give you more comprehensive coverage. The additional coverage reduces your out-of-pocket costs, including copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles. This is helpful because Original Medicare doesn’t cover 20% of costs and doesn’t have a max out-of-pocket amount.
Each Medicare Supplement plan is labeled with a letter from A through N. All of these plans offer a different level of coverage. In Delaware, there are ten types of plans available to beneficiaries. In this article, you’ll learn the difference between each Medigap plan so you can understand your healthcare options.
Key takeaways:
There are ten Medicare Supplement plans that you can choose from in Delaware.
Plans G and N are the most popular plan types among Medicare beneficiaries because they provide the most comprehensive coverage at a good value.
Your plan’s premium will depend on how your insurance prices the policy and personal factors.
What are Medicare Supplement plans?
When you first sign up for Medicare, you need to enroll in Part A and Part B (Original Medicare). This insurance only covers 80% of your medical bill after you meet your Part B deductible, leaving 20% of costs up to you.
For example, if you went to a healthcare provider who charged $100 for a doctor visit, Medicare would pay $80 and you’d pay the remaining $20 as a copay (assuming you already met your Part B deductible).
Out-of-pocket costs can add up, especially if you go to the doctor more often for a chronic condition. Medicare Supplement plans can help pay for some of these out-of-pocket costs.
You can choose from ten different types of Medicare Supplement plans. Two plan types (G & F) also have a high-deductible option. Every plan of the same type has the same coverage. However, the monthly premium you pay may vary.
Check out the chart below to compare plans and see what benefits they cover.
**Note that Medigap Plan F and C is not available for anybody that turns 65 after January 1, 2020.
How much are Medicare Supplement plans in Delaware?
Here’s a price-range breakdown of each Medicare Supplement plan in Delaware for 2024:
Medigap Plan A: $0-$4,187/mo
Medigap Plan B: $116-$3,178/mo
Medigap Plan C: $160-$3,726/mo
Medigap Plan D: $112-$3,235/mo
Medigap Plan F: $0-$4,939/mo
Medigap Plan F-high deductible: $0-$2,247/mo
Medigap Plan G: $0-$3,909/mo
Medigap Plan G-high deductible: $0-$2,371/mo
Medigap Plan K: $53-$2,310/mo
Medigap Plan L: $82-$2,779/mo
Medigap Plan: M: $122-$1,548/mo
Medigap Plan N: $0-$3,201/mo
You’ll notice that these premiums have wide ranges. The specific price of your plan depends on your insurance provider’s pricing and personal factors such as where you live and whether or not you smoke. We’ll explain how insurance companies price Medicare Supplement plans later on.
What is the best Medicare Supplement plan in Delaware?
While there is no one “best” Medicare Supplement plan for everyone, the most popular Medigap plans among Medicare beneficiaries are Medigap Plan G and Medigap Plan N. These plans provide the most coverage at a great price!
The first step in finding the best Medicare Supplement plan in Delaware is to assess your healthcare and financial situation. A Medigap plan that meets your needs may be different from the most popular plan in the state.
How do insurance companies price Medicare Supplement plans?
Your premiums for Medicare Supplement plan can vary based on the following factors:
Your age
Your gender
Your location
Your smoking status
Whether or not the plan has a household discount
The insurance carrier’s plan pricing
If you smoke or live in a place with a higher cost-of-living, you could pay more for a Medigap plan.
Your Medigap insurance can be community-age-rated, issue-age-rated, or attained-age-rated. These are all different pricing structure insurance companies use to determine premiums:
Community-age-rated: Your plan costs the same as everyone on the policy in the same location. Your plan’s price doesn’t increase as you age.
Issue-age-rated: Your plan’s price is determined by the age you are when you first apply for coverage. It can’t increase due to age.
Attained-age-rated: Your plan’s price is based on your current age. With this type of policy, your premiums are low at a younger age and gradually increase as you age.
Keep in mind that any plan’s premium can rise due to external economic factors like inflation. Learn more about Medigap pricing structures in this post.
Signing up for a Medicare Supplement plan in Delaware
The best time to enroll in a Medicare Supplement plan is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period. This is a window of time that lasts for 6 months after your Medicare Part B begins. This ensures that you don’t have to go through a Medicare Supplement insurance underwriting where providers can deny you coverage or hike up your premiums.
Because Plans N and G provide the most coverage at a cost-effective price, they’re the plans we recommend most often. That being said, it’s useful to talk to a Chapter Medicare Advisor about every option available to you so you can make the most informed choice. We can also walk you through plan premiums, price structures, and insurance carriers so you have the best Medicare Supplement plan in Delaware for you. Get started with us by calling us at (855) 900-2427 or scheduling a consultation ahead of time.