Why doesn't Medicare cover dental, hearing, and eyeglasses?
Routine dental care, hearing aids and eyeglasses are statutorily excluded from Original Medicare. The narrow exceptions, and how to cover the gap.
What we do
Medicare Supplement Plans
Original Medicare covers only 80% of your Part B expenses. The other 20% has no cap — and it is the part that can do real financial damage if a serious illness arrives. A Medicare Supplement, or Medigap plan, pays that share for you.
What a Medicare Supplement actually does
Medicare Supplement plans help pay your share of Medicare expenses — deductibles, copays and co-insurance. They are sold in all 50 states and are popular with people who want little to no out-of-pocket cost at the point of care.
Medigap is the most predictable back-end coverage you can buy. Because the plans are standardized, you know exactly what is covered for every inpatient or outpatient procedure based on the plan letter you choose.
Why people choose Medigap over an Advantage plan
Freedom to choose your own doctors and hospitals, with no network to check and no referrals required to see a specialist. Coverage travels with you anywhere in the United States.
Guaranteed renewability means the insurance company can never drop you or change your coverage because of a health condition. And there is no claims paperwork — supplement carriers have crossover filing with Medicare, so when your provider files, your supplement is billed automatically.
Plans A through N — same letter, same benefits
Each Medicare Supplement plan carries a letter, A through N, and each letter provides a defined set of benefits. Every carrier selling a given letter must offer the same standardized coverage: Plan N at one carrier has the same benefits as Plan N at any other. What differs is the premium, the rate-increase history, and the service.
Plan F covers all of the gaps and leaves you with nothing out of pocket, but it is no longer sold to people newly eligible for Medicare after 2020 under MACRA. Plans G and N ask you to cover a few items yourself in exchange for a lower monthly premium. Which one fits depends on your health, your budget and your tolerance for surprise bills.
The timing that catches people out
Your Medigap open enrollment window — the one where no health questions are asked — closes six months after your Part B effective date. Apply after that and you will have to answer medical questions, and you can be turned down.
There is no annual election period for Medicare Supplements. You can drop or change one at any time, subject to underwriting. The fall election period applies to drug plans and Medicare Advantage, not to Medigap.
What you get by using us as your agent of record — at no cost
- A plain-English explanation of your basic Medicare benefits before anything is sold
- Quotes from over 30 companies, side by side
- A free rate-trend history report showing which carrier has had the lowest increases
- Free financial ratings for every carrier we quote
- Annual rate shopping so you keep paying the least amount possible
- Free claims support and help with appeals if Medicare denies a claim
- Annual Part D renewal assistance and a full-time client service team
Related reading
Articles on Medicare Supplement Plans
Is Medicare Part F Going Away?
Under MACRA, Medigap plans that pay the Part B deductible are closed to those newly eligible from 2020. What that means, and what Plans G and N do instead.
Do you know the different parts of Medicare?
Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D explained — what each one covers, what it costs, and what you need to know before you enrol.
Are Medicare Advantage plans being phased out?
Medicare Advantage is not being phased out — but subsidies to the private carriers are shrinking. How Part C works, HMO vs PPO networks, and the trade-offs.
Questions about Medicare Supplement Plans?
Using Rusty von Sternberg as your agent of record costs exactly the same as buying direct — and you get quotes from over 30 carriers, annual rate shopping, and claims help for free.