Medicare Supplement Plan K is one of the ten supplemental plans that are available for Medicare enrollees, sold by private insurance companies. This plan helps you cover the gaps that Original Medicare doesn’t pay for at a lower cost. However, this plan doesn’t provide Medicare enrollees with the most benefits in comparison to the other more comprehensive plans on the market but it can be a good choice for those beneficiaries who don’t have a problem with additional pocket expenses, like coinsurance or copayments.
Medicare Supplement Plan K coverage
Medicare Supplement Plan K helps you to reduce your costs because Part A and B don’t cover those costs in full. Benefits that this insurance plan offers are the following:
- 100% Medicare Part A coinsurance hospital costs for 365 additional days
- 50% of Medicare Part B coinsurance or copayment
- 50% of the first three pints of blood every year
- 50% of Part A hospice care coinsurance and copayment
- 50% of skilled nursing facility care coinsurance
- 50% of Medicare Part A deductible
- 100% of Medicare Part B preventive care coinsurance
You will be responsible for Part B deductible cost which is 223$ per year as well as Part B excess charges which are not very common. You will not be covered for foreign travel emergencies as well.
Plan K costs
You will be responsible for plan K’s monthly premium cost and that is something you need to pay regardless of do you use your coverage or not. You will need to cover Part B excess charges if there are any as well as Part B deductible which is 223$ in 2022, as already mentioned. If necessary you will need to pay 50% of a Part A deductible which is 1556$ in 2022, as well as 50% of the cost of a skilled nursing facility, hospice care, part B preventive care coinsurance, and the first three blood prints. While you might have a lower premium with this plan you can see that there are higher out-of-pocket costs for large amounts of services.
Plan K also has an out-of-pocket limit which means that once you’ve reached that maximum limit then the plan pays a 100% of your Medicare-approved costs for the rest of the year. In 2022, the maximum out-of-pocket limit is 6620$.
Medigap plan Enrollment
If you are enrolled in Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) then you are eligible to enroll in Supplement Plan K. You can enroll in any Medigap policy if you have Original Medicare. The best time to enroll in Medicare Supplement Plans is during the open 6-month window when you are first eligible for Medicare and enrolled in Part B. During this enrollment period, you don’t need to pass medical underwriting and your application cannot be denied. However, you can enroll any other time during the year but if you missed the first enrollment period you may have to answer a health questionnaire and your application can be denied based on possible pre-existing health conditions.