Medical Insurance and Billing | Medigap Insurance for Medical Billers

As an instructor teaching medical insurance and billing students, I am frequently asked what is Medigap insurance. This is actually a very good question for students to ask.  Medigap is also known as Medicare Supplementary Insurance.  It is offered by commercial carriers to Medicare recipients. It is designed to cover the copayments, deductibles, coinsurance, and other things that Medicare does not cover.  Basically, Medigap insurance helps to alleviate a lot of the out-of-pocket expenses that Medicare patients may incur.

There are about 12 different types of Medigap policies all covering different types of conditions and with different sets of benefits and amounts.  Medicare SELECT is a Medigap policy requiring people to use a network of providers and hospitals.  Medicare SELECT may have lower premiums because of the nature of creating preferred network providers. Usually, Medicare SELECT won’t pay for non-emergency services.

Medical Insurance and Billing | Medigap Insurance for Medical Billers

Some Medicare recipients feel they cannot afford to pay for a Medigap policy. However,  it is good to keep in mind that we age the likelihood of more serious and expensive illnesses can occur.

As a new medical biller or medical billing student, it is up to you to make informed choices and decisions on how you feel on matters affecting medical billing as a business and career. Do you feel that Medigap policies are good thing and save the elderly money in the long run? Do you feel that they are unnecessary and just another way to drain the resources of those on Medicare?

By: Dawn Moreno, PhD, CBCS, CMAA, MTC. Lives in the beautiful Southwest United States and has been an instructor for medical coding/billing for the past 7 years. Interested in quality medical billing training? Click here and be a Certified Professional Biller

Get more Related details about Medical Insurance and Billing

Insurance Cards and Medical Billing

AAPC – The Future of Medical Billers and Coders