The major differences between Medigap plans, called Core and Medigap Supplement-1 in Massachusetts and a choice from about six different plans in most other states (left hand side of flow chart), is the monthly premium and how much or how little they cover Medicare co-pays. Roughly, the higher the premium the more they cover but choosing the one with the higher premium is not always the best choice especially in a state like Massachusetts with continuous, open Medigap enrollment.
So that's your next decision point. Do you want to try to save $1200 or more a year by choosing the less expensive form of Medigap insurance. In making that decision, you have to estimate if you think you will go into the hospital during any given year. Because if you do get hospitalized, with cheaper Medigap plans it will cost you -- I bet you guessed already -- about $1200. You'll be back to even. But if you are not hospitalized during the year, you paid $1200 more than you had to. So that's your bet.
Naturally, it's not totally that simple. This is the government after all. If you live in a state with continuous open Medigap enrollment you can simply upgrade to the more expensive Medigap plan and never be any worse off than you would have been had you paid top dollar for the elite Medigap plan all year long. But in other states you cannot move from and to Medigap so easily. So make sure you know the rules in your state.
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