The question of whether Medicare Supplements cover preexisting conditions is one that crosses the mind of every senior who is aging into Medicare.
Certainly, many are lucky that they reach their mid-60s without serious illness.
For those, they may not be that concerned initially about whether their Medicare Supplemental Insurance covers preexisting conditions.
But the fact of the matter is that just about everyone has run into some health problem by the time they reach Medicare age, and they should consider how their pre-existing medical condition will affect their eligibility for Medicare Supplements.
Before you purchase a Medigap policy, it is imperative that you ask detailed questions of the provider about their policies related to preexisting health conditions and what coverage is provided for these issues.
Here's the good news: many Medigap policies offer coverage of pre-existing conditions from day one.
No waiting for a grace period if you have an illness.
Your coverage for these illnesses begins on the first day of your policy.
However, this is not true of every policy.
Some policies require what they call a pre-existing condition waiting period.
This timeframe is generally in the 6-month range, so your Medicare Supplement policy will not cover any condition that already exists until you have been on the policy for 6 months.
You are not completely out of luck, however.
In this case Medicare will cover the illness from day 1; unfortunately, though, your supplement will not kick in until have the waiting period.
In addition, many policies that feature a waiting period will drop this requirement if the person being insured has had prior coverage for the condition on a so-called "prior creditable" policy (some call this a "prior credible policy").
That means that if you have had Medicare Part A, a major medical insurance policy, or a group plan, you will be covered regardless of the issues you already have.
Whether you have had prior creditable coverage is a major factor in when you will be eligible to be covered in your supplement plan.
While six months is generally the rule of thumb to get full coverage, many plans will give you credit for the number of months you have had coverage, even if you have not had a full six months of coverage.
In other words, if a plan has a six month waiting period, and you have had 4 months of prior coverage for a preexisting condition, your waiting period will only be 2 months.
Here is a full list of what policies are considered to be creditable coverage: Creditable coverage is any previous health coverage you have that can reduce the time you have to wait before your pre-existing health conditions will be covered by a policy you buy during your Medigap open enrollment period.
Your previous health coverage could have been any of the following:
Certainly, many are lucky that they reach their mid-60s without serious illness.
For those, they may not be that concerned initially about whether their Medicare Supplemental Insurance covers preexisting conditions.
But the fact of the matter is that just about everyone has run into some health problem by the time they reach Medicare age, and they should consider how their pre-existing medical condition will affect their eligibility for Medicare Supplements.
Before you purchase a Medigap policy, it is imperative that you ask detailed questions of the provider about their policies related to preexisting health conditions and what coverage is provided for these issues.
Here's the good news: many Medigap policies offer coverage of pre-existing conditions from day one.
No waiting for a grace period if you have an illness.
Your coverage for these illnesses begins on the first day of your policy.
However, this is not true of every policy.
Some policies require what they call a pre-existing condition waiting period.
This timeframe is generally in the 6-month range, so your Medicare Supplement policy will not cover any condition that already exists until you have been on the policy for 6 months.
You are not completely out of luck, however.
In this case Medicare will cover the illness from day 1; unfortunately, though, your supplement will not kick in until have the waiting period.
In addition, many policies that feature a waiting period will drop this requirement if the person being insured has had prior coverage for the condition on a so-called "prior creditable" policy (some call this a "prior credible policy").
That means that if you have had Medicare Part A, a major medical insurance policy, or a group plan, you will be covered regardless of the issues you already have.
Whether you have had prior creditable coverage is a major factor in when you will be eligible to be covered in your supplement plan.
While six months is generally the rule of thumb to get full coverage, many plans will give you credit for the number of months you have had coverage, even if you have not had a full six months of coverage.
In other words, if a plan has a six month waiting period, and you have had 4 months of prior coverage for a preexisting condition, your waiting period will only be 2 months.
Here is a full list of what policies are considered to be creditable coverage: Creditable coverage is any previous health coverage you have that can reduce the time you have to wait before your pre-existing health conditions will be covered by a policy you buy during your Medigap open enrollment period.
Your previous health coverage could have been any of the following:
- A group health plan (also called an employer health plan)
- A health insurance policy
- Medicare Part A or Medicare Part B
- Medicaid
- A medical program of the Indian Health Service or tribal organization
- A state health benefits risk pool TRICARE (insurance for military retirees and dependents)
- A Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan
- A public health plan
- A health plan under the Peace Corps Act 71
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