Do you find your medical bills increasing faster than you can keep up with them? That’s how a lot of seniors feel, and they are looking for ways to reduce those costs. That sometimes means signing up for a medical insurance plan, but you have to make sure you are picking the right one. There are tons of different ones out there, and you want to be careful that you don’t overpay for the coverage that you need. We’ll show you some important information about Medicare cost for 2020 and how you can keep your costs low while still getting the medical coverage that you need.

The Cost of Medigap

One of the most well-known Medicare plan types of Medigap, or Medicare Supplements. This plan will work right alongside your Original Medicare coverage plan and provide coverage for expenses that the basic Original Medicare plan does not cover for you. Normally, if you only have Medicare’s basic plan, you have to pay coinsurance and deductibles regularly. That’s not necessary with certain Medicare Supplement plans. These will provide coverage for deductibles, coinsurance, excess charges, blood use and more. They cover a wide range of fairly common out-of-pocket expenses, and they come in 10 different plan types so that you can find one that suits your needs.

Just know that you can only pick from eight of the available Medicare Supplements, if you are a new subscriber. Two of the 10 available plans are only allowed to be purchased if you already have a subscription to them. That would be Plan F and Plan C. These two high coverage plans have been deemed too risky for seniors and are now only available to people who previously signed up for them. Those people can renew their plans, but no one else can get the plan if they are just starting out with Medicare.

The other eight Supplement plans offer some great value, but they increase in price the more coverage they offer. With all Supplement plans, there is a monthly cost known as a premium. This changes from one insurer to another, as each insurance company can set their own prices.

If you get a Supplement plan that covers your Original Medicare deductibles and copayments, then you no longer have to make those regular payments, and you can save money in that regard. Some of the coverage items offered by Supplement plans are better off if they are paid out of pocket, such as the Medicare Part B deductible. This $183 charge is usually cheaper if you pay it on your own rather than pay a monthly premium on a high coverage Supplement plan to have it taken care of.

Medicare Part D Costs

Another kind of medical insurance plan that you can get from private insurers is known as Medicare Part D. This covers many prescription drug costs, and it can save you money on your medications, if you get a Part D plan that applies to you. there are lots of different ones out there, and it seems like every insurance company offers a different version at a different price. You need to carefully compare the coverage and the rates on Part D plans to ensure you are cutting your Medicare cost for 2020 before you sign up for one. If a Part D plan does not cover your prescription drug costs, then you can just search for a different one until you find a suitable plan. Each insurance company that sells this plan has their own version of it.

They all offer Part D as a tiered plan. That means that Part D will cover some of your medications in their entirety. Other drugs it will only cover partially, offering tiers of coverage that extend to a point where there are some drugs that it will only cover a small portion of the cost for you.

Part D can be purchased on its own or found as part of the coverage for many Advantage plans. It is not standard for Advantage plans, so you will have to find an insurance company that is is offering it as part of the package if you want it bundled with your Advantage coverage.

Medicare Advantage Costs

Another Medicare plan that is worth looking into is Medicare Advantage, which also goes by the name Medicare Part C. This plan will cover you for most all of Original Medicare, acting as a replacement for that plan. It won’t cover the hospice expenses, but it covers all the rest, which includes many laboratory tests, doctor’s visits, hospital room stays, blood and more. It also covers you for emergency room visits, ambulance transport and other emergency and urgently needed services.

What we just told you about is only the base coverage, and if you are willing to pay more, then you can be covered for additional healthcare services, such as Medicare Part D or annual checkups for your general wellness, your hearing or for other things. You can also be covered for prescription apparatus, including but not limited to eyewear and hearing aids.

Advantage plans can be as cheap as $0 each month for their premiums, but they can also have quite expensive premiums. You also have to pay deductibles with these plans, and you are still responsible for the Medicare Part B premium when you sign up for Medicare Advantage. It may replace Original Medicare, but it does not cover all costs related to Medicare Part or Part B.

Advantage plans vary in price like all of the plans we covered here do. Those prices are able to change at the whim of the insurers, but the costs will stay the same for you so long as you are signed up for one of their pans. When it comes time to renew, however, you will want to examine your Medicare cost for 2020 or whatever other year you are headed into and see if it makes sense to renew. Sometimes, you are better off changing to a different plan entirely.