November 22, 2011
Medicare Supplement Plans - Plan A
Covers Many Basic Benefits
Medigap Plan A is one of the Medicare Supplemental Insurance plans available to Medicare beneficiaries. It is a basic plan that covers:
- Medicare Part A co-insurance payments up to an additional 365 days after Original Medicare benefits are exhausted
- Medicare Part B co-payment or co-insurance expenses
- The first three pints of blood used in a medical procedure
- Part A hospice care co-insurance expense or co-payment
- Medicare preventive care Part B co-insurance expense
Medigap Plan A has the fewest individual benefits of the ten standardized Medicare Supplement insurance plans. Among the Medicare out-of-pocket costs not covered is the Part A deductible. In 2012, the Medicare Part A deductible is $1,156. The services you would use Medicare Part A includes inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing facility care, hospice, and certain home health care services. If you expect to use many of these services and want to avoid the deductible, you may want to consider a plan that covers the Part A deductible. Out of the standard Medicare plans, this would be Plans B, C, D, F, G, and N. Plans K, L, and M provide partial coverage for the deductible.
To evaluate Plan A against the benefits of other Medigap plans, use our Medigap plan benefit chart.
