Benefits of Plans F and G
The benefits
associated with Plans F and G include:
• Part A coinsurance and
hospital costs up to an additional 365 days after Medicare benefits are used
up.
• Part A deductible.
• Part B
coinsurance or copayment.
• Part B excess charge, which is a
charge by your provider beyond the Medicare-approved amount.
•
Blood (first three pints).
• Skilled nursing facility care
coinsurance, as well as hospice care coinsurance or copayment.
•
80% of the cost of health care costs incurred while traveling in a foreign country,
up until your plan’s limits.
Who Qualifies for Plans F and
G?
Importantly, Plan F is only available for those who turned 65 or
qualified for Medicare before January 1, 2020. In 2015, Congress passed the Medicare
Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, also called MACRA, that blocked access to Plan
F for those people who became eligible after January 1, 2020.
Although many people sign up for Medicare when they're
first eligible at or around age 65, others may wait. For instance, if you were
working at a place that offered health insurance benefits when you turned 65, you
may have opted to stay on that insurance coverage rather than switching to Medicare.
Once you retire, you may want to start taking advantage of your Medicare benefits.
Plan F vs. Plan G Deductible
The
other major difference to consider when comparing Plans F and G is that F covers the
annual Part B deductible of $226, but Plan G doesn’t, explains Valerie Osborn,
director of Medicare sales at MVP Health Care and based in Albany, New York. That
deductible amount can change from year to year.
“For a long time, Plan F was considered the gold
standard, providing the most comprehensive coverage,” says Bob Rees, vice president
of Medicare member loyalty for eHealth, an online brokerage for Medicare based in
Santa Clara, California. “Plan F is being phased out for new beneficiaries. Plan G
is the closest thing to Plan F that’s currently available to new beneficiaries.”
Costs of Plan F vs. Plan G
Most
people signing up for Medicare won’t have the option to choose between supplement
Plans F versus G because of MACRA. No matter what your plan choices are, you’d be
wise to consider your total annual out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, copays and
premiums. Compare those side by side for any plan you’re considering. There are
online tools on websites, such as eHealth, to help give you a side-by-side
comparison.
To compare costs, make sure you're looking at the
deductible and the monthly premium. For instance, if you qualify for both Plans F
and G, Plan F may seem advantageous at first because you don’t have to pay the $226
deductible for Part B. However, a typical monthly premium with Plan F is $234 a
month for a 65-year-old female who does not use tobacco, says Jennifer Byrd, an
insurance broker specializing in Medicare who’s based in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
Although premiums will vary by your location and other factors, a premium for that
same person would be roughly $192 under Plan G.
Source: https://health.usnews.com/health-news/best-medicare-plans/articles/medicare-supplement-plan-f-vs-plan-g