How to Find Supplemental Health Insurance for Aging Parents

Your parents may need your help when they are older and frail.

Many Americans are faced with helping their aging parents and making sure that they're taken care of. Most elderly Americans have Medicare health insurance. What their children don't know is that while Medicare has two parts, A and B, it doesn't cover everything!

Yes, even with Medicare, your parents may still need additional health insurance. Supplemental medical insurance are a more specialized type of insurance. Sometimes they are called Medigap or Medicare supplement insurance.

Instructions

1. If you have friends who have elderly parents, ask what company they have their Medigap health insurance through. Get the name of their insurance representative, too, and call them for a quote.

2. Ask your insurance agent if they provide supplemental health insurance, or a Medicare supplement insurance policy, for the elderly. If your own agent doesn't offer it, they can recommend someone that they trust to help you with this.

3. Contact your state's insurance department. Ask what companies specialize in health insurance for the elderly. Many of these companies sell direct to the consumer and don't use insurance representatives.

4. Check out associations that target the elderly. If your parent is a member of AARP or another organization, see whether or not they offer Medicare supplement insurance.

5. While the costs and medical benefits can vary from one company to another, there are 12 standardized plans that are regulated by both the state and federal governments. These plans range from Plan A through Plan L. As you go up in plan letter, so do the benefits, and costs.

   The basics of each plan are the same -- for example, Plan C provides certain benefits no matter what insurance company you use. This is the same for all of the plans.

6. Their needs, and premiums, may change as they age. Be prepared to get new quotes for their Medigap insurance from time to time.

7. Just like you can get HMO or PPO coverage, many Medigap plans are also HMOs or PPOs. There are even more types of medical programs that can be offered to your parents. These are called Medicare Advantage plans.

Tips & Warnings

• Yes, your parents can change their Medigap insurance company. Make sure that all of their conditions are covered by their new company before switching.

• Know what you're looking at when you compare coverages.

• Read the coverages carefully.

• There's nothing worse than finding out something your mother or father needs isn't covered if your parents should need that treatment down the road.