Mutual of Omaha is one of the private insurance companies that administer Medicare supplement insurance plans. Also known as Medigap, these plans can help cover out-of-pocket expenses left by original Medicare.
Mutual of Omaha offers various Medigap plans in most states, so a person may pick the option that best suits their budget and priorities.
This article discusses Medigap plans in general and which plans Mutual of Omaha offers.
Then, it examines how the plans work with other Medicare programs, as well as their benefits, costs, and the best time to buy them.
Lastly, it lists other companies that sell Medigap.
We may use a few terms in this piece that can be helpful to understand when selecting the best insurance plan:
- Deductible: This is an annual amount that a person must spend out of pocket within a certain time period before an insurer starts to fund their treatments.
- Coinsurance: This is a percentage of a treatment cost that a person will need to self-fund. For Medicare Part B, this comes to 20%.
- Copayment: This is a fixed dollar amount that an insured person pays when receiving certain treatments. For Medicare, this usually applies to prescription drugs.
Original Medicare is comprised of Part A, inpatient hospital insurance, and Part B, outpatient medical insurance. While it covers a large part of healthcare costs, a person must pay deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and sometimes excess charges. Medigap plans help fill this coverage gap because they pay some or all of these expenses.
Medicare currently offers 10 different Medigap plans that vary in benefits. These include Plans A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N.
Each Medigap plan offers standardized benefits. For example, Plan G in one state has the same benefits as Plan G in another state.
The only exceptions to this rule are Medigap policies in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, as these are standardized in a different way.
Once a person buys a Medigap plan, the company guarantees they may renew it every year. In other words, if someone develops additional health problems later, the company selling their plan cannot cancel it.
Mutual of Omaha is a well-known insurance company, as it has existed since 1909. It sells an array of insurance policies, including Medigap.
Of the 10 different Medigap policies, Mutual of Omaha offers seven. These include plans A, C, D, F, G, M, and Plan N. The Plan F policy offered is high-deductible.
The company sells plans in most U.S. states, with plan options in each state ranging from four to seven. A person can use this online tool to check if plans are offered in their area.
Medigap only works with original Medicare. It does not work with Medicare Advantage, the alternative to original Medicare, which provides parts A and B benefits, and often more.
Also, Medigap plans do not work alongside Medicare Part D, which is prescription drug coverage. Medigap plans themselves do not provide coverage for medication.
A person with original Medicare who may need coverage for prescribed drugs may wish to consider buying a Part D plan.
Medigap plans provide considerable benefits.
All of them pay Part A hospitalization coinsurance for an extra 365 days beyond what original Medicare covers.
Some Medigap plans cover 50–75% of Part B coinsurance, Part A hospice care, and the first 3 pints of blood. Other plans cover 100% of these costs.
Certain Medigap plans pay the Part A deductible, Part B deductible, and skilled nursing facility coinsurance.
Other perks of some plans include 80% of foreign travel expenses and a yearly cap on out-of-pocket costs.
Medigap plans have a monthly premium, which is the only out-of-pocket cost.
The premium for every plan varies among the private companies that offer them. As an example, Plan G from Company X may cost more than Plan G from Company Y.
A person with a Medigap plan must also pay their Part B monthly premium. This means they have two Medicare premiums instead of only one.
Some people feel that Medigap plans offer peace of mind because they cover substantially more healthcare costs than original Medicare alone.
As it is impossible for a person to predict what medical care they may need in the future, some individuals buy a Medigap policy to offset large, unexpected medical expenses.
To get lower prices and more choices, the best time to enroll in a Medigap plan is during the 6-month Medigap open enrollment period that begins the month a person turns 65 and enrolls in Part B.
If someone wishes to enroll in a plan after this time, they have no guarantee that a company will sell them one, and the company may also exclude pre-existing health conditions.
Mutual of Omaha is not the only private company that sells Medigap plans. Some of the other options include:
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield
- Aetna
- Cigna
- Anthem
- Continental Life
- United American
- Manhattan Life
- Transamerica
The available plans vary from area to area. A person may use Medicare’s search tool to see the Medigap choices available within their zip code.
Mutual of Omaha Medicare provides Medigap plans, which help pay out-of-pocket costs of original Medicare, such as copays and coinsurance.
Aside from these benefits, some plans cover a large percentage of healthcare expenses that a person may encounter when traveling in a foreign country.
The only out-of-pocket cost of Medigap plans is the monthly premium. Because this varies among the companies that offer them, someone may wish to compare prices before buying.
People with a Medigap plan have two monthly premiums because they also must pay the Part B premium of original Medicare. This means their expected healthcare costs could be a little higher, but due to the additional coverage, their unexpected expenses may be substantially lower.