Original Medicare covers many health care services and supplies, but there are many costs it doesn’t cover. A Medigap policy is health insurance sold by private insurance companies to fill gaps in Original Medicare coverage.

Medigap policies don’t work with any other type of health insurance including:

• Medicare Advantage Plans
• Employer/union group coverage
• Veterans Administration benefits
• TRICARE

Medigap policies help pay your share (coinsurance, copayments, or deductibles) of the costs of Medicare-covered services. Some Medigap policies cover certain costs not covered by Original Medicare.

• See your out-of-pocket costs with Medicare.

Every Medigap policy must follow federal and state laws designed to protect you, and it must be clearly identified as Medicare supplement insurance. Medigap insurance companies can only sell you a standardized Medigap policy identified by letters A through N. Each standardized Medigap policy must offer the same basic benefits, no matter which insurance company sells it. Cost is usually the only difference between Medigap policies sold by different insurance companies