The Medicare policy is always changing, but next year users may be faced with a drastic change. Medicare Plan F could entirely disappear, leaving its users without any medical or health insurance coverage. The group that will be affected most by this change are seniors. If Plan F gets canceled, seniors will have fewer choices when it comes to insurance policies and have to pay higher prices for lower levels of coverage.
Millions of seniors around the country will be left without insurance coverage if Plan F is canceled in 2020.
What Is Plan F?
Medicare or Medigap Plan F is designed to fill gaps in Medicare coverage. Medicare Plan F is particularly helpful in covering the healthcare benefits of seniors. eHealth Medicare states that Plan F provides the most comprehensive benefits out of all the insurance plans available.[1]
Here are just some of the benefits:
– Choose any doctor – from over 880,000 physicians in the United States
– No referral required! Medigap plans allow users to see any specialist they prefer whether they have a referral or not. Isn’t that convenient?
– Renewable is 100% assured! Coverage can never be cancelled due to health issues or the number of claims filed.
– Medicare Part B usually leaves users with about 20% to pay. Medicare Plan F covers those expenses.
Despite being the most pricy out of all the Medigap plans, Medicare Plan F is one of the most popular options. According to eHealth Medicare, Plan F is the right option for people who visit the doctor often or need frequent therapy.[2] The government plans to abolish both Medicare Plan F and Plan C, and here’s why.
Why Is Plan F Going Away?
Every once in a while, Congress makes changes to the Medicare supplement plans. Boomer Benefits reports that four other Medicare Plans disappeared between 1990 and 2010.[3] With the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015, Medicare Plan F is getting cut out. This plan, along with Plan C, are being dropped to find additional funds for doctor’s wages. This change to Medicare Plans F and C is Congress’s attempt to motivate doctors to stay in the Medicare program and provide treatment to Medicare users. Boomer Benefits calls this the “doc fix law” as it is aimed at ensuring doctor’s get paid fairly for seeing Medicare patients.[4]
What Should Medicare Users Do Next?
Many people are worried about the disappearance of Plan F, so the right thing to do is to take action today. Adjust the Medicare coverage plan to suit the required needs better.
A study by Boomer Benefits reports on how the changes will affect Medicare users in 2020.[5] Here are their findings:
- Current Plan F subscribers can keep their Medicare plans, and Plan F going away will not change the coverage.
- People who are eligible for Medicare before 2020 could still be able to purchase Plans F and C.
- People who qualify for Medicare after 2020 will not be able to purchase Plan F and will need to use some other health insurance plan.
For current Medicare Plan F users and those who qualify for Medicare during 2019, there will be no significant issues or changes. Only new Medicare users in 2020 will be unable to get Plans F and C. We still advise that anyone interested research the prices of Medicare. Changes that the government makes to healthcare plans can drastically impact their price!
[1]https://www.ehealthmedicare.com/medicare-supplement-articles/medicare-supplement-insurance-plan-f/
[2]https://www.ehealthmedicare.com/medicare-supplement-articles/medicare-supplement-insurance-plan-f/
[3]https://boomerbenefits.com/is-plan-f-going-away/