Texas Medicare insurance should be easy. Get the help and benefits you deserve today.

Texas Medicare Benefits

Texas Medicare insurance should be easy. Get the help and benefits you deserve today.

Can I Buy Texas Medigap Insurance at Any Time?

Medicare supplement insurance, also called Medigap, fills in the gaps where original Medicare comes up short. In many cases, out-of-pocket expenses, like deductibles, copay and coinsurance add up to thousands of dollars or more. You’re sure you want to buy Medigap insurance, but with special enrollment periods and other specific restrictions, you’re not sure when you can buy Texas Medigap insurance. Take a minute to familiarize yourself with a few details and be more prepared when you’re ready to purchase.

Buying Medigap Insurance

It’s great you’ve decided to buy supplemental insurance, it’s likely to save you a lot of money in the end. Before you buy, take a few minutes to understand a few different strategies that will make your experience easier and more convenient. First, you are required to be enrolled in both Part A and Part B of Medicare to be eligible to buy Medigap insurance.

You can buy a Medigap policy from any private insurance company that has a license in the state of Texas. However, do yourself a favor and stay with household names you know and trust for getting dependable coverage. While they all must sell the same policies they are not all the same when it comes to dependability or reliability.  Mutual of Omaha, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, these are the major carriers and the providers you know will deliver your benefits when you need them most.

The best time to buy Medigap insurance is during your Medicare Open Enrollment period. By law, insurance companies must sell you a policy during this period. And while you can buy at other times, this is the only time you cannot be denied coverage.

Open Enrollment Explained

Open Enrollment is the one time, six month period of time when you can buy a Medigap policy without being denied. It lasts for six months and begins on the first day of the month in which you turn 65 and are enrolled in Part B. Remember, you have to be enrolled in Part B of Medicare to purchase Medigap insurance.

While every insurance provider is required to sell you a Medigap policy during Open Enrollment, if you have a pre-existing condition, there may be a waiting period before coverage begins. You only have one Open Enrollment period, but you can use it as many times as you like during this 6 month period. In other words, if you buy a policy and then wish to cancel, you are entitled to purchase another one. You are also entitled to receive an Open Enrollment period even if you wait several years after turning 65 to enroll in Medicare Part B.

What About the Guaranteed Issue Right?

Another time you can buy Medigap insurance is if you have a “guaranteed issue right”. What does this mean and does it apply to you? Generally, if you lose certain types of health care coverage, you are given 63 days after your coverage ends to purchase Medigap insurance. This is called a guaranteed issue right. However, be prepared to provide proof that shows you lost your health care coverage. And for people over 65, the guaranteed issue right only applies to plans A, B, C, F, K and L, meaning you will only have the right at this time to buy one of these six plans.

You can buy Texas Medigap insurance during your Open Enrollment period or if you lose coverage and have a Guaranteed issue right. If you enroll in Part B and decide not to buy a Medigap policy, you only have a six month period of time where insurance companies must sell you a policy. After that, you can still buy, but you are on your own.

 

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