Maybe you\’re like me but most of the bills I receive these days really frustrate me. You can throw in the phone bill, wireless bill, and any given hotel bill into this category. The nice voice over the phone always quotes you a certain amount of money and a few months into the product or upon receiving the final bill under the hotel door, you\’re unpleasantly surprised at what you see. There\’s the charge you remember from the pleasant and joking voice over the phone when you first signed up (why are best people in sales instead of service or tech support???) but below it is a litany of other charges with pseudo mysterious names and amounts. I understand the reason for this nickle and diming not being part of the original conversation but it doesn\’t make me feel any better about it after getting the news. In fact, if there was trust in companies, a great erosion occurs and threatens to push it over the hill. We don\’t want to operate that way when you\’re comparing Medicare supplement or Medigap insurance plans so let\’s break down all the costs as best as we can. This way, you really know what to expect for Medicare supplement costs beyond just the quote.

First, we need to preface that everyone\’s situation will be a little different since the push for Medicare is towards mean\’s tested cost sharing. This means that you will share more of the costs going forward based on your income. This trend will only continue so we might as well get ready for it. The Medicare landscape may (probably) also change going forward as Congress looks to it as a way to reduce the deficit regardless of what they say publicly. So now that we layed out some of the ground rules, let\’s look at the component costs that you will face with Medicare supplement coverage.

First, there is the actual Medicare supplement insurance plan itself. This generally runs between $100-$200 a month depending on your age, area, and plan selection. Obviously, we can help you nail down this part of the cost with a great deal certainty and we\’re happy to do that (with no cost to you). That\’s not the only component however. There will likely be costs associated with the Traditional Medicare itself. Most likely, you will not have to pay for Part A which is the Hospital or facility part of traditional Medicare if you have been working in the U.S. during your life. Part A is the part you pay all your life through payroll deductions. You will likely have to pay for Part B which is the physician part of traditional Medicare. This is the part that depends on your income and you generally need to make a monthly payment (or deduction from Social Security) for Part B. Contact your Social Security office or better yet, go to the medicare.gov website to create an account and track down your contribution level. You can probably expect between $100-$200 monthly for this as well but it really is specific to your situation.

Next, you will need to look at the cost for Part D which is the part of Medicare that covers prescription drugs, an increasingly important and costly part of health care costs. You can expect to pay around $30-$50 monthly for Part D although there are many different options available.

So those are the fixed, ongoing costs. You have the Medicare Supplement insurance plan at roughly $130 (as an example), Part B at $100 (example), and Part D at $40 for a total monthly rate of $270. You situation will definitely be different and we can help to lock in your Medicare supplement rate. This total $270 may come down with the Part B variant since there are income related triggers that can reduce that amount. With these three pieces in place; Medicare, a Medicare supplement insurance plan, and Part D, you should have very little out of pocket aside from some cost sharing with prescriptions costs which we\’ll cover separate at our site wwww.mymedicaresupplementinsurance.com

There you have it. A look at the various costs you can expect for Medicare and Medigap insurance plan with Part D. At least we\’ve tried to break from the utility bills of the world and provide the detail up front.

Dennis Jarvis is a licensed insurance agent concentrating on medicare supplement insurance.