Medigap Plan L is Similar to Plan K Which is Better?

Now that you are retired, if you had to list one thing that you don't miss about working, what would that be? If you were to answer that question, we would guess that one of the top answers would be attending unnecessary and unproductive meetings. Are we right? Just take a few minutes to think about it. To help out, see if the "following situations sounds familiar to you?

• One person keeps reminding the meeting over and over about a pet peeve.

• The group spins its wheels, covering the same old territory over and over again.

• So much information is being discussed that you are overwhelmed, confused, and ask (or feel like asking), "What are we talking about now? Where are we?"

• Somebody comes in late and you have to start dealing with the topic all over again.

• You flash on an idea, but forget it by the time you have a chance to speak."

Some of your best meetings, may have some similar characteristics to the above but overall the meetings were more productive because the meeting outcomes were more beneficial to you and your team or colleagues.

The same is true when comparing Medigap Plans K and L. Both Plans have similar benefits but Plan L benefits appear to be better. You can look at Plan K benefits in our last post. See Plan L's benefits:

100% Medicare Part A coinsurance and hospital costs, and

75% coverage for the following:

• Medicare Part B coinsurance or copayment

• Blood (first 3 pints)

• Part A hospice care coinsurance and copyament

• Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance

• Part A deductible, and

0% coverage for the following:

• Part B deductible

• Part B excess charge

• Foreign travel emergency (up to plan limits)

As you can see from the highlighted blue section above, Plan L includes a 75% cost sharing feature. See the details and how it works below:

1. Plan L will pay 75% for each approved service listed. You will be responsible for paying the remaining 25%.

2. You will need to satisfy item #1 before you meet your out-of-pocket yearly limit ($3,470, for Plan Year 2023 or $3,530 for Plan Year 2024).

3. You will also need to meet your Part B deductible ($226, for Plan Year 2023 or $240, for Plan Year 2024).

4. Once you meet the requirements in #2 and #3, the Plan will pay 100% of your cost for the a highlighted approved services in the blue section above for the rest of the year.

Since Plan L pays 75% instead of 50% toward the approved services listed above and the out-of-pocket limit is lower, it appears that Plan L is a better Plan. But this is not reflected by the number of participants. Plan L has less enrollees than Plan K. In December 2021, 33,348 persons enrolled in Plan L. In the state of Maryland, there were 1,069 enrollees and in the State of North Carolina, there were 832 enrollees.

We hope this information has been helpful to you. We look forward to discussing Plan M in our next post.

"Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best."

St. Jerome - Christian Priest, confessor, theologian, historian, and translator (c. 342 -347)

Resources:

• Baber, Anne & Waymon, Lynne. 2002. Make Your Contacts Count. American Management Association

• The State of Medicare Supplemental Coverage by AHIP

• 2023 Choosing a Medigap Policy

• BrainyQuotes