Longo Insurance Agency

A Medicare Supplement Plan (Medigap) is private health insurance that helps supplement Original Medicare. This means it helps pay some of the health care costs that Original Medicare doesn’t cover (like copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles). These are “gaps” in Medicare coverage. Note: Medicare doesn’t pay any of your costs for a Medigap policy. Medigap insurance companies in most states 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. As you shop for a Medigap policy, keep in mind that each Insurance Companies products are identical, so they are competing on service, reliabilty and Price.

A Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO) is another way to get your Medicare coverage. Medicare Advantage Plans, sometimes called “Part C” or “MA Plans,” are offered by Medicare-approved private companies that must follow rules set by Medicare. If you join a Medicare Advantage Plan, you’ll still have Medicare but you’ll get your Medicare Part A  Hospital Insurance) and Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) coverage from the Medicare Advantage Plan, not Original Medicare.  You’ll generally get your services from a plan’s network of providers. Remember, in most cases, you must use the card from your Medicare Advantage Plan to get your Medicare-covered services. What are the different types of Medicare Advantage Plans? 1  Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans. 2 Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans. 3 Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) plans. 4 Special Needs Plans (SNPs). 5 HMO Point-of-Service (HMOPOS) plans—These are HMO plans that may allow you to get some services out-of-network for a higher copayment or coinsurance.

Things to consider. The payments provided by the annuity can be distributed monthly, quarterly, semiannually or annually. Payment amounts are based on a number of factors, including the amount of the annuity consideration, the age at which the annuitant begins receiving payments, the annuitant’s life expectancy, the annuity’s anticipated investment returns and whether the annuity is fixed or variable. The general labels assigned to these are “M & E Risk Charges” – Mortality and Expenses within the contract. These fees and costs, which may include the commission for sale, vary greatly from product to product and company to company. Remember, annuities are insurance products so there is internal contract charge made by the insurance company for the death benefit options and insurance provisions within the contract. Administrative expenses charged by the insurance company to the annuity contract pay the fees of maintaining the record keeping functions, other expenses and, in most cases, paying the broker or agent commission. In addition to these mandatory internal fees and costs, there may also be optional benefits which may be purchased for extra charges. Some of these extra options include lifetime benefits or withdrawals, nursing home or long term care benefits and automatic “lock-in” of contract values at certain policy dates. Let us help you find one with a great rate and the lowest cost and “Lock Ins”.