Medicare Supplement Plan M offers the same benefits as Plan D, but the difference is that you will pay half of the deductible for Medicare Part A, whereas Plan D pays the full amount. In return for paying half the deductible amount, you will have a lower monthly premium.
Coverage for Plan M
Plan M covers the following benefits:
- Coinsurance payments for Medicare Part A
- Copayment or coinsurance expenses for Medicare Part B
- First three pints of blood used in a medical procedure
- Hospice care coinsurance expenses or copayments for Part A
- Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance
- Half of Part A deductible
- 80% of foreign travel emergency expenses but only up to plan limits
The Part A deductible for 2020 is set to $1,408. With Plan M, you’ll only be paying $704 of that amount.
What is not covered by Plan M?
Like the rest of the supplement plans, excluding Plans C and F, Plan M does not cover Medicare Part B deductible or excess charges. These are costs that will need to be covered by you. However, because of your agreement to pay these costs and half of your Part A deductible, you’ll receive a lower premium payment. This is known as cost-sharing.
Plan M also does not offer a maximum out-of-pocket limit. When a plan has this limit, you are limited to how much you can spend on out-of-pocket costs. When you reach the limit, your plan will start paying 100% of the covered services it offers for the remainder of the calendar year. Since Plan M does not provide this, you will have to pay the out-of-pocket costs.
