If you’re enrolled in Medicare, then you have a certain amount of protection, but it doesn’t pay for everything.
But, even with the long list of Medicare benefits, you could still find yourself paying out-of-pocket for items like copayments, deductibles, and / or coinsurance. And, in some cases, these costs can add up so much that it makes getting the health care can be expensive.
There are ways you can get insurance protection from these expenses.
Medicare Supplement insurance, also known as Medigap, is designed for the purpose of filling in the areas where Medicare falls short. These plans are offered by insurance providers who are approved by Medicare to sell them, as versus being sold by Medicare itself.
You have ten different options. Medigap Plan A through N. Just like with any other kind of insurance policy, each one has varying amount of protection.
Plans are regulated. Any company who sells a Plan N is going to offer the
In addition, it is also essential that you review the insurance carrier that you are considering buying your Medigap plan from in order to determine its financial strength and stability. You also want to look at their history of paying claims. There are a lot of companies out there who meet these qualifications, one of them is Health Net Life Insurance.
The History of Health Net Life Insurance Company
Health Net, Inc. is a health care insurance provider. HMOs, POSs, insured PPO and government contracts subsidiaries provide health benefits to approximately 5.9 million individuals in every state, as well as the District of Columbia through group and individual plans, as well as via Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, and Veterans Affairs programs.
The company was initially established in 1977 as Health Net of California. It was started as a non-profit corporation. In 1992, a state of California order permitted the health care company to convert itself from a non-profit to a for-profit entity.
Throughout the years, there were a number of mergers and acquisitions, as well as some divestitures. Today, Health Net, Inc. is now a subsidiary of Centene Corporation. The company’s headquarters are located in St. Louis, Missouri, and in Woodland Hills / Los Angeles, California.
Health Net Life Insurance Company Review
Health Net in inclusive of several divisions and subsidiaries, with the primary one being Health Net Insurance. This arm of Health Net offers health insurance plans for individuals and families, groups and companies, and for Medicare beneficiaries in the states of Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington. In addition, the company also offers health coverage for California State Plans such as Healthy Families and Medi-Cal.
Other divisions of Health Net include:
- Health Net Federal Services, Inc. (HNFS)
- Health Net Dental
- Managed Health Network
The company has earned many awards and accolades over the years, including those for its Health Net Mobile app, which was launched in 2010.
Insurer Ratings and Better Business Bureau (BBB) Grade
The BBB has given Heath Net an A- rating. They use a lot of different factors to calculate the rating. They have a long history of paying policyholder claims and a stable financial foundation. The BBB is one of the leading third-party companies who review insurance companies. When you’re shopping for coverage, you should always check out their BBB rating.
In addition to their BBB rating, they also have a B++ rating (good) from A.M. Best.
Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans Offered by Health Net Life Insurance Company
Health Net sells several Medigap policies. This can help to ensure that individuals get the right plan for them. These include both the basic options (such as Plan A), and larger plans (such as Plan F and G).
The full range of plans from Health Net include:
Let’s get started with the most basic plan, Medigap Plan A:
- Medicare Part A hospital copayment for days 61 through 150, as well as an additional 365 lifetime days once the enrollee’s lifetime reserve day’s end.
- The first three pints of blood needed each year
- Part A hospice copayment and / or coinsurance
- Medicare Part B copayment
Other Medicare Supplement plans must provide the core benefits in Plan A, along with other benefit options. (In some cases, however, the benefits that are offered in certain other Medigap plans will be provided at a percentage of coverage, such as 50% or 80%).
In order to get a more comprehensive array of benefits, Medicare Supplement Plan F may be chosen:
- Medicare Part A hospital copayment for days 61 through 150, as well as an additional 365 lifetime days once the enrollee’s lifetime reserve days end.
- The first three pints of blood needed each year
- Part A hospice copayment and / or coinsurance
- Medicare Part B copayment or coinsurance
- Medicare Part A deductible
- Skilled nursing facility copayment (Days 21 through 100)
- Medicare Part A deductible
- Medicare Part B deductible
- Medicare Part B excess charges
- Foreign Travel Emergency coverage
Due to offering more benefit options, Medicare Supplement Plan F will typically be more expensive in terms of premium in comparison to Plan A or Plan B. However, in order to help cut down on premium costs, while at the same time having this comprehensive set of benefit options, there is also a Plan F high deductible plan available. This plan offers the same set of benefits that are included in the regular Plan F option, however, before the benefits begin to pay out, the insured will first have to meet an annual deductible.
2017 Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans Offered by Health Net
Plan A | Plan C | Plan F | Plan G | Plan K | Plan L | Plan M | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part A coinsurance and hospital costs, up to an additional 365 days after Medicare benefits are used up | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Part B coinsurance or copayment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 50% | 75% | Yes |
Blood - the first 3 pints | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 50% | 75% | Yes |
Part A hospice care coinsurance or copayment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 50% | 75% | Yes |
Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 50% | 75% | Yes |
Part A deductible | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 50% | 75% | 50% |
Part B deductible | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Part B excess charge | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Foreign travel exchange - up to plan limits | No | 80% | 80% | 80% | No | No | 80% |
Out-of-pocket limit** | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | $5,120 | $2,560 | N/A |
**When you’ve met the annual limit for out-of-pocket expenses and Part B deductible, Medigap pays 10% of covered services. Source: Medicare.gov
Health Net members can also take advantage of Health Net’s Wellness Center Healthy Discounts. These include the following:
- Complementary care discounts, including chiropractic, acupuncture and massage therapy
- Discounts on products and services, from vitamins and health club memberships to eye care and hearing aids
Other Products and Services Offered
Health Net also offers Medicare Advantage and Cal MediConnect products. With a Medicare Advantage plan, you will still receive the same benefits that you get with Medicare Parts A and B, along with possible other coverages, such as vision, dental, and / or wellness coverage. In many Medicare Advantage plans, there is also Medicare prescription drug coverage included as well.
Health Net Cal MediConnect Plan (which is a Medicare-Medicaid plan) offers health benefit and services for those who are eligible for both Medicare and Medi-Cal. With Cal MediConnect, enrollees will get care coordination. This means that the individual will work with a Health Net care advisor. This person will help the enrollee in keeping track of all of his or her health care services and providers.
In addition to Medicare related coverage, Health Net offers individual health insurance plans. In order to help ensure that individuals, and families, enroll in the proper plan, the company offers education and video tutorials on its website.
Health Net also offers small group insurance plans which are inspired by creative sustainable solutions that can help keep businesses growing. This is why Health Net created Small Group 2.0, which offers the intersection of perfect fit coverage and price.
Plans that are purchased through Health Net can provide enrollees with coverage that helps to pay for the medical costs not covered by Medicare. In addition, enrollees are allowed to pick any doctor or hospital to receive their care - provided that the professional or facility accepts Medicare. There are also no referrals or authorizations necessary when seeing a medical specialist.
Finding the Best Medigap Insurance
Health Net is only one of the thousands of insurance options out there. Maybe they are an excellent fit for you, maybe they aren’t. If they aren’t the best choice, don’t worry, there are still plenty of quality options.
With so many choices, we hear from a lot of clients who are overwhelmed with the process. They don’t know which plan to choose or which company has the best rates. If this sounds familiar, you should give as a call as soon as possible.
We aren’t your standard agent who is contracted by one single carrier. We are independent of those restrictions. We can bring you a dozen different products all at once. Aside from saving you time, we can also save you money by bringing you the perfect plan.
Sound like an attractive offer? If so, give us a call at 800-376-0824. As soon as you do, you’ll be in touch with one of our licensed agent.