Medicare Supplement Plan C

Medicare Supplement Plan C covers the basic set of benefits. These basic benefits include most Medicare Part A and B coinsurance amounts, blood, and additional hospital benefits not covered by Original Medicare. Plan C also covers the Part A Deductible, Part B Deductible, Skilled Nursing Facilities and Foreign Travel Emergency.

Plan C is an excellent Medicare Supplement plan. The only difference between Plan C and Plan F is that Plan F pays for the Part B excess charges, while Plan C does not. However, Plan C is not offered by all insurance companies. Generally speaking, Plan F and Plan C rates are pretty similar.

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), about 6% of Medicare Supplement policy holders are enrolled in Plan C.

Part A Hospital Coinsurance

Days 61-90 of a hospital stay in each Medicare benefit period.
Days 91-150 of a hospital stay. Medicare will only pay for these 60 days once during your lifetime.

Additional Part A Hospital Benefits

An extra 365 days of inpatient hospital care after you use your Original Medicare hospital benefits.

Part B Coinsurance

Pays for the Part B coinsurance. In other words, you pay $0 from day one.

Part A and B Blood Coverage

Pays for the first three pints of blood per calendar year.

Part A Hospice Coinsurance

Pays for outpatient prescriptions drug and inpatient respite care coinsurance.

Part A Deductible

In 2020, the Medicare Part A Deductible is $1,408. It increased $44 from $1,364 in 2019. Medicare Supplement Plan C covers the deductible amount.

Part B Deductible

In 2020, the Medicare Part B Deductible is $198. It increased $13 from $185 in 2019. Medigap Plan C covers the deductible amount. In other words, you will pay $0 for Medicare approved medical services.

Skilled Nursing Facilities

In 2020, the co-payment for skilled nursing is $176/day for days 21-100. Medicare Supplement Plan C covers the co-payment amount.

Foreign Travel Emergency

Pays only for emergency care
Plan C pays after you meet a $250 deductible.
Pays 80% of billed charges for certain medically necessary emergency care outside of the U.S. after you meet a $250 annual deductible. You would be responsible for the other 20%.
Has a $50,000 lifetime maximum benefit.

As of January 1, 2020, Plan C is no longer available to people who become eligible for Medicare A after 1-1-2020. In other words, you can only enroll in Plan C if you became eligible for Medicare prior to January, 2020.

Plan C Enrollment by State

The following data is provided by Ahip.org and it is as of December 31, 2017:

Pennsylvania had 136,790 people enrolled in Plan C. Above all, only Plan F had more enrollees.
New Jersey had 61,290 people enrolled in Plan C. Plans F, G and also N had more enrollees.
Florida had 55,032 people enrolled in Plan C. In short, only Plans F and N had more enrollees.
Ohio had 51,433 people enrolled in Plan C. Plans F, G and also N had more enrollees.
New York had 26,443 enrollees in Plan C. In short, only Plans F and N had more people enroll.
Illinois had 19,979 people enrolled in Medigap Plan C. Plans D, F, G and also N had more enrollees.
Kansas had 16,070 enrollees in Medicare Supplement Plan C. Moreover, only Plans F and G had more enrollees.
Kentucky had 15,634 people enrolled in Plan C. Plans F, G and also N had more enrollees.
Georgia had 14,008 people enrolled in Medigap Plan C. Plans F, G and also N had more enrollees.
Maryland had 14,788 enrolled in Plan C. Plans F, G and also N had more enrollees.