What Rights Do I Have With A Medicare Supplement Plan?
When a person signs the contract that gives him a Medicare supplement plan that contract gives him certain rights spelled out in the contract. A patient also has certain rights under federal regulation. Oddly enough, the new health care law did not increase these protections or even touch the Medicare supplemental plan rules. The most important right a person has is the right to coverage under a Medicare supplement plan if he desires one. A person also has a legal right to the correct coverage from the policy that he buys. The policies do not give him much broader rights than the average health insurance policy does.
What Does A Guaranteed Coverage Right Mean?
The phrase does not require a complicated explanation. If a Medicare recipient applies for Medicare coverage and can pay for the policies he qualifies for, the insurance company cannot turn him down under normal circumstances. Lying on the detailed medical history that these companies require a perspective customer to fill out, he can get dropped. Non-payment can also cause a person to get dropped. If he gets dropped by an insurance company, he enters into a guaranteed issue period.
What If the Medicare Supplement Plan Rights Get Violated?
If the rights are spelled out in the contract, it turns out to be a legal issue. Insurance companies are careful to spell out exactly what the policies will and will not cover when a person signs a policy. Most Medicare recipients will not understand the legalese in most of these contracts. If a policy violates the larger laws governing the policy, it may take the intervention of a lawyer to get the problem solved. Insurance companies cannot lower the coverage the federal government forces them to issue under any Medicare supplement plan a company offers.
Related posts:
- What Are Guaranteed Issue Rights For Medicare Supplements?
- When Do I Have Guaranteed Issue Rights For Medigap?
- What Happens To My Medicare Supplement Plan If I Move?
- Am I Eligible for Medicare Supplement Plan D?
- What Are My Medigap Rights?