UPDATED on Jan. 3, 2019. As a result of Medicare Access Act of 2015, starting in 2020 Medicare Supplement plans will no longer be allowed to offer coverage of the Medicare Part B deductible. In particular, highly popular Medicare Supplement Plan F will be discontinued (as well as High-Deductible Plan F).
Medicare Supplement Plans (Medigap Plans) sold by private insurance companies who are licensed in your state. The prime purpose of Medicare Supplement Insurance is to fill the gaps in Part A and Part B of Original Medicare. They provide protection against the future (catastrophic) losses for Original Medicare out-of-pocket expenses such as: deductibles, copayments/ coinsurances, and extra charges.
There are 10 Standardized Medicare Supplement Plans. Two of them, Medigap Plan C and Medigap Plan F, include coverage of Medicare Part B deductible ($185 in 2019). These plans will no longer be available starting year 2020. However, the current Medigap policyholders and new enrollees up to 2020 would be protected.
Medicare Supplement Plan F will be discontinued starting year 2020 – Rationale
The change is an effort to help pay for so-called “doc fix” legislation that overhauls the way Medicare pays doctors and that is expected to cost $200 billion over 10 years. Medicare Part B covers doctor visits and other outpatient care, and Medigap plans C and F offer coverage of the Part B deductible. The reasoning behind making Medicare beneficiaries pay the deductible themselves is that it will cause them to think twice before going to a doctor and perhaps costing the Medicare system unnecessary money.
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