BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF ILLINOIS
MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT PLANS
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois provides outstanding health benefits to Illinois residents including Medicare Supplement insurance plans for individuals over age 65 or those that are eligible for Medicare.

Why Does Your Client Need Medicare Supplement Insurance?
Medicare is a federal program to help older Americans and some disabled Americans pay for the high cost of health care. However, Medicare was never intended to cover all of their health care costs. So even if your client may be covered by Medicare, they are still responsible for a large portion of their health care costs.

What Medicare Does Not Cover
Medicare does not cover all health care costs. Medicare coverage consists of Part A (which covers hospital and skilled nursing facility care), and Part B (which covers doctor bills and other medical expenses).

Even with Medicare Part A and Part B coverage, your client may be responsible for some out-of-pocket expenses including:

• Part A hospital deductible
• Copayments for hospital stays over 60 days
• Care in a skilled nursing facility after 20 days
• Part B deductible
• Twenty percent coinsurance for doctor bills and other medical expenses

Without Medicare Supplement insurance, your client’s out-of-pocket costs could add up to more than $51,700 this year alone.

Supplementing Medicare
Private insurers offer Medicare Supplement insurance to fill in the gaps for hospital and medical expenses Medicare does not pay. By law, Medicare Supplement insurance is standardized into twelve plans (Plans A through L). That means Plan F from one company must include the same benefits as plan F from another company. While the benefits must be the same, each company’s rates, reputation, membership features and quality of service can vary.

Determine Your Client’s Eligibility

• Age 65 or Older
  As long as your client is an Illinois resident age 65 or older and has Medicare Parts A and B, their acceptance is guaranteed.
• Under Age 65
  If your client is an Illinois resident, under age 65, has Medicare Parts A and B and applies for a Medicare supplement plan within the six (6) months following their enrollment for Medicare Part B, their acceptance is guaranteed.

Why options does Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois provide for Medicare Supplement Insurance?
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois offers two options for Medicare Supplement coverage - Standard and Med-Select plans. There are two key differences between them.

First, with Med-Select, to receive benefits for the Part A deductible, your client must use participating Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Med-Select hospitals (except in cases of emergency admission). If your client does NOT use a Med-Select hospital, he or she must pay the Part A deductible. The second difference is price. With Med-Select, your client's premiums will be even lower than our already competitive Standard rates.

Product Benefit Highlights For Plans C, D, E, AND F

• Part A Hospital Deductible Coverage*
• Hospital Copayment Coverage
• Skilled Nursing Facility Coverage
• Coverage for Physician Fees and Other Medical Expenses
• Coverage for Foreign Travel Emergencies

Individual Plan Benefit Hightlights

• Plan C: Coverage for Part B Deductible
• Plan D: Coverage for At-Home Recovery After a Hospital Stay
• Plan E: Coverage for Preventive Care
• Plan F: Coverage for Part B Deductible and Excess Charges Above Medicare-Approved Amounts

Product Features

• No Claim Forms in Most Cases
• Membership Card Recognition Guaranteed Nationwide
• No Waiting Period for Pre-Existing Conditions - Immediate Coverage
• Coverage for All Medicare-Approved Services
• Protection to Keep Pace with Medicare Cost Increases
• Choice of Physicians and Hospitals*
• Savings of up to 20% or More on Dental, Vision, Hearing, Chiropractic Care, and Mail-Order Vitamins Plus a Pharmacy Program with Members First®´
• Free Subscription to LifeTimes®´Newspaper
• Billing Options - E-Z Blue Payment OptionSM for Monthly Pre-Authorized, Automatic Withdrawals or Pay by Check Every Two Months.

*Med-Select Plans require that your client use Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois participating Med-Select hospitals for non-emergency admissions to receive coverage for the Medicare Part A deductible.