If you are having an original Medicare policy then you may notice that there are a lot of things that and a number of costs that your original Medicare policy does not cover. Which means that there always remains a gap between the policy coverage and the total bill to be paid. And keeping this thing in mind the Medigap policies or the Medicare Supplement Plans were launched in the market. Now the question may come what is the function of the Medicare Supplement Plans. In a nutshell it can be said that the Medicare Supplement Plans helps the original Medicare policyholders to pay off the medical bill that is left aside by the original Medicare policies. It bridges the gap between the policy coverage of the original Medicare plan and the total bill payable therefore it is also known as the Medigap policy.

Now the Medigap policies are mostly under the administration of the private insurance companies the government have not much of hold on them. But the insurance companies are also allowed to sell only 12 standardized Medigap plans ranging from A through L. And according to the law, whatever company may sell the Medigap insurance the policies under the same letter cover should provide the same benefits. This means that if you buy a Medigap insurance under plan C, the company you are purchasing it is bound to provide the same benefits and coverage as provided by the other companies. But the amount of policy premium may differ from company to company. Each policy under the different letter covers has a different set of benefits. As for example starting from 2006, the Medigap Plans H, I, J, cannot be sold with prescription-drug benefit, although people who already had those policies prior to the date can keep them.

It is however, advised that the person going to purchase a Medigap plan should study the offer documents of all the Medigap plans before making a decision. All the twelve Medigap policies cover the basic benefits, but each one has some additional benefits along with them. In brief it can be said that the Plan A is the most basic plan. But the Plans B-L offers all the benefits of Plan A and along with that they provide some extra coverage. The Plans K-L offers the benefits similar to Plans A-J, but the difference is the cost-sharing for the basic benefits which differs at different levels.

But along with these facilities it should be remembered that there are some limitations of the Medigap plans. As for example, none of the standard Medigap plans covers the following points:

1. Long term care to help you bathe, dress, eat, or use of bathroom

2. Vision or dental care

3. Hearing aids

4. Prescription drugs

Besides these there are some extra benefits that are offered by Medigap policies. And it is seen that people are willing to pay more for the benefits offered by Plans B through J. The Plans F and J also provide a high-deductible option. In these plans you have to pay lower premium rates but the fact is that you need to pay off more amount of money from your pocket before these policies begins to pay the benefits.