Health Insurance for Seniors

Kyle Besser

Outside of governmental provisions such as Medicare and Medicaid, it can be difficult to secure health insurance for seniors. With the programs offered through Medicare, which are becoming more diverse as time goes on, one might wonder why additional health insurance for seniors would be necessary.

Medicare is a plan that is available to retired people living on Social Security provisions. Their limited income makes it difficult enough to pay for every day expenses without including the added cost of health care. There are many medications that the elderly need which are not covered by Medicare, and most of them are quite expensive. In order to get by, it is necessary to provide additional health insurance for seniors on limited income.

There are programs available to assist in covering the additional cost of expensive medications and doctor visits that are not covered by Medicare. However, many of these programs are quite expensive and become more so as the individual ages. Then it may seem that you must choose between expensive medications or expensive health insurance. However, there is more than one way to secure less expensive health insurance for seniors.

One way is to begin paying for a health insurance program when the individual is still under the age of a senior citizen when the premium will be lower. Then, as the individual ages, the cost of the program will increase, but it will do so to a lesser degree, thus saving a few dollars a month on the premium.

Another is to secure one of the "pennies a day" health insurance for seniors policies that are often advertised. You must be very careful of these, though. Some do not cover much beyond what Medicare already covers and are simply a waste of money. Do your research to find a good plan.

Whatever additional health insurance for seniors you decide to purchase, read the policy carefully before signing on the bottom line. It is very important to know what the policy entails, what is covered, what the premium is and will be in the future and how frequent the increases will be.

With limited income, seniors have a hard enough time scraping by. With the threat of Social Security running out in the near future, it may be even tougher to make ends meet. Choosing the right supplemental insurance policy is essential to keeping costs of both health insurance and medical needs affordable.