at a glance
- Priority Health offers six Medigap plans to Michigan residents.
- Priority Health doesn’t offer plans B, K, L, or M.
- Priority health does offer plans C and F — but only to Medicare enrollees who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.
Priority Health was founded as Lakeshore HMO in 1985. The company has been known as Priority Healthcare since 1992, and it’s one of the largest health insurance companies in Michigan today.
Priority Health offers both Medicare Advantage and Medigap plans to Michigan residents. Medigap plan offerings include:
- Plan A
- Plan C
- Plan D
- Plan F
- Plan G
- Plan N
Priority Health Medicare supplement plans cover a wide range of services to help you get the most out of Medicare parts A and B, together called original Medicare.
Priority Health offers six Medigap plans. Medigap plans are regulated, so each one has to offer the same coverage, no matter whether you buy it from Priority Health or any other company.
Your exact coverage will depend on the Medigap plan you select and includes:
- Part A benefits. Part A is hospital insurance. Medigap plans can cover the Part A deductible, coinsurance costs, and the cost for pints of blood you might need for a procedure or transfusion. They can also help cover your stay in a skilled nursing facility or in hospice.
- Part B benefits. Part B is medical insurance. Medigap plans can help cover Part B coinsurance, copayments, and excess charges. Medigap plans C and F will also cover the Part B deductible, but they’re available only to people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.
- Foreign travel benefits. Original Medicare doesn’t cover your care in foreign countries, but some Medigap plans will pay a portion of emergency care.
You can check out coverage details for each Medigap plan in the table below.
This is the standard for all Medigap plans, so it applies to Priority Health Medigap plans as well. Priority Health doesn’t offer plans B, L, K, or M, so they aren’t included in this table.
| Plan A | Plan C | Plan D | Plan F | Plan G | Plan N | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part B deductible | no | yes | no | yes | no | no |
| Part A deductible | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Part A hospital coinsurance | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Part B coinsurance | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes (but with copays) |
| Hospice care coinsurance and copays | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Part B excess charges | no | no | no | yes | yes | no |
| Foreign travel emergencies | no | yes (80%) | yes (80%) | yes (80%) | yes (80%) | yes (80%) |
| Blood (first 3 pints) | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Priority Health Medigap plan extra benefits
Priority Health plans offer extra benefits on top of the coverage offered by all Medigap plans. Extras offered with all Medigap plans sold by Priority Health include:
- hearing services discounts through TruHearing
- vision services discounts through EyeMed
- emergency travel assistance around the globe through Assist America
- a 12 percent “household discount” on monthly premiums if multiple members of your household buy plans from Priority Health
Priority Health offers standard Medigap plans. Not all plans are available in all areas. Plans from Priority Health include:
- Priority Health Medicare Supplement Plan A. Plan A is great for hospital and hospice coverage.
- Priority Health Medicare Supplement Plan C. One of the most comprehensive plans, Plan C covers the Medicare Part B deductible, skilled nursing facility care, and foreign travel.
- Priority Health Medicare Supplement Plan D. You can get hospital coverage and coverage for foreign travel.
- Priority Health Medicare Supplement Plan F. Like Plan C, Plan F is comprehensive and covers the Part B deductible. Plus, it has additional coverage for Part B excess charges.
- Priority Health Medicare Supplement Plan G. Plan G has coverage for Part B excess charges as well as foreign emergency care.
- Priority Health Medicare Supplement Plan N. You’ll still have copayments for Part B services with Plan N, but they’ll be a lot less than what you’d pay without the plan. You’ll also have coverage for hospital care, foreign travel, and more.
Keep in mind that Plan C and Plan F are available only to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.
If you became eligible for Medicare after this time, you’ll be able to purchase only plans A, D, G, or N from Priority Health.
Your costs will depend on the part of the state you live in and on your individual situation.
Factors that can affect the price you pay for a Medigap plan may include your:
- age
- gender
- smoking status
- overall health
The sample prices listed in the table below are the monthly premiums for a 65-year-old man who doesn’t smoke.
| Grand Rapids, MI | Detroit, MI | Traverse City, MI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priority Health Medicare Supplement Plan A | $97.20 | $91.37 | $93.07 |
| Priority Health Medicare Supplement Plan C | $171.33 | $161.06 | $164.04 |
| Priority Health Medicare Supplement Plan D | $126.13 | $118.56 | $120.76 |
| Priority Health Medicare Supplement Plan F | $179.91 | $169.12 | $172.26 |
| Priority Health Medicare Supplement Plan G | $139.48 | $131.12 | $133.55 |
| Priority Health Medicare Supplement Plan N | $113.60 | $106.79 | $108.77 |
Medigap plans are designed to help you cover the extra costs of using original Medicare. You’ll pay an additional premium when you use Medigap, but you’ll pay a lot less out of pocket when you receive care.
There are 10 total Medigap plans. They’re regulated, which means they’ll have the same coverage no matter where you live or what company you buy them from.
The price will vary, but the coverage will be the same. For example, plans C and F always cover the Part B deductible.
Plans are the same across the country unless you live in:
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
Those three states have their own Medigap plans and regulations. In all other states, the difference will be the companies and the prices. The plans themselves will stay the same.
Medigap works only with original Medicare. You can’t have both Medicare Advantage (Part C) and a Medigap plan.
However, neither original Medicare nor Medigap offer any prescription drug coverage. So, you’ll need Medicare Part D or other prescription insurance as well.
Priory Health offers Medigap plans throughout the state of Michigan. Most of the company’s plans cover the Part A deductible, and all of them cover pints of blood.
Plans also include extras like vision and hearing care discounts, along with a household discount if you and your spouse both have a Priority Health plan.