Many of those who have Medicare are finding that the healthcare program really doesn’t cover the whole breadth of healthcare costs, which why there is such a thing as Medicare supplement insurance or what people call Medigap. Apart from shouldering the costs that the original Medicare program does not cover, Medigap cover some of the costs that the original Medicare program covers.

If you have the original Medicare program, you can always supplement your policy with a Medigap plan. There are many private insurance companies that offer them like the AARP or American Association of Retired Persons.

There are around seven million people who have the AARP brand of health insurance, including Part D coverage and Medigap. Such is the popularity of AARP insurance, the organization earns so much from selling insurance to its members than by collecting membership dues.

It is no surprising that AARP should involve itself in selling insurance. The group did influence congress in passing the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, which created Medicare Part D. 

AARP is set to become the largest provider of health insurance products for Medicare recipients. In 2008, it’s set to offer new products including HMO for recipients of Medicare (partnered with UnitedHealth Group), PPO, and a hybrid insurance product and health savings account for people who are 50 and over (partnered with Aetna). With the increase in health insurance products, AARP’s customer base is expected to increase to 14 million in 2014.

Make no mistake about it – the AARP is not an insurance provider. It does not pay for insurance claims, even if you try squeeze it out of them. Rather, it is a brand name in insurance, and it is paid like an insurance agent with commissions.

About Medicare Part D

The Medicare program began offering Part D coverage beginning in 2006. D imminently stands for “drugs” although some peeps like to call it D for “disaster” because the low number of enrollees relative to the number of people who are eligible for the program. Thus far, there are only 662,000 recipients out of the eligible millions.

Low turn out, however, has no deterred brand names like AARP from offering Part D coverage on their health insurance programs. Part D coverage is not a stand-alone policy. When you opt for this coverage you need to have a main Medicare plan that offers Part D coverage. So, out on the market you will see MA-PD plans or Medicare Advantage Plans with Prescription Drugs. But you can also enroll in Part D if you have a PDP or a Prescription Drug Plan.

There is never a lack of Part D products. In fact, across the United States there are places with 100 Part D plans that are being offered by 50 providers. Across all Part D plans, the plans are basically the same. The only difference is the coverage amount and the list of drugs that are covered.

However, under the Medicare program, all Part D plan providers must exclude certain drugs, including barbiturates, cough suppressants, and benzodiazepines. Recipients of Medicaid stand on a point of advantage –Medicaid pays for drugs that Part D does not cover.