Medicare Spending On Beneficiaries With Supplemental Coverage Double Spending On FFS Beneficiaries

Medicare spent nearly twice as much on services in 2010 for beneficiaries with Medigap or supplemental employer-sponsored retiree coverage than for beneficiaries with only fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare. Average annual Medicare spending for beneficiaries with Medigap coverage was $10,465; average spending for FFS beneficiaries was $5,008. Beneficiaries with Medigap spent more out-of-pocket than Medicare FFS beneficiaries, $2,343 compared to $1,737. Supplemental coverage is used to cover Medicare cost sharing requirements. The findings were reported in “Medicare Supplemental Coverage: Medigap and Other Factors Are Associated with Higher Estimated Health Care Expenditures” by the . . .