Medicare Supplement Plan

As its name implies, the Medicare Supplement Plan supplements, or adds to, Original Medicare (Parts A and B). Medicare pays its portion of covered services first, and Medicare Supplement offers secondary coverage. Medicare Supplement also includes a wide range of medically necessary services and supplies beyond Medicare Parts A and B and provides Medicare Part D and prescription drugs coverage.

Generally, Medicare Supplement covers the following:

• prolonged hospitalization, skilled nursing facility care, and inpatient and outpatient psychiatric treatment
• medical supplies and services
• ambulance services
• Medicare Parts A and B deductibles
• outpatient prescription drugs
• medically necessary medical care when traveling outside the United States

Eligibility

As a retiring member of the Benefits Plan, you may enroll in Medicare Supplement if you

• are Medicare-eligible (generally, age 65 or older);
• meet the Rule of 70*;
• are enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B; and
• have been covered continuously by a qualified health plan until eligible for Medicare Supplement.

These family members also may enroll in Medicare Supplement, regardless of whether you choose to enroll when you are eligible:

• your spouse or eligible child who has maintained continuous coverage and is enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B
• your surviving or former spouse who has maintained continuous coverage and is enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B

*To meet the Rule of 70, you must be age 55 or older when you terminate service to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and have at least five years of Medical Plan participation. Additionally, the sum of your age and years of Medical Plan participation at termination must equal 70 or more.

Cost

You pay a subscription rate, or premium, set annually by the Board of Directors of the Board of Pensions. The rate charged is lower than the actual cost to cover you, because the Medicare Supplement Plan is partially subsidized by the federal government and the pharmaceutical industry (for the prescription drug portion of the plan) and by Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) churches through post-retirement dues.