You may need this benefit if you have to stay in the hospital. The Part A deductible for 2006 is $952. This amount can change every year. You have to pay this deductible for each benefit period.

Benefit covers:
• $952 in 2006.This amount can change every year.

You may want to consider this benefit (which is $124 in 2006) if you have Medicare Part B. Each year you must pay the Part B deductible before Medicare starts to pay its share. If you have this benefit, the Medigap plan would pay this amount each year.

Benefit covers:
• $124 per year.

Benefit covers:
• The Part A coinsurance amount for days 61-90 ($238 per day in 2006) and days 91-150 ($476 per day in 2006) of a hospital stay.
• The coinsurance or copayment amount for Part B services after you meet the $124 yearly deductible.

Under federal law, doctors who don't accept "assignment " (take Medicare's approved amount as payment in full) may charge up to 15% more than the approved amount. You might want to think about this benefit if your doctors don't accept assignment. You may also want this benefit if you have to stay in the hospital and can't control whether the doctors you see accept assignment.

Benefit covers:
• Plans F, I and J pay all of the excess charges.
• Plan G pays 80% of the excess charges.

If you travel outside the United States, this benefit could save you money for emergency care.

Benefit covers:
• 80% of the cost of emergency care during the first 60 days of each trip (after you pay the $250 deductible).
• Up to $50,000 in your lifetime.

This benefit covers additional care at home if you are already getting Medicare-covered home health services. It pays up to $40 a visit and $1,600 a year. This benefit may cost a lot and may not be worth the additional premiums you pay for it.

Benefit covers:
• The cost of at-home help with daily activities like bathing and dressing if you are already getting Medicare-covered home health visits.
• Up to 8 weeks of at-home help after skilled care is no longer needed.
• Will pay up to $40 each visit and $1,600 each year.

You may want to consider this benefit if you need to go to a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) after a hospital stay and stay in the SNF longer than 20 days.

Benefit covers:
• Up to $119 a day for days 21-100 in a Skilled Nursing Facility

This benefit helps pay for routine yearly check-ups and tests (such as routine yearly check-ups, serum cholesterol E and screening, hearing tests, diabetes screening, thyroid function test) that may be important to you to keep you healthy.

Benefit covers:
• Up to $120 each year.

Under federal law, doctors who don't accept "assignment" (take Medicare's approved amount as payment in full) may charge up to 15% more than the approved amount. You might want to think about this benefit if your doctors don't accept assignment. You may also want this benefit if you have to stay in the hospital and can't control whether the doctors you see accept assignment.

Benefit covers:
• 100% of the cost for up to 365 more days of a hospital stay during your lifetime after you use up all Medicare hospital benefits.

Benefit covers:
• The first 3 pints of blood or equal amounts of packed red blood cells per calendar year, unless this blood is replaced.