Final answer:
Medicare will automatically send claim information to Medigap for secondary payment; this is called crossover. Medicare Part A covers some hospital charges, subject to a deductible and copayments. Medigap helps cover these out-of-pocket costs.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a patient is covered by Medicare and a Medigap plan, Medicare will automatically send claim information to Medigap for secondary payment. This process is known as "crossover" and enables the Medigap insurance to pay their share of covered healthcare costs after Medicare has paid its portion. Since Medicare is made up of two main parts, Part A and Part B, it primarily covers hospital and medical insurance. While Part A covers some hospital charges and is funded by payroll deductions, it also involves a deductible as well as copayments for many hospital-related services with no caps on total out-of-pocket costs. Medigap is supplementary insurance that people can buy to cover the gaps in Medicare coverage, which can include deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments.