Medigap Plans premium costs - AARP online, others not

[Telly]

The Medicare.gov website has a plan finder to find who has what plans in your area. For AARP-sponsored plans, there is a link off to www.AARPMedicareSupplement.com where I can look at all of the AARP-sponsored United Healthcare Inc. plans with all of the costs tuned to my area. That's Great! But all the other links are to the various ins. co's websites, and on all of those websites that I have looked at, they say "call us".

I have been barraged via US Mail for "send away or call for my free "Medicare and You" booklet from many ins cos. All have a note that by contacting them, I authorize an agent to call me. Uh, No. Starting last week, I have been getting 10 - 15 robo calls a day trying to contact me about Medicare signup. I expect most/all are scammers. No way I want someone legit calling me, I'd never know who was legit and who wasn't!

I'd really like to see the $ premiums for letter plans F, F HD & G all for my area. Is there a way to see this online somehow that I am unaware of?

Or is the only way to call each ins. co, one by one, and be subject to high-pressure sales tactics? And could I even trust a $ premium cost they told me over the phone?

 

[kaneohe]

Apparently you can often find at least some historical rates from your state insurance department if you have one. In CA ironically, many such rates are shown but not AARP so w/ your link I can complete the picture. A test for your Google skills.
http://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/105-type/95-guides/05-health/03-medsup/index.cfm

https://interactive.web.insurance.ca.gov/apex_extprd/f?p=111:31:::NO:::

(just for example, use zip 94087)

 

[athena53]

When I retired, we used a husband-wife team of insurance agents for health insurance. DH was old enough for Medicare, I was not and got an ACA plan. They were very helpful in explaining options for DH- it was a crazy time and even though I'd been in the insurance business (property-casualty, though) almost 40 years it was pretty confusing.

Fast-forward to my own Medicare signup, effective 1/1/18- yeah, everybody and his/her brother wanted to help me get coverage. Few Robo-calls but plenty of mailings and one agent who just showed up on my doorstep uninvited. I'd already picked out pretty much what DH had since it worked for him and had gone through the enrollment myself.

My advice: find yourself a good local insurance agent, maybe by asking friends in the same age group. Many are affiliated with a single company but others can walk you through options for multiple companies. They get paid a commission by the insurer and it doesn't cost you extra (and you don't get a break if you sign up on your own). It really helps to talk to a local human, especially if you have ongoing health issues, preferred doctors, expensive prescriptions, etc.

Edited to add: many companies don't have premiums on-line because they may not have agents or do business in a particular state. They can get in deep trouble with regulators if they solicit business in states where they're not licensed. AARP/UHC is big enough that they can post rates and comply with the laws; others prefer to have an agent call you.

 

[MichaelB]

I'd really like to see the $ premiums for letter plans F, F HD & G all for my area. Is there a way to see this online somehow that I am unaware of?

Or is the only way to call each ins. co, one by one, and be subject to high-pressure sales tactics? And could I even trust a $ premium cost they told me over the phone?

Your desire to see a summary of options and prices is entirely reasonable. The only resource I’ve seen in my searches is when the state provides this. My state (Fl) does provide this, and it is very helpful.

If your state doesn’t, the only thing you can do is narrow the list and choose the MediGap plans you want to consider, check the Medicare plan finder to get a list of providers for each plan, then call. Some only work through agents.

I’m currently searching as well, and finding that when I call an agent asking for a quote, I get much more, as in their effort to sell something different. No way around this. Based on experience with DW, though, the calls and mailings will drop off substantially a couple of months after your 65th birthday.

 

[brucethebroker]

AARP plan with UnitedHealthcare seems like a good choice. We have had good experience with United on individual plans-pre-age 65 plans-their negotiated discounts with providers in our area are aggressive. Also, I feel like having the AARP endorsement keeps 'em honest-that is a huge block of business. You don't have to be an AARP member to apply, as I recall.

 

[MBSC]

I'd really like to see the $ premiums for letter plans F, F HD & G all for my area. Is there a way to see this online somehow that I am unaware of?

What state do you live in? The Department of Insurance website for some states include Medigap premiums.

Otherwise, you can pay $10 for one month/one state access to the quote engine used by agents.

https://www.csgactuarial.com/software/market-advisor/pricing/

This provides rates for ALL the Medigap plans available in your area. Brokers filter these results to only show companies they are contracted with. If you go this route, remember that you want an insurer with competitive rates at age 65 and in the future so input multiple ages (65, 75, 85).

 

[kaneohe]

AARP plan with UnitedHealthcare seems like a good choice. We have had good experience with United on individual plans-pre-age 65 plans-their negotiated discounts with providers in our area are aggressive. Also, I feel like having the AARP endorsement keeps 'em honest-that is a huge block of business. You don't have to be an AARP member to apply, as I recall.

My experience (some number of yrs ago) is that I had to be a member to be accepted the first year. Renewals did not require that altho some agents would kind of imply that it was needed.

 

[omni550]

The Medicare.gov website has a plan finder to find who has what plans in your area. For AARP-sponsored plans, there is a link off to www.AARPMedicareSupplement.com where I can look at all of the AARP-sponsored United Healthcare Inc. plans with all of the costs tuned to my area. That's Great! But all the other links are to the various ins. co's websites, and on all of those websites that I have looked at, they say "call us".

I have been barraged via US Mail for "send away or call for my free "Medicare and You" booklet from many ins cos. All have a note that by contacting them, I authorize an agent to call me. Uh, No. Starting last week, I have been getting 10 - 15 robo calls a day trying to contact me about Medicare signup. I expect most/all are scammers. No way I want someone legit calling me, I'd never know who was legit and who wasn't!

I'd really like to see the $ premiums for letter plans F, F HD & G all for my area. Is there a way to see this online somehow that I am unaware of?

Or is the only way to call each ins. co, one by one, and be subject to high-pressure sales tactics? And could I even trust a $ premium cost they told me over the phone?

I would recommend contacting Chris Westfall. He's licensed to sell in most states. He is very patient in explaining the Medigap process, which companies are offering which gap policies in your zip code and the pricing. He even quoted me for my sister (who lives in another state) and found a less expensive Medigap policy for her. Another friend found he'd save $600/yr for the same plan he already had by switching to a different provider that Chris found for him.

https://seniorsavingsnetwork.org/

omni

 

[BooBoo]

Hi omni,

The https://seniorsavingsnetwork.org/ site looks very interesting. Mega corp has provided via as a resource to "shop" policiies. I called and felt like I was being lead to policies that companies were promoting. Not sure if this is true or not. My question is two part:

1) What is the motivation/incentive to provide this service for https://seniorsavingsnetwork.org/ ....where do they make their money ?

2) Why not just call Medicare directly ?

I never thought medicare would be this hard !!!

Thanks,

Boo

 

[athena53]

1) What is the motivation/incentive to provide this service for https://seniorsavingsnetwork.org/ ....where do they make their money ?

2) Why not just call Medicare directly ?

Medicare is an entity of the US government; they're not insurance agents and they don't sell supplements.

Any of the other networks, including this one, are made up of insurance agents and they get paid a percentage commission by the insurance company. So, your information is as good as the agent. Some may push certain insurers just because they're more familiar with the coverage and have a better working relationship with particular companies. If they're unethical they may push higher-riced coverage because they get a bigger commission (same % on higher amount)- or they're just trying to make sure you get a policy with coverage as thorough as you need with a company that pays its claims. Or maybe some companies offer agents incentives for meeting sales targets.

Even with a good agent you still have to do some homework yourself.

 

[BooBoo]

Is PlanD different ? I called medicare and they quoted me on plans available. Just doing my homework.....I hate homework.

 

[REWahoo]

Is PlanD different ? I called medicare and they quoted me on plans available. Just doing my homework.....I hate homework.

Unfortunately homework is a requirement to understand Medicare. This may help via a description of all the parts of Medicare: What is Medicare?

 

[kaneohe]

another link for pt. D https://www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan/questions/home.aspx (couldn't get other one to work)

 

[Telly]

O/P here, I looked into some of the suggestions above with regards to Medigap letter plan pricing, THANKS!

Checked my state (Texas) info at the TX Dept. of Insurance. I didn't expect much, certainly not like California. I wasn't surprised... only thing they had was a laundry list of companies that sell Medigap Plans in TX, and a note to call the companies to be sure they still offer policies in TX.

Looked at https://www.csgactuarial.com/software/market-advisor/pricing/ that looked interesting. Will probably sign up when I get closer to the start of the 3-month-before window. As a side note - poking around there, I saw that UHC (United Health Care, where AARP-sponsored plans reside) has about 30% of the Medigap supplement market, the biggest player, with over 4 million policies.

Looked at https://seniorsavingsnetwork.org/
and looked at a lot of videos and info there. Somewhere there, I found mention that they do not handle AARP/UHC, as they don't believe that people should pay for the marketing arrangement, or words to that effect. It looked interesting, but it did bother me that the #1 company in volume was ruled out. I don't have to be with the market sales leader, but I don't want to be with some small provider that might decide to exit the market some years after I join! I DO realize that is always a possibility with any company, but would not want to start out with one that may be more prone.

 

[omni550]

Hi omni,

The https://seniorsavingsnetwork.org/ site looks very interesting. Mega corp has provided via as a resource to "shop" policiies. I called and felt like I was being lead to policies that companies were promoting. Not sure if this is true or not. My question is two part:

1) What is the motivation/incentive to provide this service for https://seniorsavingsnetwork.org/ ....where do they make their money ?

2) Why not just call Medicare directly ?

I never thought medicare would be this hard !!!

Thanks,

Boo

Boo,

I've been on the road, so a bit late to respond.

All agents get paid a commission for making a sale. There's no difference in the cost to you.

My mega-corp offered a similar "service" when I retired. I spent a lot of time educating myself on Medicare and how it worked. I shopped around. I figured out that the "service" only offered a limited number of policies...and seemingly actively promoted a few. I found a much better deal on my own, working with Chris Westfall at Senior Savings Network.

There was additional incentive from mega-corp to use the "service" as mega-corp gives us an annual spending amount for healthcare even when on Medicare. If I were to purchase through the "service" the premiums would be covered directly by the "service" . By purchasing the Medigap policy on my own, I have to collect and submit my expenses independently. I bit more work...but I get a larger choice of providers, at much better rates.

YMMV


omni

 

[omni550]

Is PlanD different ? I called medicare and they quoted me on plans available. Just doing my homework.....I hate homework.

It's quite confusing.

Part A & B are called Original Medicare. Original Medicare consists of two parts: Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Medicare Part B (medical insurance). Medicare Part A covers Medicare inpatient care, including care received while in a hospital, a skilled nursing facility, and, in limited circumstances, at home. Medicare A is covered by payments you made while working. The standard Part B premium amount in 2018 will be $134 (or higher depending on your income). However, some people who get Social Security benefits pay less than this amount ($130 on average).

Part D is the drug plan. - Gotta have one, even if you are not on any ongoing medications, as you will pay a premium forever more if you don't sign up at 65. As I am not on any ongoing meds, I shop for the least expensive one in my zip code. I was with Walmart-Humana, now I'm on Envision RX. If you are taking meds, it's best to shop the formularies offered by various Part D providers to find out who offers the best coverage for your needs.

If you want a Medigap (aka Supplemental Insurance Plan), they are private insurance policies that typically cover the 20% that Medicare Part B does not cover. Part B has an annual deductible, $183 in 2018. Don't be fooled by thinking that by paying a higher premium, you are getting better coverage. By law, all plans of the same designation (e.g. Plan G) HAVE to offer you the same coverage...https://www.medicare.gov/supplement-other-insurance/compare-medigap/compare-medigap.html


Good luck.


omni

 

[NoMoreJob]

Like anthena53 my wife and I happened to run across an insurance broker who has been a great help to us - first in navigating ACA plans and later with my choice of Medicare supplement plans (and the sign-up process). I had never previously used a broker and was a bit suspicious of them. Now that we are using one that I consider to be good (and honest) I still do my own research and check out his recommendations as I know he has his self-interest in mind as well as mine. I'm sure I would have gotten through the selection process on my own but the broker's help made the process much smoother and gave me someone to bounce my thoughts off of.

Health insurance and healthcare in general are complicated these days. Both my wife and I were in positions during our working years that we dealt with the design, selection and administration of our companies' health insurance plans and even for us it can be a bit of a struggle. We marvel each time we go through an insurance related processes how tough it must be for many people to comprehend and make informed decisions.