Medigap Plans to Rule Out?

[Luvdogs]

I was doing this stuff for my DH about six months ago. It was very confusing but I finally figured things out.

He had employer retiree insurance so he gets a certain amount of $ back by going through their recommended broker--AON who weren't trying to sell any specific letter plan for the supplement or any specific prescription plan. But he did go through them for the $ back.

That said, once you choose a plan (letter) and the type of prescription plan--say for instance prescription plan Humana blah blah, then compare prices.

All/many/most brokers sell the same things so you are really comparing apples to apples.

I checked MANY of them and after all the work, the difference in prices were not much at all--as long as you are comparing the same exact type.

He has Plan F and the monthly difference was only about $10/month comparing several different brokers. But your costs will differ depending where you live for the same exact plan.

I'm pretty sure his prescription plan prices were pretty similar when comparing the exact same coverage.

 

[MBSC]

I'm signing up for Medigap G through Anthem Blue Cross.....

You gave your zip code as 95570 in another Medigap thread.

You can go directly to the CA DOI website below for the rates.

Guide to Medicare Supplement

Then, choose the 'Medicare Supplement Rates' link. On the comparison tool, choose age 65 (not under 65). Most policies will be listed under the Individual option but UHC/AARP plans are Group.

For example, the United American HD-F is $315/yr. CA has a Birthday Rule allowing you to switch to another HD-F each year without underwriting if their rates go up or you don't like the company.

Plan G - Annual Rate for zip code 95570 before discounts (EFT payment, household, etc.)

UHC/AARP $1340
TransAmerica Premier Life $1365
Loyal American (a Cigna company) $1394
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield $1434

The UHC/AARP Supplement website confirmed the rate on CA DOI: https://www.aarpmedicareplans.com/health-plans/medicare-supplement-plans.html

The Anthem website confirmed the rate on CA DOI: https://www.anthem.com/ca/medicare/medicare-supplement-plans/california/

Both sites say they give a $24 annual ($2/mo) discount for EFT payments. Anthem says they give an additional $24 ($48 total) for an annual lump sum payment.

 

[TrvlBug]

If you are looking at costs and pay for a gym membership, don't overlook the insurers offering 'silver sneaker' benefit. We recently changed companies for DH medigap to AARP/UHC which offers silver sneakers. We currently pay $1500/yr for gym membership for the both of us and when I turn 65 next year, we will drop that and join one of the 3 gyms in our area that participate in silver sneakers. That's a HUGE cost impact.

 

[TromboneAl]

I couldn't create an account to check the status because I have a hold on my Equifax. Why do they need to do a credit check for me to have an SSA account?

I removed the hold for SSA and was able to register.


Here's why I think they wanted a credit report: They used the info to verify my identity. They asked questions about mortgages, old addresses, etc.

 

[Breedlove]

I am somewhat confused , last Friday we met with our Fidelity advisor . I was told that part A is free B costs around 135.00 and to get part F . Now here is where it gets confusing . He told me when I buy F even though DW is only 62 If I tell them that she is retired and has no plan that I can add her to my F.
Maybe I misunderstood this . but they recommend F and there are three different plans within F

 

[REWahoo]

I am somewhat confused...

With advice like that, it's no wonder.

 

[Buckeye]

I am somewhat confused , last Friday we met with our Fidelity advisor . I was told that part A is free B costs around 135.00 and to get part F . Now here is where it gets confusing . He told me when I buy F even though DW is only 62 If I tell them that she is retired and has no plan that I can add her to my F.
Maybe I misunderstood this . but they recommend F and there are three different plans within F

That doesn't sound right. I thought everyone had to have their own supplemental policy. Hmm. And I thought Part B was at least $184 in 2018. F would be another $180+ or so, depending on where you live.

 

[Breedlove]

Believe me I got 50 pages of medicare material and Medigap basics . I know he said part A is free you buy a supplement B . He said all part B cost the same and I thought he said 135.00 He also discussed the three ways insurance companies set prices for the Medigap. He recommended Entry Age rated , buying at a young age and won't change as you get older . Could change because of inflation but not because of age .
Now here is the hard one he said if you demand you can get your wife on F even though she is not 65 if she is retired . I am going to try it
But really after I read this stuff My head wants to explode .

 

[Telly]

Believe me I got 50 pages of medicare material and Medigap basics . I know he said part A is free you buy a supplement B . He said all part B cost the same and I thought he said 135.00 He also discussed the three ways insurance companies set prices for the Medigap. He recommended Entry Age rated , buying at a young age and won't change as you get older . Could change because of inflation but not because of age .
Now here is the hard one he said if you demand you can get your wife on F even though she is not 65 if she is retired . I am going to try it.....

There was a song "Looking for love in all the wrong places". Maybe you're looking for Medicare info in all the wrong places! Insurance companies are not idiots. Maybe your advisor is... or out of his/her depth on Medicare.

The three Medigap policy rating methods that insurers may use are:
Community-Rated -- In my area, the only one is AARP/UHC.
Attained-Age rated -- Everyone else, except...
Issue-Age Rated -- Maybe one in my area. This is the one your advisor meant. Think about this... if you can get in at one price @ 65, and never have the premium go up because of your age (will still go up for inflation), and you were an insurance company, what would you price this option at?

Suggested reading sources:
Spend $11 on Amazon for the red book: https://www.amazon.com/Get-Whats-Yours-Medicare-Maximize/dp/1501124005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535430339&sr=8-1&keywords=get+what%27s+yours+for+medicare

Free download: https://www.medicare.gov/pubs/pdf/10050-Medicare-and-You.pdf

The Red Book is a good primer, easy reading and a good reference.

 

[Katsmeow]

If you are looking at costs and pay for a gym membership, don't overlook the insurers offering 'silver sneaker' benefit. We recently changed companies for DH medigap to AARP/UHC which offers silver sneakers. We currently pay $1500/yr for gym membership for the both of us and when I turn 65 next year, we will drop that and join one of the 3 gyms in our area that participate in silver sneakers. That's a HUGE cost impact.

Hmmm...that is interesting. This must be state based. DH has Plan F with AARP/UHC (this is in Texas). Late last year they discontinued their involvement with Silver Sneakers. They said the new benefit would be so much better. The new benefit was 50% reduction in membership cost at some gyms. Of course a 50% reduction is not as good as free....

 

[MBSC]

I am somewhat confused, last Friday we met with our Fidelity advisor. I was told that part A is free B costs around 135.00 and to get part F.

Your Fidelity advisor needs to stick with financial services. Medigap Plan F used to be the "go to" plan but this is now outdated information. Plan G is a better value in most markets. In Richards, TX, an UHC/AARP Plan F is $155/month. Their Plan G is $130, an annual savings of $300 before the $183 annual Part B deductible. The net savings on Plan G is $117/yr.

In addition to Telly's reading recommendations, I would suggest checking out a copy of "Medicare for Dummies" from your local library.

He told me when I buy F even though DW is only 62 If I tell them that she is retired and has no plan that I can add her to my F.

A person must be enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B to be eligible for a Medigap plan. The Medigap pays second. The advisor may have been trying to explain that when she turns 65 and enrolls in Medicare, you both would qualify for a household discount on the Medigap plans if you both are with the same Medigap carrier.

But really after I read this stuff My head wants to explode.

1. Decide between A) Medicare Advantage or B) original Medicare+ Medigap+ Part D.

2. If original Medicare, decide between Medigap Plans G, N, and High Deductible F.

3. If original Medicare, go to Medicare.gov and enter your drugs. The system will select the best Part D plan based on your medications. You are done.

 

[Dtail]

Believe me I got 50 pages of medicare material and Medigap basics . I know he said part A is free you buy a supplement B . He said all part B cost the same and I thought he said 135.00 He also discussed the three ways insurance companies set prices for the Medigap. He recommended Entry Age rated , buying at a young age and won't change as you get older . Could change because of inflation but not because of age .
Now here is the hard one he said if you demand you can get your wife on F even though she is not 65 if she is retired . I am going to try it
But really after I read this stuff My head wants to explode .

Okay he got one thing right.

 

[REWahoo]

This needs to be a sticky so all the "I'm new to Medicare and confused!" posters can find it:

1. Decide between A) Medicare Advantage or B) original Medicare+ Medigap+ Part D.

2. If original Medicare, decide between Medigap Plans G, N, and High Deductible F.

3. If original Medicare, go to Medicare.gov and enter your drugs. The system will select the best Part D plan based on your medications. You are done.

 

[wmc1000]

1. Decide between A) Medicare Advantage or B) original Medicare+ Medigap+ Part D.

2. If original Medicare, decide between Medigap Plans G, N, and High Deductible F.

3. If original Medicare, go to Medicare.gov and enter your drugs. The system will select the best Part D plan based on your medications. You are done.

The only addition I have to this info is that for Part D you need to make sure your prescriptions are NOT limited by the potential plans QL, (Quantity Limits). DW has an Rx that was prescribed for 20mg tablets 2x per day. Lowest cost Part D plan had a QL of 30 tabs per mo. on the 20mg dosage even though she would need 60 per mo.

Luckily we had used Boomerbenfits.com to assist in the medicare supplement and drug plan process and they told us about this before we chose the Part D plan. Additionally they told us that there were no such QL on the 40mg dosage of the same drug

DW now takes 1 40mg tab per day of that drug so we were able to go with the lowest cost plan.

 

[Breedlove]

I could go with G but it does not pay any deductibles on part B . So what is the average deductible on part B . Or go with F and a high deductible , might be cheaper.

 

[SumDay]

The part B deductible is $183 per year - one time thing. After that your out of pocket percentage is 20%, which your supplement should then pick up.


We have G, and it doesn't cover the annual $183 deductible, but does cover the 20% out of pocket after we pay the $183.


Clear as mud, huh?

 

[NoMoreJob]

I could go with G but it does not pay any deductibles on part B . So what is the average deductible on part B . Or go with F and a high deductible , might be cheaper.

Part B deductible is currently $183/year. So the Plan G supplement's annual premium savings is greater than $183/year then it's the better deal. Typically (if not always) this is the case.

 

[TrvlBug]

Hmmm...that is interesting. This must be state based. DH has Plan F with AARP/UHC (this is in Texas). Late last year they discontinued their involvement with Silver Sneakers. They said the new benefit would be so much better. The new benefit was 50% reduction in membership cost at some gyms. Of course a 50% reduction is not as good as free....

We're in CA, although we learned about silver sneakers from MIL who lived in MO. We realize they may change or eliminate it at any time but for now it works. I assumed there would be restrictions such as times of use, although we always go during the non-peak times, but there are none.

Amazing that they would think 50% off is a better benefit than free .

 

[TromboneAl]

BoomerBenefits has continued to seem too good to be true. Brad told me that I will never again have to communicate with Anthem Blue Cross directly. Everything can go through him.


Unenrolling from CoveredCA is proving to be difficult, with long phone menus, etc. They also wanted to use Equifax to help me confirm my identity, but that failed because of our freeze. They asked me to upload a scan of my driver's license, but couldn't figure out how to get that done. For example, "You'll have to log out now, because we can't log in to your account when you're logged on."

 

[SumDay]

BoomerBenefits has continued to seem too good to be true. Brad told me that I will never again have to communicate with Anthem Blue Cross directly. Everything can go through him.


Unenrolling from CoveredCA is proving to be difficult, with long phone menus, etc. They also wanted to use Equifax to help me confirm my identity, but that failed because of our freeze. They asked me to upload a scan of my driver's license, but couldn't figure out how to get that done. For example, "You'll have to log out now, because we can't log in to your account when you're logged on."

I hope you keep us posted on your experiences with BoomerBenefits. It does sound too good to be true, but I've yet to hear a bad review. I'm going to recommend them to friends who are coming to me since I managed to get DH enrolled in Medicare et all in June, so now they think I'm the expert. I don't wanna be 'that guy'. I'll just send them to BoomerBenefits.

 

[wmc1000]

just today boomerbenefits.com sent out an email reminding their clients to call them before paying a Medicare Bill they are not expecting .. excerpt of email below …

"Every day our Client Service Team takes dozens of calls from clients like you.
One of the free services that we offer is claim research and resolution.

So if you've got a bill from a Medicare provider that you weren't expecting,
DON'T pay it without calling us first. Let us check first to see if this bill is valid.

Our service team saves our Medicare insurance policyholders thousands of dollars
every year in scenarios just like this one. Could you be the next one to save money?

Reach out for help if you need us!"


Email closed with their client service team phone number if I ever need it.

 

[TromboneAl]

Okay, I got it all done. Just finished talking with someone from CoveredCA who was very good.


I had my first experience with audio fine print. The rep would play a long recorded message and then come back on and I'd say "I do."

 

[nwsteve]

I originally called my Supplement provider, Premera, a Blue , to understand the process for changing our plan from F to G. Pretty much got danced around on the question if the change would require an underwriting but I would have to fill out a new application.
As REWahoo so succinctly pointed out, no point for "messin with the high priced boys from the Blues" when the same is available for a lot less. Got the list of plans approved in our state and found a G plan from a Cigna affiliate for 147/mon if we both move versus the 185/mon for G and 216 for F from Premera.
The Cigna rep, unlike his counterpart at Premera, quickly advised there is no underwriting in WA as long as you go to a comparable or less plans. State uses a "community rated" model and not individual pricing system.
We will make the move as soon as my DW gets her semi-annual Prolia shot ($900-covered by Supplemental but not by D for some reason) later this month so we do not have to pay the 183 Medicare deductible.[/QUOTE

UPDATE:
Just completed the enrollment process to switch from Premera's Plan F at 216/mon to a Cigna affiliate (Loyal American) Plan G for 147/mon each. Generated a savings of $828/mon each. Cigna also provided an additional discount if both spouses are applying--158/mon reduced to 147. Premera wanted 186/mon as I recall for their plan G and required a new policy to be completed despite being the provider for the last five+ years.

A couple things I learned in the process---WA is a "Guarantee Issue" state which translates that you can move between providers with underwriting as long as the new plan is same or less than the original plan. Other new category was "Community Rating" resulting in all folks with the same age treated the same for underwriting.

To satisfy requirement of existing coverage, agent called Premera with me on the phone. Provided policy # and confirmed with Premera CS agent that the policy was current. Nothing else required to complete beyond providing account for monthly charge.

 

[RetMD21]

I am very impressed with the level of knowledge demonstrated in this thread.


I understand the general concept of state rules on guarantee issue from this page:

http://https://www.medicarefaq.com/faqs/state-specific-medicare-rules/

Besides Washington are there other states where underwriting is limited?
i.e. age based only

 

[ivinsfan]

I originally called my Supplement provider, Premera, a Blue , to understand the process for changing our plan from F to G. Pretty much got danced around on the question if the change would require an underwriting but I would have to fill out a new application.
As REWahoo so succinctly pointed out, no point for "messin with the high priced boys from the Blues" when the same is available for a lot less. Got the list of plans approved in our state and found a G plan from a Cigna affiliate for 147/mon if we both move versus the 185/mon for G and 216 for F from Premera.
The Cigna rep, unlike his counterpart at Premera, quickly advised there is no underwriting in WA as long as you go to a comparable or less plans. State uses a "community rated" model and not individual pricing system.
We will make the move as soon as my DW gets her semi-annual Prolia shot ($900-covered by Supplemental but not by D for some reason) later this month so we do not have to pay the 183 Medicare deductible.[/QUOTE

UPDATE:
Just completed the enrollment process to switch from Premera's Plan F at 216/mon to a Cigna affiliate (Loyal American) Plan G for 147/mon each. Generated a savings of $828/mon each. Cigna also provided an additional discount if both spouses are applying--158/mon reduced to 147. Premera wanted 186/mon as I recall for their plan G and required a new policy to be completed despite being the provider for the last five+ years.

A couple things I learned in the process---WA is a "Guarantee Issue" state which translates that you can move between providers with underwriting as long as the new plan is same or less than the original plan. Other new category was "Community Rating" resulting in all folks with the same age treated the same for underwriting.

To satisfy requirement of existing coverage, agent called Premera with me on the phone. Provided policy # and confirmed with Premera CS agent that the policy was current. Nothing else required to complete beyond providing account for monthly charge.

You actually wrote with underwriting so that's confusing, is that what meant to type..