If you are considering a Medicare supplement plan, whether you are new to Medicare or have existing health coverage, the information in this
video can save you thousands of dollars insurance premiums over the period of time you will be on Medicare.
Insurance companies and even many insurance agents do not want you to shop your coverage and research all the options that are available to
you.
When you pay higher premiums, it increases insurance company profits and insurance agent commissions.
By simply shopping your coverage and understanding all the options available to you, you can save thousands of dollars and have
more money for yourself and your family. If you have been researching Medicare Supplements, than you may already know that
Medicare Supplement Plan G is usually a better value than Medicare Supplement Plan F without sacrificing any of your medical coverage.
However, Plan G is not always the best value Medicare Supplement available to you. Let’s take a look at how to compare benefits
and price. This page is directly from the Medicare guide “Choosing A Medigap Policy”.
In detailing the steps you should take step-by- step, this guide emphasizes that “As you shop for a Medigap Policy keep in mind that different
insurance companies may charge different amounts for exactly the same Medigap policy and not all insurance companies offer all the
Medigap policies. It’s important to know that each of these plans is standardized by Medicare. That means there
is no difference in benefits from one insurance company to the next. Unlike Medicare Advantage or other health plans, every Medicare
supplement Plan F is identical, every Plan G is available, every Plan N and so on. The only difference in the plans from one insurance
company to another is the price. And typically, the best priced plan is half the cost of the most expensive, for the exact same coverage. It’s
also important to understand that no one insurance company offers all plans available to you. In fact, while many insurance companies
will offer Medigap Plan F because it has the highest profit margin, few also offer Medigap Plan G or Plan N.
I mentioned early that simply shopping your coverage can save you thousands of dollars, let me show you how.
This table shows all the Medicare Supplement plans that are available to you. You can find this table in both your Medicare &
You guidebook and in the Medicare publication Choosing A Medigap Policy. It lists the Medigap Plans across the top, each
plan is identified by a letter. We have Medigap Plan F, Medigap Plan G, Plan N etc. Then the benefit categories are in identified in the left
column Every insurance company that offers Medicare Supplements is only required to offer Medigap
Plan A. But Plan A offers no insurance coverage for Skilled Nursing Care, the $1,260 Part A deductible as so on.
Plan C and Plan F make up nearly 60% of all Medigap policies. However, both polices will be discontinued as of
the beginning of 2020. What does that mean? These plans can only change by an act of
Congress. As our government attempts to manage Medicare, from time to time a plan is canceled and replaced by a new plan or an
existing plan. Plan C and Plan F both cover the annual Medicare Part B deductible and thus offer what
is called “First dollar coverage.” That means that the Medicare beneficiary with a Plan F or Plan C may have zero out-of-pocket costs for
medical expenses. Medicare found that having no out-of-pocket costs leads to frivolous doctor’s visits and
unnecessary expenses and higher costs. So as of the start of 2020 no-one will be able to buy a Medigap Plan C or Medigap Plan F.
Whenever Medicare Supplement plans are changed in any way, the changes are grandfathered. If you have a Plan F or Plan C
you can keep your plan and no one can change it, no one can cancel it. It’s a contract between you and the insurance company. However, you
might not want to keep it. Because no new young 65-year olds can purchase these plans after 2019, everyone in
these plans will be getting older and require more medical care. As a result, the cost of managing the plans will rise and your premiums
will increase at a very high rate. You can expect double digit price increase in Plan C and Plan F after 2019.
When we look at the Medicare Supplement plans closely, we can see that Medicare Supplement Plan F has been the most popular
because it has 100% coverage. Other than your Medigap premiums, you pay nothing out of pocket for Medicare services.
It’s also the most expensive plan and has the highest profit margin for insurance companies. Because both agents and insurance companies
make more money selling Plan F than any other Medicare Supplement, it’s often the first plan offered.
Medigap Plan C also has 100% coverage for everything except it does not offer insurance against Part B excess charges. We are not
going to go into detail about excess charges here, however suffice it to say that 1. only 3% of doctors can even charge a Part B excess
charge and 2. in some states Medicare Part B excess charges are forbidden. There are 8 different states that have adopted a
ruling that prevents or restricts doctors from charging Part B excess charges. This includes Pennsylvania, Vermont and so on.
Medigap Plan C was ideal for residents of those states because they are not paying for insurance coverage they don’t need.
Now let’s take a close look at Medigap Plan G and Plan N, as these are the Medigap plans that are already replacing Plan F and C in popularity.
Medigap Plan G has the exact same benefits as Plan F except Plan G doesn’t pay the Medicare Part B deductible. The Medicare Part B annual
deductible is just $166 for the 2016 calendar year. There is talk that it could rise to $200 or even $250 by the year 2020, but for now it’s
$166 and any changes are nothing more than speculation. So the only difference in benefits between
Medicare Supplement Plan F and Plan G is $166 annual deductible. However, when you shop plans you find that the
cost of Medigap Plan G is typically $300 to $500 lower than Plan F. When I shop plans for people I use our quote
system to show exactly how much money you can save. We can see here that a 71 year old woman in
Stillwater, OK would pay $131.55 per month for the best priced Plan F available to her. Remember, this is the plan that pays everything.
You should note that there are 44 different companies offering Plan F in this zip code. These are all exactly the same plan, in every
detail. But the highest priced plan is over $330 / month. It’s close to three times as much as the best priced Plan F. Even once you decide
which Supplement plan is right for you, you need to make sure you are getting the best price or at least a fair price for your plan.
Plan G for this same person cost just $93.72 per month. It just happens to be the same company. That is seldom the case.
Not considering any household discounts you might qualify for, Plan F cost $1,579 per year. Plan G cost just $1,125 per year. The difference
in price is $453.88 per year. But, as you saw when we looked at the plan benefits, the only difference in benefits is the $166 per year Part B deductible.
Subtract that out and with a Plan F this person is paying $287.88 per year convenience fee for the insurance company to wire $166 to
Medicare. If she had a Plan G and paid the $166 herself, she would pocket $287.88 is savings.
Let’s take a look at another Zip code, this time in Pennsylvania zip 19149. This time we will stay with a 65-year old. There
are 35 companies offering Plan F here with the best price being $158.52 per month he highest price for the exact same plan $337 per month.
Plan G is just $123.45 per month. Let’s take this a step further and take a quick look at Plan N
Plan G’s premium is $421 less per year than Plan F. After paying the $166 Part B deductible out-of-pocket, the person with a Plan G saves
an extra $255 per year. That’s at least $2,500 over a ten year period. Plan G is obviously a better value than Plan F.
What about Plan N? Plan N is $621 per year less than Plan F and $232 per year less than Plan G! Note that Plan G has a benefit of
paying for any Medicare Part B excess charges. If you own a Plan G, you are paying for this benefit. But those charges are not allowed in
Pennsylvania and 7 other states. So in these states you are paying for something you don’t need. That is why Plan N starts to become a
better value than Plan G.
Why are we looking at Plan N? Because our client here lives in Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania is one of the 8 states that forbid
Part B Excess Charges
Keep In Mind, Medigap or Medicare Supplement plans simply supplement the benefits offered by your Original Medicare parts A& B. Medicare
controls the rules, not a private insurance company. So each of these plans offer the benefits of Original Medicare.
All the Medigap plans offer No Networks, No Referrals Required, you can see any doctor, got to any hospital, all across the U.S.A. Your
benefits never change and are guaranteed renewable. The difference is that Plan N requires $20 per
visit co-pays in return for even greater savings. In states that forbid Medicare part B excess charges Plan N is often the best
value. In many other states Plan G is typically the best value for full coverage. There you have it. In almost every state
Medigap Plan G is a better value than Medigap Plan F. The cost of a Plan G is typically low enough that even after paying the Medicare Part
B deductible You have the same complete coverage as a Plan F supplement at a lower cost. However, Medigap Plan G is not always
your best value. Medigap Plan N offers an even lower premium and can be a better value. When you are shopping for a Medicare Supplement,
shop at least those three plans and compare the cost and benefits to find the Medicare Supplement right for your needs & budget
We can help. We are independent insurance agency not affiliated with any insurance company. We offer all Medicare Supplements
and can show you the prices and plans in your area. Our role is to advise you based on our experience and make certain you have the
information you need to make an informed decision about your Medicare. I am Matthew Claassen with
medigapseminars.org. Call us or visit our website or click the link in the upper right hand corner of this video. It will take you a quote
request form where you can provide us with the information we need to shop the Medicare market and show you the best plans and prices
available to you. Thank you for watching. 800-847-9680 MedigapSeminars.org