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Do You Need a Medigap Policy?

August 13, 2020

Do You need a Medigap policy? Medigap supplemental policies are sold by private insurance companies and either fully or partially cover cost-sharing aspects of Medicare Part A (hospital coverage) and Part B (outpatient care). However, one thing that feeds into the premium cost is how the insurer “rates” its Medigap policies, explains CNBC’s recent article entitled “A ‘Medigap’ policy picks up some costs that Medicare won’t. Here are tips for choosing one.”

In fact, some insurers will provide discounts for two Medigap policies in the same household. Therefore, you would want to understand a carrier’s premium rating system, its claims history and the caliber of its customer service department. Don’t buy a policy just based on the cost.

About 62.3 million people, most of whom are 65 or older, are enrolled in Medicare. About a third of beneficiaries opt to get their Part A (hospital coverage) and Part B (outpatient care) benefits through an Advantage Plan (Part C). Those plans offer out-of-pocket limits and frequently will have dental and vision coverage or other benefits. They also typically provide Part D prescription drug coverage. The rest use original Medicare — Parts A and B — and, typically, add a standalone Part D prescription plan. In that scenario, unless you have some other type of coverage (i.e., employer-sponsored insurance or you get extra coverage from Medicaid), the option for lowering your out-of-pocket costs is a Medigap policy.

When you initially enroll in Part B, you have six months to buy a Medigap policy without an insurance company reviewing your health history and deciding whether to insure you. After this period ends, depending on the specifics of your situation and the state in which you reside, you may have to go through underwriting.

The reasons to buy a Medigap policy are different for each individual. A big difference in premiums can come from how they are “rated.” If you know this, it may help you to appreciate what may happen to your premium in the future. There are some insurers’ Medigap policies that are “community-rated.” This means everyone who buys a particular policy pays the same rate, no matter what their age. Other plans are based on “attained age.” That means the rate you receive at purchase, is based upon your age and will go up as you get older. A few others use “issue age,” where the rate will stay the same as you age, but it’s based on your age at the time you purchase the policy.

Your premiums also may jump from year to year due to other factors, like inflation and insurer increases.

Remember to see if there’s a household discount. Many insurers have this, and it can save 3% to 14%.

If you would like to learn more about obtaining other policies, like life insurance, please read some of our previous posts.

Reference: CNBC (June 15, 2020) “A ‘Medigap’ policy picks up some costs that Medicare won’t. Here are tips for choosing one”

Legislation to Prevent Medicare Mistakes

August 12, 2020

More older workers are remaining in the workplace. In 2016, about 60% of 65-year-olds were receiving Social Security benefits, compared to 92% in 2002. Consumer advocates expect that change to result in a growing number of older people making expensive mistakes, when they enroll in basic Medicare, says the article “Bipartisan bill to prevent costly Medicare mistakes advances in the house” from CNBC.com. The hope is that the bill will make Medicare a little easier to understand. The legislation to prevent costly Medicare mistakes cleared a House committee as part of a group of bipartisan health-care bills. Next up would be a vote by the full chamber.

There’s a companion bill in the Senate, but it’s stuck in the Finance Committee. The House bill, known as the BENES Act, has several goals. One is to eliminate delays between the time that someone signs up and the time that they are covered by Medicare. Another is to offer more outreach and information about Medicare to people, as they get closer to being eligible at 65.

About 62.4 million Americans—most of whom are 65 or older—are enrolled in Medicare. Most people do end up tapping their Social Security benefits before that time, and they are automatically enrolled, but today many more people are delaying their benefits beyond that age. As a result, the expectation is that many more people are going to make expensive mistakes, when they do go to enroll in basic Medicare. That includes Part A, for hospital coverage and Part B, for outpatient care and medical equipment. There are no late-enrollment penalties for Part A but coming late to Part B can lead to a world of trouble.

The penalty for enrolling late to Part B is 10% of the standard premium for each 12-month period that the person should have been enrolled but wasn’t and worse, it can increase each year as the premium adjusts. Sixty-five-year-olds who fit into the exception category—that is, they have group health insurance at work—are allowed to delay enrolling. However, once they leave that group, they face deadlines.

Last year, as many as 764,000 people paid the Part B late-enrollment penalty, which on average pushed their premiums up by 28%. Based on the 2020 standard Part B premium, that would mean an additional $40 per month (although some pay more or less than the standard).

There is also a serious coverage delay for those who sign up during the general enrollment period (that’s January 1 to March 31), if they missed their initial signup window, which means they aren’t covered until July 1. You could sign up on January 2 and not have health coverage until July!

The legislation also requires that the Health and Human Services Secretary submit a report on how to most effectively align the early year general enrollment period for Parts A and B with the annual fall open enrollment period, which is for enrollment for different parts of Medicare: Part C Advantage Plans and Part D prescription drug plans.

Reference: CNBC.com (July 16, 2020) “Bipartisan bill to prevent costly Medicare mistakes advances in the house”

Category: Medicare

Do You Need a Medigap Policy?

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