Frequently Asked Questions Archives - Page 2 of 2

Medigap Questions – I Have …. Can I Get a Medigap Plan?

August 23, 2012 by Garrett Ball Leave a Comment

Medigap plans are plans that are designed to fill in the gaps in Medicare A & B. These plans are sold through private insurance companies. When you first turn 65 or go on Medicare, you have a 6-month open enrollment period, during which you can sign up for a plan without any medical underwriting. In other words, you do not have to answer any health questions at all in order to get a plan. After that time period has passed, however, you do have to answer health questions at any time that you apply for a plan. Contrary to popular belief, Medigap plans do not have an annual enrollment period during which you change plans without underwriting. That only applies to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans.

So, dealing with Medigap plans, how do you know if you can change plans? First of all, it is important to understand that Medigap plans are standardized, so if you have a Plan G now, for example, another Plan G is going to provide the exact same coverage. You can easily compare that way to see if it makes sense to pursue another plan. You do, however, have to answer medical questions to make that change.

Different companies ask different medical questions. In general, companies are looking for the “big stuff” – i.e. heart attack, cancer, stroke, insulin-dependent diabetes, organ replacements, upcoming surgeries, etc. Most all companies ask about (and use as a disqualification) those things. Other things are also asked about on some companies applications. These range widely and any time you are considering a change, you should simply examine the health questions on a companies’ application to see if you would be able to pass underwriting. Most companies do also ask about any medication usage. It is important to note that this applies to most states – there are a few states that have special provisions prohibiting this underwriting at all or during certain times (i.e. your birthday month).

One more implication that must be discussed is that there are also time periods – called “guaranteed issue” – that you can get a plan without medical underwriting. Some of these time periods are losing employer coverage, dropping employer coverage, moving out of your plan’s service area, losing your Medicare Advantage plan, etc.

If you have any questions about Medigap or Medicare, in general, we are happy to help. Reach out to us via our website – Medigap-Quote.com – or call us at 877.506.3378.

Filed Under: Frequently Asked Questions, Medigap Plans Tagged With: bypass, diabetes, enrollment period, heart attack, insulin, medical questions, medicare, medigap, plan f, plan g, questions, quote, quotes, supplement, supplemental, underwriting

Medigap Questions – When Is the Annual Enrollment Period?

August 22, 2012 by Garrett Ball 1 Comment

The Annual Enrollment Period, or AEP, is the period near the end of the year during which you can sign up for a certain Medicare plans. This period was formerly held from October 15 through December 31. Currently, the enrollment period runs from October 15 through December 7 of 2012. Many people who have Medicare often ask when this period is. It is important to know for Medicare Part D, the prescription drug part of Medicare. This is the only time of year that you can change your Medicare Part D plan, cancel it or pick up a plan if you don’t have one. So, it is important to be aware of this period, ready for it, and make any desired changes when the period opens up.

However, this period does NOT apply to Medigap plans. Contrary to popular belief, Medigap plans do not have an annual enrollment period. You can enroll in, change, or disenroll from your Medicare Supplement plan at any time. There are no time restrictions on when you can do this. Now, there is an initial enrollment period, which runs for 6 months from the time that you are first eligible for Medicare. During this time period, you can sign up for any plan with no underwriting, health questions or pre-existing condition exclusions. After that period is over, however, you can change Medigap plans at any time but you have to qualify medically to do so.

It is important to understand the various implications around changing Medigap plans. There are a lot of options for Medigap coverage and coverage is completely standardized. That is, coverage is the same with all of the companies. One Plan F is the same as another. Because of that, the rate is the primary thing that you should look at when you are comparing the plans. Rates do change from time to time and can go up a good bit. Whenever your rate changes, that is a good time to re-evaluate and make sure you have the most desirable plan for you. If you are paying $150 for a Plan F, for example, and there is another Plan F for $120, you can easily change and save $360/year for the same coverage.

If you have any questions about how this works or anything else regarding Medicare, please call us at 877.506.3378 or request information at Medigap-Quote.com.

Filed Under: Frequently Asked Questions, Medicare Part D, Medigap Plans Tagged With: 2012 annual medicare enrollment period, aep, annual election period, annual enrollment period, insurance, medicare, medicare supplement, medigap questions, quote, supplemental, when is the medicare annual enrollment period in 2012, when is the medigap annual enrollment period

Medigap Questions – Am I Covered If I Live Half the Year in Another Place?

August 21, 2012 by Garrett Ball Leave a Comment

Medigap plans can be confusing to many people. Although the coverage of the plans is completely Federally-standardized, there are still many questions that people on Medicare ask about the plans and how they work. One of those such questions concerns traveling with your Medigap plan and if, when you travel, your coverage goes with you.

First and foremost, it is important to understand that Medigap plans can be used anywhere nationwide that takes Medicare. Medicare, as you know, is a national program. Any doctor/hospital that accepts Medicare patients is required to accept the Medigap plans. So, in short, the answer is yes. If you travel to another state, or live in another of the country for half of the year or a few months out of the year, you are covered there just as if you were in your primary residence. Coverage is the same nationwide.

There are some other implications around this that you should be aware of. First of all, note that Medigap plans have nationwide coverage that is the same with all companies and accepted anywhere that takes Medicare. However, Medicare Advantage plans – the other type of plan that you can get if you are on Medicare – do not work the same way. These plans have specific networks that you must stay within and they are specific to a certain county, region or geographic area.

Another implication that is somewhat related as it pertains to travel and Medigap plans is international travel. As you will notice on the plan coverage chart, many of the Medigap plans – most, in fact – do cover “Foreign Travel Emergency”. This benefit is part of Medigap plans (not covered under “traditional” Medicare). It is up to $50,000 lifetime maximum benefit that can be used if you traveling abroad. The primary Medigap plans, such as Plan F and Plan G do include this benefit.

There are many questions associated with Medicare and Medigap insurance. At Medigap-Quote.com, we strive to answer your questions quickly and completely. If you have questions, you can reach us at 877.506.3378 or contact us online at: Medigap-Quote.com.

Filed Under: Frequently Asked Questions, Medigap Plans Tagged With: are medigap plans portable, can i use my medigap in another state, can i use my medigap plan overseas, does medicare cover me in another state, medicare, medigap plans, medigap quotes, moving to another state with medicare, supplement, supplemental

Medigap Enrollment Period – When Can I Change My Plan?

July 16, 2012 by Garrett Ball 1 Comment

One of the most commonly held misconceptions about Medicare and Medigap plans is that there is an annual enrollment period for Medigap plans. This misconception holds that you can change plans only during this period, and you do not have to answer medical questions or “qualify” to do so. Put simply, that is just not the case. On the contrary, there is NO annual enrollment period – you can change plans at any time. Whenever you change Medigap plans, you DO have to answer medical questions (in most states).

So, how does this misconception get perpetuated and repeated to new generations of Medicare-eligible people? The main reason is because there IS an annual enrollment period, it just does not apply to Medigap plans. This annual enrollment period, which occurs from October 15 through December 7 in 2012, is for Medicare Part D (the drug coverage part of Medicare) and Medicare Advantage plans (the plans that replace Medicare). During this “AEP” (Annual Election Period), you can change your Part D plan, with the changeover taking effect on January 1. You can do this with no hassle, underwriting or penalty. This leads many people to believe that this is a Medicare annual enrollment period that applies to all plans, when in reality, it does not apply to the Medigap plans.

Changing Medigap plans is certainly possible, though. You can change plans at any time of the year. In most states and with most companies, there are underwriting criteria that determine if/when you are eligible to change. These criteria do vary from company to company. In general, you have to be in relatively good health to make a change; however, there are exceptions. A few of those are:

If you are losing employer coverage or an Advantage plan, you have “guaranteed issue” to get a Medigap plan
You have six months from the time that you sign up for Medicare Part B to get a Medigap plan with no underwriting
Some companies extend a limited underwriting period past that required six month period
There are some states in which underwriting is not used/allowed on Medigap plans – for example, WA and NY

Overall, it can seem daunting to many people to change their Medigap plans. However, it should not be that way – it is a very easy process that can be done with limited hassle or paperwork. Basically, you apply for the new plan; then, once approved, you cancel the old plan effective the same date that the new plan takes effect. There is no overlap and no gap in coverage. This can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a year.

If you have questions about the process for doing this or want to find out what your savings would be, contact us online or call us at 877.506.3378.

Filed Under: Frequently Asked Questions, Medigap Plans Tagged With: aep, comparison, enrollment, how to change medigap plans, medicare supplement, medigap, medigap comparison, period, plans, quote, quotes, rates, when can you change medigap plans

Are Medicare Part B Premiums Going Up to $247 in 2014?

July 12, 2012 by Garrett Ball 1 Comment

Are Medicare Part B Premiums Going Up to $247 in 2014? This is the question I receive on a weekly basis from my clients. The question stems from an email that has been, and continue to, go around saying, basically that – that premiums are going up to $247 for Part B in 2014. The email has been going around in some form or fashion since 2009. Here’s the text of the email that I have seen (there may be other variations):

MEDICARE PREMIUM INCREASE

For those of you who are on Medicare, read the article below. It’s a
short but important article that you probably haven’t heard about in
the mainstream news:

The per person Medicare insurance premium will increase from the
present monthly fee of

$ 96.40, rising to:

$104.20 in 2012;

$120.20 in 2013; And

$247.00 in 2014.

These are provisions incorporated in the Obamacare legislation,
purposely delayed so as not to ‘confuse’ the 2012 re-election
campaigns.

Send this to all seniors that you know, so they will know who’s
throwing them under the bus.

So, is this true? Enough people believe it and are sending it around, so it must be true – right?

Not so fast! First of all, the 2011 and 2012 numbers are incorrect. The 2011 official Part B premium was $115.40, and the 2012 Part B premium is $99.90 (unless you fall into the high-income category or receive extra help paying your Part B premium).

Secondly, and most importantly, Obamacare or PPACA, as it is formally called, did not make any changes to the way that Medicare Part B premiums are figured. These processes for determining the Part B premiums are the same as they have been. One of the important components of these processes is the “hold harmless” provision – this says that Medicare premiums cannot go up for existing beneficiaries if Social Security payments do not go up. This “hold harmless” provision kept some beneficiaries, in 2011, paying the 2009 rates ($96.40) because there was no cost of living increase to Social Security in 2010 or 2011.

You should understand how Medicare premiums are calculated. Medicare beneficiaries are required to contribute to their Part B premiums. Right now, these contributions are required to be at 25% of total costs. So every year, Medicare figures out what the total costs will be and “backs into” that 25% figure that beneficiaries are responsible for.

For the Medicare Part B premium to go up that much, the cost of living increase in Social Security would have to be about 250%. Now, if that happens, there’s going to be a lot of happy Medicare beneficiaries! (That’s not going to happen!)

With all that understood, you can easily see that there is no way that this “scare tactic” email is correct. Sure, there are some things that insurance agents, insurance companies and consumers alike should be concerned with regarding the PPACA legislation, but this is simply not one of them. So if you receive this email, instead of “sending it on to all seniors you know”, why don’t you take a stand for truth and hit the delete button instead.

For more information like this, visit our Medigap website and blog on a regular basis. Or give us a call at 877.506.3378 with any specific questions regarding Medicare, Medicare Supplements or Part D.

Filed Under: Frequently Asked Questions, Medicare A & B Tagged With: $247, $99.90, 2014, how much are part b premiums going up, medicare, medicare part b premiums, obama, obamacare, part b