intercst: You said you switched to a Blue Shield “advantage” plan, not Medigap. There isn’t any medical underwriting for switching from one advantage plan to another during a Special Enrollment Period.
Now if you really got a Medigap plan without underwriting, that would be a “secret deal”.
I must admit to ignorance about the distinction between “Medigap” and an “advantage” plan. So, I went to wiki (as usual): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medigap
Medigap (also called Medicare supplement insurance or Medicare supplemental insurance) refers to various private health insurance plans sold to supplement Medicare in the United States. Medigap insurance provides coverage for many of the co-pays and some of the co-insurance related to Medicare-covered hospital, skilled nursing facility, home health care, ambulance, durable medical equipment, and doctor charges. Medigap’s name is derived from the notion that it exists to cover the difference or “gap” between the expenses reimbursed to providers by Medicare Parts A and B for the preceding named services and the total amount allowed to be charged for those services by the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
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Medigap offerings have been standardized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) into ten different plans, labeled A through N, sold and administered by private companies.
The terms seem to be interchangesble?
I see that I have a Plan G. (I haven’t discovered an explanation of the various distinctions.)
Costs
Costs for Medicare Supplement insurance vary widely. The 2020 Medigap Price Index found that someone turning 65 could pay more than three times more for virtually identical coverage. Among the top-10 metro areas, the lowest cost for a male age 65 was $109-per-month available in Dallas. The highest cost was $509-per-month in Philadelphia.
I pay $300 a month. My HMO was “Free” (and worth every penny.)
CNC