< I’m paying $44/month for my Plan G.>
What company?
Wendy
1 Like
WendyBG asks,
< I’m paying $44/month for my Plan G.>
What company?
United American Ins. Company, McKinney, TX
Here’s what’s available from the WA State Insurance Commissioner’s web site.
https://www.insurance.wa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/m…
Note before I signed up for Medigap in 2021, I talked to someone on the insurance commissioner’s staff looking for the number of consumer complaints against the various insurers to inform my decision. The staff member told me that Medigap gets very few complaints because Medigap insurers don’t make any claims or benefit decisions. They just pay what Medicare tells them to pay and skim 20%+ off the premiums collected for their trouble. So you can confidently just pick the lowest priced policy – they’re all the same.
Very few insurers sell the high deductible Plan G policy I wanted. Since the 20%+ skim rate is being applied to such a low premium, most insurers won’t waste their time offering it. That’s why Medicare Advantage is such a bonanza. You’re skimming off a $12,000 pot instead of just $528 (i.e., $44/month x 12).
The genius of traditional Medicare is that they don’t let the for-profit insurance companies touch the money – that’s what keeps costs low.
intercst
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intercst wrote:
I went though a whole analysis on this a while back.
What I’m doing for Medicare insurance at age 65
https://retireearlyhomepage.com/medicare2020.html
Yes, I read that. Very helpful. Thank you!
Of course things change so it’s never all that clear whether what was smart yesterday is still smart today.
-IGU-
The Countess has been with Blue Shield ever since she went on Medicare.
Her card says she has a GX supplement. My card says I have a G supplement. I don;t know what the “X” means. She says she gets some “free” stuff. My experience with free stuff is that it’s usually worth what it costs.
CNC
intercst: Plan G is a Medigap plan, but $300/month is a hefty premium. I’m paying $44/month for my Plan G. And note, by law all Plan G’s cover the same stuff. The $300 plan doesn’t offer anything extra vs. the $200/month plan.
I wonder … maybe the price difference is due to age. I an years your senior, and the premiums do go up with age. Still better than the “free” HMO.
CNC
1 Like
Aren’t you like 80 years old and have been on Medicare a while? Maybe you’re grandfathered into something that’s not available to recent retirees.
Do you get prescription drugs with your “Plan G” Medigap? Or do you have to buy a separate Part D drug plan like everyone else on Medigap?
California does increase premiums with age while WA State charges everyone the same premium, no matter what age.
intercst
Aren’t you like 80 years old and have been on Medicare a while? Maybe you’re grandfathered into something that’s not available to recent retirees
84 yo next month. I have a list of available plans on my desk. Prices range, but most are around $300-$400 a month. Best is a Blue Cross at $282 a month.
Do you get prescription drugs with your “Plan G” Medigap? Or do you have to buy a separate Part D drug plan like everyone else on Medigap?
My plan included drugs.
California does increase premiums with age while WA State charges everyone the same premium, no matter what age.
That’s mighty charitable of them, no?
CNC
My plan included drugs.
All these “Medigap” plans you’re looking at include prescription drugs? Now I’m beginning to think what you actually have is Medicare Advantage. If you were somehow being grandfathered into something, it’s unlikely you’d have a dozen choices.
Maybe you can post the exact name for one of the plans. I might be able to look it up on the Internet.
intercst
Maybe you can post the exact name for one of the plans. I might be able to look it up on the Internet.
intercst
All I have right now is a list of 32 suppliers and prices for the various plans. I am only looking for G plans. I should find out more details tomorrow. The prices are all over the place.
Thanks for bearing with me as I struggle through this phase of my insured life.
CNC
Does this look like the list of 32 names you’re looking at?
https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/MH/Pages/MedicareAdvantageP…
intercst
Does this look like the list of 32 names you’re looking at?
Some of the same companies are listed, bur the lists are not the same.
https://aga6.destinationrx.com/PC/2022/Profile/Authorization…
Needs an authorization code.
CNC
This morning I signed on the dotted line for an Anthem Blue Cross Plan G.
Apparently all Plan G policies are the same in California, but there is a range of prices from different insurance companies. Strange.
Interesting that I can change plans/insurors in the middle of a cancer treatment program.
CNC
Interesting that I can change plans/insurors in the middle of a cancer treatment program.
That’s because you have an elected insurance commissioner in California that’s answerable to voters, instead of the appointed insurance company lobbyist that they tend to get in Texas.
intercst
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This morning I signed on the dotted line for an Anthem Blue Cross Plan G.
Apparently all Plan G policies are the same in California, but there is a range of prices from different insurance companies. Strange.
You mentioned that your Plan G includes prescription drug coverage and you don’t need to buy a stand alone Part D drug plan. That’s not the Plan G offered to everyone else in California. Do you have a description of the drug coverage (deductibles, co-pays, etc.)?
Medicare Supplement plans
https://www.anthem.com/ca/medicare/medicare-supplement-plans…
intercst
1 Like
You mentioned that your Plan G includes prescription drug coverage
If I said that, I was mistook. I have wellcare for prescription drugs.