HEADS UP: New York - 2026 - Medicare Supplemental Rate Increase Applied for by Insurers for 2026
Medicare Supplemental plans have asked the New York Dept of Financial Services to approve a rate increase at the % of increase stated per each company.
NewYork is one of the few states in the Union that has continuous enrollment into Medigap plans without any Underwriting. Thus it opens the door for Adverse Selection - where beneficiaries that are, perhaps, sicker and using a lot of Medicare can obtain a Medicare Supplemental plan at anytime without underwriting and the cost is shared by everybody.
Adverse selection occurs when lower cost or healthier patients opt out of more expensive plans or forego buying insurance until they need it, while higher cost or
sicker patients actively buy more protective insurance (with additional out-of-pocket protections and/or benefits) to protect them from risk. This imbalance in enrollment
results in fewer lower cost or healthier enrollees and a greater number of higher cost or sicker enrollees in insurance products. The higher use of services by higher
cost or sicker patients causes premiums to increase in that insurance product.
Any expected increase in Medicare Supplement premiums from assuring Medicare Advantage enrollees who switch to Traditional Medicare can access affordable Medicare Supplement coverage would depend on the degree of adverse selection. It would also depend on the number of beneficiaries who, when switching to Traditional Medicare, enroll in Medicare Supplement compared to the number of overall Medicare Supplement enrollees. The degree of adverse selection for those switching to Traditional Medicare would likely increase if beneficiaries leaving Medicare Advantage had assured access to affordable Medicare Supplemental coverage.
They have this assurance in New York with its continuous enrollment in Medicare Supplemental plans without underwriting. The avoidance of this situation is why other state’s Medigap insurers are given the right to underwrite.
New York Dept of Financial Services.gov - Information for Medicare Beneficiaries
From the above link: [copy/paste]
Open Enrollment
New York State law and regulation require that any insurer writing Medigap insurance must accept a Medicare enrollee's application for coverage at any time throughout the year. Insurers may not deny the applicant a Medigap policy or make any premium rate distinctions because of health status, claims experience, medical condition or whether the applicant is receiving health care services. However, eligibility for policies offered on a group basis is limited to those individuals who are members of the group to which the policy is issued.
While every Medigap insurer offers both plan A and B for policies sold before June 01, 2010, plans A, B and either C or F for policies sold on or after June 01, 2010, and plans A, B and either D or G for policies sold on or after January 1, 2020, not every company offers all standardized plans.