Medicare Supplemental Rate Actions 2024 - Q1

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@EwesleyR294077 wrote:

The United Health Care AARP supplemental  G plan went up 13% for 2024. There are other G plans out there that offer the same coverage but with a much lower premium. However to change you must go through underwriting. I would think the larger the pool the lower the premium since the risk is spread out. 

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MedicGAP plans are all standardized based on Federal law - Likw all plan G’s have the same coverage as other plan G’s,  

Up to the insurer to set the prices for their own plans but premiums can include other things too -

• like any extra benefits that the insurer wants to provide and premiums can increase if these extras have increasing cost - like gym memberships.
• There may also be a declining discount - so the premium, may go up periodically because of the decline in the premium discount.
• Or there is also the rating method that the insurer uses - MediGAP plans can use the (1) Community rated method or the (2) Issue age rating method or the (3) Attained Age method - with (1) and (3) being the most prevalent.’
• Then of course, there is the increase in medical cost or even utilization for these type plans

You said . . . . “ the larger the pool the lower the premium since the risk is spread out.”.  Not necessarily - especially when that booked group is sicker - the risk cost goes up - and many Medigap plans are now in a closed book group.

As an example - Look at Plan F - no longer open to enrollment so who is left in the plan now - those getting older and (most likely) sicker - where do you think those premiums can be spread?

Another example is any MediGap plan that a state may open up for those who get Medicare because of a disability (SSDI) - usually this is Plan A - and it is VERY expensive for these disabled folks - sometimes upwards of $ 500 a month just for the MediGAP Plan A.

You said . . . . “ the larger the pool the lower the premium since the risk is spread out.”.      Again, Not necessarily for those in more Medigap liberal states - several states allow people to change plans sometimes during the year or even switch from a Medicare Advantage plan to a Medigap WITHOUT UNDERWRITING - New York is one of those states.  ALL premiums for MediGAP plans in New York are higher no matter when or how one enrolls - because these liberal rules for MediGAP enrollment just make premiums higher for everybody.

MediGAP plans aren’t really health plans - they are linked to health only because that is what  area they cover.  Like AutoGAP insurance only covers cars.  ALL GAP insurance products are financial protection policies because they cover some unknown cost in medical care exposure under Medicare.  

Premiums are MUCH lower when the Medicare beneficiary accepts some of the risk like the High Deductible Plan G - for people that can afford to pay a little for their own medical care the benefit is much lower premiums.

There are some MediGAP plans that you don’t hear much about - like the Medicare Select MediGAP plan design - it is exactly like all the other MediGAp plans in coverage but it only covers a selected group of providers - a network so to speak - it works well and cheaper if you can work within the select network of providers - the good thing about it is if you move to another place and lose coverage because you are out of the select network area - you can pick up another MediGAP plan without underwriting cause this condition open another guaranteed issue right period.

The larger the pool; the lower the risk philosophy might be a good premise under some other type of healthcare coverage - but not for a group of Medicare beneficiaries who’s common factor is they are either old, getting older or already disabled.  The designated group doesn’t support lower risk with all the hip, knee and joint replacements, the diabetes and the other chronic illnesses or ESRD, etc., etc., etc.