IMPORTANT: MEDIGAP PREMIUM LEAP

[GailL1]

 Definitely NOT just AARP/UHC Supplemental plans that are seeing these premium  increases.

 KFF Health News - 04/23/2026 - Medigap Premiums Leap, and Consumers Have Few Alternatives 

from the link [copy/paste - portions of the article - most of it actually

]

From an Illinois based broker:  More than 80 of his customers who were enrolled in the same Medicare supplemental plan from the insurer Chubb got hit last August with a 45% increase.  . . . . . In my 49 years of doing biz as a broker, I’ve never seen a premium increase be effective immediately on everyone, instead of on their policy anniversary . . . . 

While 45% was an unusually big jump, Jaggi and other brokers say double-digit premium increases for Medicare supplemental, or Medigap, policies are becoming the norm.

In the supplemental market, following big increases last year, rates appear to be rising again.  In early 2026 filings with state insurance commissioners from Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana, Mutual of Omaha, and UnitedHealthcare, rate increases for Plan G policies — the most commonly purchased supplement type — ranged from just over 12% to more than 26% in the first quarter, according to Nebraska-based consulting firm Telos Actuarial.

While this is a small dataset across a select number of states, it’s an indication that carriers are looking to correct their premium rates in light of upward pressure on their claims experience,” said Brett Mushett, a consulting actuary with Telos.

. . . . . Medicare makes changes to deductible and copayment rates each year, which affects supplemental plans that cover those increasing amounts.

Wallace also noted that the insurer saw higher medical service use among its members, “which further drove claims costs and ultimately impacted premiums.”

Agents and policy experts blame a range of factors for rising premiums: an increase in the use of medical services by beneficiaries; the aging of the population; increases in labor and medical costs; rules in some states governing Medigap plans; and people’s enrolling in — or getting out of — private Medicare Advantage plans.

[ the Illinois broker] said he eventually found other options for many of those 80-plus clients with the large increase, which came from an insurer that had previously been the lowest-cost option. But it wasn’t easy — and continuing increases are expected. [ ME:  Illinois does allow switching under some circumstances other than underwriting ]

Policy experts have outlined possible solutions, including for Congress to cap out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries or subsidize the purchase of Medigap coverage.

Traditional Medicare is the only federal health insurance program without an out-of-pocket cap,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote in an email, adding that the program “needs to be updated and strengthened to protect the Medicare guarantee for American seniors.”

But making changes to Medicare that require congressional approval is unlikely in the current legislative environment, especially because adding an out-of-pocket cap would add costs to the federal budget.

At least 16 states have what’s known as a “birthday rule,” which requires insurers once a year to allow people enrolled in a Medigap plan to change to different supplemental coverage — usually around their birthdays — without being medically underwritten. Those rules can help consumers, including those with health conditions, to switch.

An additional four states — Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and New York — require insurers to offer at least one Medigap policy to all applicants either year-round or during an annual enrollment period, depending on the state. Changes are allowed no matter the person’s health.

[ME: Premiums are on average higher in these states that have allowed for NO to limited underwriting - Underwriting keeps those that are very sick from switching Medigap plans without paying a premium on their premiums or disqualifying coverage of a preexisting condition for several months - both are to even out the risk factor. This is mentioned further down in the article and in this copy paste of the article] 

Another option for those facing high Medigap costs is to leave traditional Medicare and enroll in a private-sector Medicare Advantage plan, which have out-of-pocket caps. But joining one means beneficiaries must generally rely on a set of in-network doctors and hospitals. And if they change their mind and want to go back to traditional Medicare, they have only a 12-month window in which to purchase a Medigap plan without passing health questions. After that, it can be more difficult.

“A lot of people don’t know that if they are in Medicare Advantage for a year, they can get turned down by a Medigap plan or charged really high premiums because of a preexisting condition, which for many people effectively traps them in MA

plans,”

There are some exceptions. For example, if a Medicare Advantage plan withdraws from a market or leaves the Medicare program, its enrollees can qualify for a supplemental plan without being asked health questions or charged more for having preexisting conditions.

For this year alone, about 2.6 million people lost Medicare Advantage coverage when their insurer pulled out of their markets, according to KFF, and more than a million lost coverage for 2025. Many switched to other MA plans, but “somewhere around 440,000 of those people did go to a Medicare supplement policy,”

Some Medicare experts note that anytime insurers enroll people whose health status they can’t consider — whether because of birthday rules or because their Medicare Advantage plan left the market and thus qualified them for an exemption from medical underwriting — it potentially exposes them to more health care utilization and higher costs, making them more likely to increase premiums across the board to offset the possible financial hit.

Another option mentioned by brokers for people looking to lower their costs is to consider one of the two types of Medigap plans that come with a deductible, which is currently just under $3,000 for a year. Those plans charge far lower monthly premiums than Medigap plans that pick up a much larger portion of annual amounts people must pay toward their Medicare services.

Still, “a lot of people are not comfortable with a $3,000 deductible,” . . . . 

 [ end copy / paste from the article ]

Get ready folks - this has ONLY just began - Now some states are extending wide or wider Medigap coverage to the disabled especially those with ALS and ESRD - of course, this sound humane and good but it is gonna increase premiums for most everybody depending on the plan these folks choose.  BTW, many of them are already covered under a lesser benefit plan - like Plan A - and are paying astronomical premiums for even this plan.  Now some states are gonna change this so that their premiums are not much higher than those who can get a Medigap because of age-related Medicare.

[RN362636]

Basically, the entire system is broken. Healthcare costs are too high; insurance companies are all about profit for stock holders; primary benefit managers are mostly owned by the insurance companies; bait and switch tactics to get people to believe that Advantage plans are great with freebies then slowly take them away....an entire book could probably be written.