United Health Care Premium 2023 mid-year rate hike

[Ghaeilge1975]

Sort of new to medigap/supplemental plan and was surprised to receive letter June 2023 that my 2023 plan G is hiking up my premium by $10.85 starting in Aug 2023 and then another hike of $7.19 for 2024 till July 2024.  Is this normal?  Does UHC do rate hikes mid-year?  That is like 6% for rest of 2023 and a bit over 4% for 2024.  

[GailL1]

Medigap policies aren't really health insurance for seniors - rather these policies are "GAP" insurance which is more of a financial tool to protect someone from a high cost of whatever is insured.

CMS under the rules of Traditional Medicare coverage gives insurers (3) ways to price their policies - (1) community rating (2) issue age  (3) attained age - so these specifics on the type of rating they use gives them the annual increase but by no means do these cover the rising cost of coverage.  So in addition to these, they may raise the premium price based on the rising cost of coverage.  

Increases in Medigap premiums and other type of coverage specifics are governed by your state - you may be able to find more info at your state's Dept. of Insurance - they approve the rate increases and your state legislature controls other type of coverage specifics under Medigap plans.

I posted about the AARP UHC Supplemental policy rate increases a few days ago on this board.  Here is the link to it - look up your state.

AARP Community Board - Medicare & Insurance - 06/17/2023 - 2023 Rate Info for AARP / UHC Medicare Su...

Is this normal you ask - these type policies do go up - sometimes more and sometimes less - depending on their coverage spending.  We have inflation at a higher level than it has been in a while so yes, people may experience higher premiums during this period whenever they may occur.  

I do not know if mid-year increases are normal for AARP UHC Medigap plans -

[Ghaeilge1975]

Thank you Gail for your explanation.  This is all sort of new to me and your explanation is much appreciated.  So happy AARP has this forum where I can learn from others.  Again, thank you for taking the time and helping me understand.  

Best regards.