UnitedHealthcare: Company Strategy for their two Medigap books of business (UHIC and UHICA)

[GRCM]

I live in Ohio and will be eligible for Medicare in a few months, so I'm trying to choose a good Medigap supplement.  I will likely not be able to pass underwriting in the future, so I have to choose a policy that I will be stuck with for the next 40 years unless I move to another state that does not require underwriting. 

One of my options is UnitedHealthcare.  UnitedHealthcare currently has two separate open books of business for their Medigap supplements:  1) UHIC *with* extra wellness benefits and 2) UHICA *without* any wellness benefits.  Of course, you're going to pay extra for those "extra" benefits!   

UHICA stands for UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of America, and it operates under the UnitedHealthcare umbrella. UHICA was newly introduced in 2022 to a select group of agents, and it is not available in all states.  An agent cautioned me that the UHICA offering is being removed from some states/counties, and his agency does not recommend buying it. He seems to think UnitedHealthcare will discontinue it and close the book of business, which could drive premiums sky high. 

It makes zero sense to me that UnitedHealthcare would discontinue UHICA. Customers are desperate to buy less expensive supplements now, and I would think having this lower-cost option would draw more people to the UnitedHealthcare supplement business.  I have googled myself silly to see if I can find any documentation that shows the company's strategy here, and I can't find any other source that says they are likely discontinue it.  I called the company, and their lips are sealed.

Would you guys please check your crystal balls and let me know whether you think the low-cost policy is a safe option for the long-term?  I have read that UnitedHealthcare is paring back its wellness benefits for Medigap supplements, so it seems to me that they're going in that direction.  I saw where Humana has also introduced a low-cost option without extra benefits, so I'm hoping this is a trend. 

Thank you!

[TRL1111]

I can tell you that when I signed up for Medicare in Texas three years ago, UHC offered two different Plan Gs--one with "wellness extras" and one without.  I chose the one with wellness extras.

But at the end of 2025, they stopped allowing new people to enroll in the Plan G without wellness extras.  For all the zip codes used to search for plans in Texas on the AARP/UHC website, all of the available plans include wellness extras.

The last time I checked, my G with wellness extras cost like $10 or $15 more than a Plan G without wellness extras.  Of course I can't check that any more because all the plan comparison tools show only plans that are eligible to be bought, and the Plan G without wellness extras is no longer eligible to be bought.

That's one of the insidious things about closed books--they leave no trace.

[GRCM]

I'm not sure the book of business is closed because we can still purchase G without benefits in Ohio.  I thought a book of business was open as long as the policy was being sold in at least one state.  I used to work for an auto insurance company, and a book had multiple states in it.

[TRL1111]

There's not a whole lot of non-anecdotal discussion of closing books on Medigap supplements out there.  Its almost like a whisper campaign.

It seems to me that Medigap is so entwined with and regulated by individual states that it woild be doubtful that a risk pool would cover multiple states, but "seems to me" can be dangerous ground when it comes to anything dealing with insurance.

[GRCM]

I just checked Medicare.gov for Ohio, and UHICA is still selling policies for Plans G and N.  An agent told me that UHICA is no longer selling in Indiana, but I checked Medicare.gov, and that isn't true.  I'm not going to give up until I figure out what's going on!  If they're going to discontinue it, I'm not buying it.

[GRCM]

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@TRL1111 wrote:

I can tell you that when I signed up for Medicare in Texas three years ago, UHC offered two different Plan Gs--one with "wellness extras" and one without.  I chose the one with wellness extras.

But at the end of 2025, they stopped allowing new people to enroll in the Plan G without wellness extras.  For all the zip codes used to search for plans in Texas on the AARP/UHC website, all of the available plans include wellness extras.

The last time I checked, my G with wellness extras cost like $10 or $15 more than a Plan G without wellness extras.  Of course I can't check that any more because all the plan comparison tools show only plans that are eligible to be bought, and the Plan G without wellness extras is no longer eligible to be bought.

That's one of the insidious things about closed books--they leave no trace.

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@TRL1111 wrote:

I can tell you that when I signed up for Medicare in Texas three years ago, UHC offered two different Plan Gs--one with "wellness extras" and one without.  I chose the one with wellness extras.

But at the end of 2025, they stopped allowing new people to enroll in the Plan G without wellness extras.  For all the zip codes used to search for plans in Texas on the AARP/UHC website, all of the available plans include wellness extras.

The last time I checked, my G with wellness extras cost like $10 or $15 more than a Plan G without wellness extras.  Of course I can't check that any more because all the plan comparison tools show only plans that are eligible to be bought, and the Plan G without wellness extras is no longer eligible to be bought.

That's one of the insidious things about closed books--they leave no trace.

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Thanks for sharing your insight.  I'd love to find out what their business strategy is for doing this. I saw where Texas recently passed some legislation that resulted in other companies pulling their business. A shame.

https://youtu.be/lXnPO-RxArY?si=ryBm3HguxYCvMMcs

[GailL1]

HB 2516 did pass into law in TX in June 2025 - Yes, it will affect premium cost of Medigap plans in TX.  

CURRENTLY, disabled individuals on Medicare already get a do over at age 65 - IOW, they get to apply for a (any) Medigap plan based on GI rights based on AGE at 65.  But this law covers them BEFORE the age of 65 - 

The Chris Larkin ALS Act

Texas.gov HHS Senate Research Analysis of HB 2516 05/12/2025 

How much will rates increase because of this special consideration - IDK ??????  But I will guess a good bit - it became effective on Sept 01, 2025 so I’m guessing that we should know the effect of it pretty soon.  

The Act mandates that premiums for Plan A, B and D must match those offered to beneficiaries 65 and older, and for other Medigap plans, rates for those UNDER 65 may not exceed 200% of the rates charged to those over 65.

Where it save the state money is in MEDICAID cost - it will not save those which have Medigap plans from paying higher premiums as a result of this change. 

I believe, if I am reading it right that they do have a chance to sign up now for this new type of Medigap premium  coverage. 

The link above says:

SECTION 3. Provides that the changes in law made by this Act apply only to a Medicare supplement benefit plan delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on or after September 1, 2025.

SECTION 4. Authorizes an individual younger than 65 years of age and enrolled in Medicare Part B by reason of disability, end stage renal disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in addition to other enrollment periods provided by law, on the effective date of this Act to apply for coverage under a Medicare supplement benefit plan:

(1) after August 31, 2025, and before March 2, 2026; or

(2) if the individual is unable to submit an application for coverage under the plan during the period described by Subdivision (1) of this section because the application is not available and the individual requested the application during that period, during a six-

month period beginning on the date the application initially becomes available.

SECTION 5. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2025.

[TRL1111]

@GRCM wrote:

I read that Texas recently passed some legislation that resulted in other companies pulling their business.  

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I don't know anything about that, but I do my best to avoid knowing anything about legislation in Texas.  😁

I looked at the AARP/UHC website for plans in Ohio, and it looks just like it used to in Texas--two flavors of Plan G:  one with wellness extras and one without.  The premium for the one with wellness extras is $11 more than the one without (65-year-old female in Columbus).  So there's not a huge savings to be gained by picking the one without wellness extras, and if it's the plans without wellness extras that are being closed, then the $11 could be insurance against being stuck in a closed book.

I noticed that on the medicare.gov site, they don't mention wellness extras on the AARP/UHC plans, and I honestly can't remember if it used to back when I was shopping three years ago.  The medicare.gov website makes it look like AARP/UHC offers two identical Plan Gs.  It's doubtful that most people will notice that one is offered by AARP-UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of America and one is offered by AARP-UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company.

I would imagine they'd just go for the cheaper one, since it's drummed into our heads that all Medigap supplements of a given plan letter (like G) provide identical benefits.  But in this case, you really do get something "extra" with the slightly more expensive one, AND nobody knows what will happen in the future but the less expensive IS the one that closed the book in Texas.