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This article was first posted October 1, 2024. I signed up for Medicare in Feb 2021 and called the State Insurance Commissioner's office to get the data on consumer complaints for the various Medigap insurers. The analyst told me that Medigap generates very few complaints because there's not much that a Medigap insurance company can do for you complain about. All the benefit administration and accounting is done by Medicare (CMS) itself. The insurer just pays what CMS tells it to pay. About the only time the State Insurance Commissioner's office gets a complaint, is when someone cancels a Medigap policy and the insurer is slow to stop the monthly debit from your checking account for the premium payment. As a result, the analyst told me you can safely choose the lowest premium offered, they're all the same. https://www.insurance.wa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/medicare-supp-plans_74.pdf United American currently has the cheapest Medigap Plan G high deductible at $48/month where I live in Washington State. Garden State Life Insurance charges the highest ($77/month) for the same policy. On premium increases, Washington State allows you to switch from one Medigap insurer to another as long as you have a policy in force (as does 15 other states, check with your State Insurance Commissioner's office.) So if United American ceases to be the low-cost option, I'll just switch to whichever insurer is. https://boomerbenefits.com/medigap-underwriting/ Washington is a Community Rating state, so everyone from age 65 to age 100+ pays the same monthly premium. In Attained Age states where your premiums rises with age each year, I'd expect the age 65 premium to be 25% to 30% less. When I checked the Medical Loss Ratios for Medigap insurers, they were all in the range of 77% to 81%, so they get to keep about 20% of your premium for basically doing nothing -- CMS is doing all the work. While that's not the 3% to 5% loss ratio you see in the legal scam we call Title Insurance, it looks like a wonderful business. Resources for additional information.Medicare website 2023 Trustees Report on Medicare Vox News: The subtle privatization of Medicare Physicians for a National Health Program: Our Payments, Their Profits Senators press Medicare Advantage insurers over claims denials Another week, more Medicare dis-Advantages New Reporting on Insurance Claim Denials Highlights 'Scam' of For-Profit Healthcare I Set Out to Create a Simple Map for How to Appeal Your Insurance Denial. Instead, I Found a Mind-Boggling Labyrinth. Manchin Leads 63 Bipartisan Senators In Urging Support For Medicare Advantage Program Medicare Advantage spending, medical loss ratios, and related businesses ; An initial investigation A Medicare broker can help find the best coverage for you. Here’s what to know before you hire one Scripps Medicare Advantage cuts also kill out-of-network access Hospitals are dropping Medicare Advantage left and right True Cost of Health Care, by David Belk MD Medicare Advantage Wikipedia Profits, medical loss ratios, and the ownership structure of Medicare Advantage plans October – December 2020 Approved Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan premiums (WA state) National Association of Insurance Commissioners -- 2018 Medicare Supplement Loss Ratios Comparing Medicare Supplement (Medigap) and Medicare Advantage plans State Averages for the 2020 Medicare Advantage Monthly Capitation Payments Medicare Advantage Plans Overbill Taxpayers By Billions Annually, Records Show Proportion of branded versus generic drug prescriptions dispensed in the United States from 2005 to 2019 |
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