Where to get good information on supplemental Medicare coverage.

My friend is due to sign up for Medicare. Any advice?

I used a consultant to sort thru it. It is multi level. Medicare, supp plan, plus drug plan. Message me and I can give you info on consultant. She was great. No fee. I ended up spending less than I would have for premiums.

Here are three key tips:

1. The so-called "Medigap" plans are the same no matter which company offers them. However, different companies charge very different rates for the SAME plan, so compare cost.

2. You can buy Medigap coverage from one company and drug coverage from a different company.

3. Many people automatically choose the top-of-the-line Medigap plan--Plan F, I believe it is. However, Plan N is nearly as good and much cheaper. Compare the two before choosing, because there are some differences.

OliveBee said:
I used a consultant to sort thru it. It is multi level. Medicare, supp plan, plus drug plan. Message me and I can give you info on consultant. She was great. No fee. I ended up spending less than I would have for premiums.

How does that consultant make money?

unicorn33 said:
Here are three key tips:
1. The so-called "Medigap" plans are the same no matter which company offers them. However, different companies charge very different rates for the SAME plan, so compare cost.
2. You can buy Medigap coverage from one company and drug coverage from a different company.
3. Many people automatically choose the top-of-the-line Medigap plan--Plan F, I believe it is. However, Plan N is nearly as good and much cheaper. Compare the two before choosing, because there are some differences.

This is good info to know for my husband and then me within a few years. Is this "common" knowledge? Thanks!

Unicorn33 has laid it out well. I just went thru this. However, I disagree about F versus N...there is a difference in coverage...F had more bennies and didn't cost much more at all. Compared to what I was paying for private health insurance prior the difference was minor.

Drug plan is just as complicated....you choose depending on your needs now - can change later.

Harder to change supp plan. so choose wisely.

@Wendy, the consultant gets a standard fee from the Medigap/Supp companies. However, I found her to evaluate them well, based on their performance and stability of the companies and not necessarily by price. I ended up with one of the less expensive companies for Plan F - I went with Aetna. I found the consultant through the broker I have used for many years for my company's health insurance and since I trusted her implicitly, I trusted her recommendation. and it panned out just fine.

Here is a link to the chart from Medicare. The thing to remember is that there are a slew of companies offering supp plans, but the coverage must be identical per Medicare retirements. The diff is in their performance, reliability and the bottom line, the premium.

https://www.medicare.gov/supplement-other-insurance/compare-medigap/compare-medigap.html

I assume your friend is a senior, not on SSDI disability). In NJ, I think there is only 1 plan for people under 50, maybe a 2nd for people between 50-65. From what I remember from a few years ago, the plans averaged about $250/month.

When I compared F & N, there was a significant difference in monthly premium. The main difference in coverage is with regard to deductible and copay. For my situation at the time, N made more financial sense. (Note, too, that one can change plans.)

Also, I have changed both Medigap and drug plan providers. I changed the first because a different company offered lower cost for same policy. I changed the second because my primary drug was removed from their plan list. Changing was a bit cumbersome but not very hard, although there was a specific window involved for when you could do it.

Just fyi: I've used AARP/UHC, Horizon, and Cigna. All three have been fine.

OliveBee said:
Unicorn33 has laid it out well. I just went thru this. However, I disagree about F versus N...there is a difference in coverage...F had more bennies and didn't cost much more at all. Compared to what I was paying for private health insurance prior the difference was minor.
Drug plan is just as complicated....you choose depending on your needs now - can change later.
Harder to change supp plan. so choose wisely.

@Wendy, the consultant gets a standard fee from the Medigap/Supp companies. However, I found her to evaluate them well, based on their performance and stability of the companies and not necessarily by price. I ended up with one of the less expensive companies for Plan F - I went with Aetna. I found the consultant through the broker I have used for many years for my company's health insurance and since I trusted her implicitly, I trusted her recommendation. and it panned out just fine.
Here is a link to the chart from Medicare. The thing to remember is that there are a slew of companies offering supp plans, but the coverage must be identical per Medicare retirements. The diff is in their performance, reliability and the bottom line, the premium.
https://www.medicare.gov/supplement-other-insurance/compare-medigap/compare-medigap.html

unicorn33 said:
When I compared F & N, there was a significant difference in monthly premium. The main difference in coverage is with regard to deductible and copay. For my situation at the time, N made more financial sense. (Note, too, that one can change plans.)
Also, I have changed both Medigap and drug plan providers. I changed the first because a different company offered lower cost for same policy. I changed the second because my primary drug was removed from their plan list. Changing was a bit cumbersome but not very hard, although there was a specific window involved for when you could do it.
Just fyi: I've used AARP/UHC, Horizon, and Cigna. All three have been fine.

OliveBee said:
Unicorn33 has laid it out well. I just went thru this. However, I disagree about F versus N...there is a difference in coverage...F had more bennies and didn't cost much more at all. Compared to what I was paying for private health insurance prior the difference was minor.
Drug plan is just as complicated....you choose depending on your needs now - can change later.
Harder to change supp plan. so choose wisely.

@Wendy, the consultant gets a standard fee from the Medigap/Supp companies. However, I found her to evaluate them well, based on their performance and stability of the companies and not necessarily by price. I ended up with one of the less expensive companies for Plan F - I went with Aetna. I found the consultant through the broker I have used for many years for my company's health insurance and since I trusted her implicitly, I trusted her recommendation. and it panned out just fine.
Here is a link to the chart from Medicare. The thing to remember is that there are a slew of companies offering supp plans, but the coverage must be identical per Medicare retirements. The diff is in their performance, reliability and the bottom line, the premium.
https://www.medicare.gov/supplement-other-insurance/compare-medigap/compare-medigap.html

Nice to hear. I was told that after the initial period if one wants to change medigap plans, there are medical questions and requirements, i.e. criteria. In the initial period there is no refusal based on medical history. Was this your experience when changing?

Plan N has copays while Plan F has none.

Also the"Excess Charges" is like out of network benefits (Plan F pays these). There are 3 categories for doctors. They either:

1. Are "Participating" and accept exactly what Medicare will pay

2. Are "Non-participating" and get 115% of the Medicare customary - ETA: the 15% is the excess charges, which Plan F pays

3. Totally "Opted Out" = no coverage for this doctor at all

I had no difficulty switching from one provider to the other. I don't recall any hassles, other than there was a specific limited window during which to act.

Plan N has copays, but the difference in premium at the time I compared more than made up for that.

The "excess charges" business, which confuses many people including me, has never been an issue for me so far.