Page 3 - Cover Letter and Evaluation for Mr. Michael Johnson

because Plan F’s annual premiums exceed the Part B deductible. As an example, you
could pay $230 more in annual premiums in Plan F just to cover the $185 Part B
deductible. But in your case, Plan F might save you money because you are enrolling in
December. With Plan G, on the other hand, there’s a slight risk that you might pay some
or all the Part B deductible in December and then again in January.

Medigap Plan G. Over time you would likely save money in this plan because of your
premium savings. But you might be willing to pay the higher Plan F premiums in order to
have the convenience of never having to make a co-payment for a Medicare-covered
service.

California’s Birthday Rule

Unlike most other states, California has a law – the Birthday Rule -- that protects Medigap
policyholders from having to remain with an insurance company that sharply increases its
premiums. This law, summarized in Appendix A2, gives Medigap policyholders the guaranteed
right to switch to another insurance company without answering health questions during the
30-day period following their birthdays each year.

That means that if in the future you find another insurance company that has lower premiums,
you can switch to that company during the 30-day period following your birthday. You can also
use the Birthday Rule to downgrade to a less comprehensive plan (from Plan F to Plan G, for
instance), but you cannot use it to upgrade to a more comprehensive Medigap plan (from Plan
G to Plan F). If you wanted later to upgrade, of course, you might be able to -- but you would
first have to answer questions about your health and wouldn’t be protected by the Birthday
Rule.

Your Rx Drug Plan Coverage

Because Medigap policies do not include prescription drug coverage, you will also need to
enroll in a stand-alone drug plan. These stand-alone plans often make substantial changes in
their coverage from one year to the next. For that reason, it’s common for people who enroll
late in the year to have to switch plans a month or two later in order to keep their costs low the
following year.

The lowest-cost plan for your drugs for the month of December is the Aetna Medicare Rx Select
PDP, and its costs for the month are $44.80 if you get refills at a CVS pharmacy. Appendix C1
shows the ranking of the lowest-cost plans for December and Appendix C2 is the benefit
summary of the Aetna Medicare Rx Select PDP. This plan’s enrollment phone number is (855)
429-0700.

Next year’s lowest-cost plan for your Rx drugs is the Anthem Blue Cross MediBlue Rx Enhanced
Prescription Drug plan. Its estimated annual cost for your Rx drugs in 2020 is $656 if you get

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