Page 3 - Evaluation for 2018

There are also other good Medigap plans. Plans G and N, for instance, are both popular plans
that have solid benefits. Plan G is almost identical to Plan F, the only difference being that Plan
G does not cover the Part B deductible ($183 in 2018). And Plan N has small co-payments for
doctors’ office visits but is still relatively comprehensive.

The pricing of Medigap policies

If you decide to get a Medigap policy, it’s important to give some thought as to the company
that you will buy your policy from and to make a few calls to get current quotes. While you will
want to choose a company that has relatively low premiums, you may want to factor in the
company’s financial strength and size. As a rule, larger companies have slightly lower annual
premium increases, according to a government study a few years ago.

The premium comparisons in Appendix A1 are from the State of Washington’s Office of the
Insurance Commissioner and include companies’ toll-free telephone numbers. Appendices A2
and A3 are from CSG Actuarial, a firm that provides quotes to insurance agents. Some
premiums in the CSG lists may be lower than you can get because the commissions may not be
included. In most cases, though, these premiums should be current.

The premiums from CSG Actuarial may be helpful in a couple of ways. They are sorted from
lowest to highest, and so the list can help to identify the companies that have lower premiums.
Also, these premiums include each insurance company’s financial rating by A.M Best and (for
the larger companies) Standard & Poor. They do not include the companies’ phone numbers,
which can be found in Appendix A1. We suggest that you call a minimum of three companies to
get their current quotes.

Finally, some Medigap insurers offer various kinds of discounts. As an example, a few
companies offer small discounts for annual pre-payment of premiums or for automated
monthly payments debited to your bank account. And several companies offer household
discounts when both spouses buy a policy – these typically range between 3% and 10%.

Medicare Advantage plans

Advantage plans are managed-care plans, primarily HMO’s and PPO’s. As mentioned, verify that
your doctors are still in the plan’s network prior to enrolling. Usually we try to include at least
one PPO plan in an evaluation, but in Spokane County there are no Advantage PPO plans that
match your needs very well. All of them have relatively high costs for the prescription drugs you
take and most of them have substantial health premiums.

That leaves only Advantage HMO plans, which have restrictive rules. In an HMO, you will likely
not be covered when you go to a non-network provider unless it’s an emergency. And you will
probably need a referral from your primary care doctor before you can see a specialist. The
tradeoff for these restrictions is that you may be able to save quite a bit money in an HMO.

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