Page 3 - 2020 Cover Letter and Evaluation for Donna Yacoe

The benefit designs of all 10 Medigap plans are shown on pages 6-7. Two of these plans – Plan
C and Plan F – will no longer be sold after this year, although people who already have these
plans at year end may keep them. There is some slight risk with these two plans that once they
are no longer sold, their premiums may rise more quickly.

Here are summaries of the two plans compared in your evaluation.

1) Medigap Plan G. This is a comprehensive plan that covers all the gaps in Medicare
except for the Part B deductible, which is $185 in 2019. So, after you’ve satisfied the
Part B deductible, you will not have any co-payments or other cost-sharing for
Medicare-covered services. Beginning in 2020, this will be the most comprehensive
Medigap plan (that’s when Plan F and Plan C will no longer be sold). Your annual
premiums for Plan G should be in the range of $1,500, although premiums may vary
widely depending on the insurer (that’s why it’s good to get at least three quotes).

2) Medigap Plan N. This plan is less comprehensive than Plan G but is still solid coverage.
Its gaps include the Part B deductible ($185 this year), co-pays of up to $20 for doctor’s
office visits, and a $50 co-pay for emergency room visits. Its annual premiums are about
$300 lower than Plan G’s, and if you do not go to the doctor frequently you would
probably come out ahead with this popular Medigap plan compared to the more
expensive Plan G.

The pricing of Medigap policies

It’s good 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 it’s important to choose a company that has
relatively low premiums, you may also want to factor in a 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 Appendices B1 and B2 are from CSG Actuarial, a firm that
provides quotes for insurance agents. Some of these premiums may be lower than you can get
because the commissions are not included (there’s no way for me to know which ones these
are).

Still, the CSG Actuarial lists may be helpful in a couple of ways. The insurers are listed in order
of their premiums -- from lowest to highest -- which makes it easier to identify the lowest-
premium companies. And in most cases the CSG Actuarial comparisons give you the insurers’
financial ratings and the premiums that people ages 67-70 are currently paying -- which
although there’s no way to predict future increases will at least show you how large recent
increases have been. The phone numbers of the insurance companies licensed to sell Medigap
policies in Texas are shown in Appendix B3.

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