Page 2 - Cover Letter and Evaluation for Paul Dorroh

Since Medigap policies do not include prescription drug benefits, you will also need to enroll in
a Part D stand-alone drug plan. That’s true even though you do not currently take any Rx drugs.
Also, Medigap policies do not cover routine dental and vision care or hearing aids. Both Plan G
and Plan N include some benefits for medical emergencies while traveling outside the United
States – see the benefit designs for all 10 Medigap plans are shown on pages 6-7. Here are
summaries of the two Medigap plans in your evaluation.

1) Medigap Plan G. This plan covers all of Medicare’s gaps except the Part B deductible
($183 this year). Beginning in 2020 when Plans F and C will no longer be sold, Plan G will
be the most comprehensive Medigap plan. Your annual premiums in this plan will likely
be $1,800 or less.

2) Medigap Plan N. This is slightly less comprehensive than Plan G and has some small
gaps. With this plan, people in relatively good health who don’t go to their doctors
frequently will likely save $200-$300 a year vs. the higher-premium Plan G, although you
will have co-payments from time to time. Estimated annual premiums are $1,450.

Medicare assignment

Both your physicians accept Medicare assignment, as shown in Appendix A. When a doctor
does not accept assignment, he or she can charge up to 15% more than Medicare-approved
rates. Typically these excess charges are a few dollars, although in the case of an expensive
treatment, they could be substantial. In the event you did see a physician who does not accept
Medicare’s approved rates, Medigap Plan G will cover the excess charge but Plan N will not.

Medigap policy pricing

Premiums for the two Medigap plans in your evaluation are shown in Appendices B1 and B2.
These are from CSG Actuarial, a firm that provides quotes for insurance agents. Some premiums
may be lower than you can get because the commissions may not be included (unfortunately,
there’s no way to filter these out or for me to know which ones they are). Most of the
premiums, though, should be accurate.

CSG Actuarial’s premiums can be helpful in a couple of ways. First, they can serve as a starting
point to identify the companies that have lower premiums. Then you can call two or three of
those companies for current quotes; second, CSG Actuarial also shows the insurance
companies’ financial ratings by A.M Best and (for the larger companies) Standard & Poor.
Finally, the printouts in Appendices B1 and B2 show the rate increases and market data for
most of the insurers.
Discounts

Many insurance companies that sell Medigap policies offer discounts of various kinds. As an
example, some companies offer discounts for automatic debit payments of monthly premiums.

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