Page 3 - Cover letter and Medicare evaluation for Hans Burkhardt

Alameda County you can likely purchase a Plan G policy for about $1,700 a year (or
roughly $140 a month) or less. Appendices A1 and A2 show insurance companies’ Plan G
premiums – those in Appendix A1 are from the California Dept. of Insurance and include
the companies’ phone numbers; those in Appendix A2 are from CSG Actuarial.

2) Medigap Plan N. While this plan is slightly less comprehensive than Plan G, it still
provides excellent coverage. The only differences between this plan and Plan G are that
you will have co-payments of up to $20 for doctors’ office visits and $50 if you go to the
emergency room. You should be able to get Plan G for about $110 a month (or roughly
$1,300 annually). Appendices A1 and A3 show the insurers’ Plan N premiums.

The pricing of Medigap policies and California’s Birthday Rule

If you decide to get a Medigap policy, 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 go with a company that has relatively low premiums, you may also want to factor in a
company’s financial strength and size. One guideline is that larger companies tend to have
slightly lower annual premium increases, according to a government study a few years ago.

CSG Actuarial’s premium comparisons in Appendix A2 and Appendix A3 may be helpful in a
couple of ways. First, they can serve as a starting point to identify the companies that have
lower premiums; second, they show the companies’ financial ratings by A.M Best and (in a few
cases) Standard & Poor. And for many insurers, they show recent years’ premium increases.

CSG Actuarial is a quoting service for insurance agents, and in some cases the premiums shown
in the appendices may not include commissions (I don’t know which ones they are). But for
most companies, the premiums should accurately reflect what you will pay today. Still, it’s
important to call the insurers to get current quotes.

In addition, California has a Medigap consumer protection law that’s known as the “Birthday
Rule.” This law, which is described in Appendix C2, allows Medigap policyholders to switch
insurance companies each year during the 60-day period following their birthdays without
having to answer questions about their health or disclosing pre-existing conditions.

The Birthday Rule says that if you are a California resident who has a Medigap policy and you
find that your premiums have increased more than expected, during the 60-day period
following your birthday each year, you can switch your policy to an insurer which has lower
premiums. But people cannot use the Birthday Rule to upgrade from a less comprehensive to a
more comprehensive Medigap plan, e.g., from Plan N to Plan G.

Dental and vision coverage

Dental and routine vision care are not covered by Medicare or by most Medigap policies. There
may be a few “Innovative” Medigap plans, though, that offer some limited dental/vision

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