Page 2 - Cover Letter and evaluation for Katherine Kensky

After that six-month period guaranteed-issue period has past, however, you will likely have to
answer questions about your health status if you want to switch to another insurance company
or to upgrade to a more comprehensive Medigap plan.

Perhaps the most desirable attribute of Medigap policies is the flexibility they offer. You do not
need referrals to see specialists and are covered when you see any provider who accepts
Medicare (as more than 98% of doctors and public hospitals do). Because Medigap policies are
nationally standardized, your benefits and coverage are the same in every state.

Medigap policies do not include prescription drug benefits, and so you will also need to enroll in
a Part D stand-alone drug plan, as discussed in the Rx drug coverage section below. Also,
Medigap policies do not cover routine dental and vision care or hearing aids. Plans F, G, and N
include some benefits for medical emergencies while traveling outside the United States. The
benefit designs for all 10 Medigap plans are shown on pages 6-7.

Here are summaries of the four Medigap plans compared in your evaluation.

1) Medigap Plan F. This is the most comprehensive any Medigap plan, covering all of
Medicare’s gaps. In this plan you will have no cost-sharing for Medicare-covered
services. Beginning in 2020, Plan F will no longer be sold, although people who already
own this plan at that time may keep it. One of the features that people like about Plan F
is that it fills all of Medicare’s gaps. Therefore, the entire cost for Medicare-covered
services is in the premiums, i.e., you will not have any co-payments. In Chatham County
you can likely purchase a Plan F policy for $1,800 a year or less.

2) Medigap Plan G. This plan’s benefits are identical to Plan F’s except that it does not
cover the Part B deductible ($183 this year). In many instances, people will save money
by choosing Plan G instead of Plan F because their premium savings are greater than the
Part B deductible. Your annual premiums in this plan will likely be $1,600 or less.

3) Medigap Plan N. This is slightly less comprehensive than Plans F and G and it has some
small gaps. In 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 F. But you will
have co-payments from time to time. Estimated annual premiums are $1,250 or less.

4) Medicare Plan L. This is the least comprehensive of the Medigap plans in your
evaluation. One nice feature is its low $2,560 out-of-pocket limit – it is the only Medigap
plan in your evaluation that has an OOP limit. But the limit does not include premiums
and applies only to the services the plan covers. As an example, the Part B deductible
($183 in 2017) is not covered by this plan and so any money you spend toward the
deductible will not apply to the out-of-pocket limit. Annual premiums for Plan L are
about $1,150 or less, although in Georgia few insurers sell this plan.

The pricing of Medigap policies

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