Page 1 - Cover Letter and Evaluation for John

October 10, 2018

Mr. John Messerschmitt
26070 Bonita Vista Court
Menifee, CA 92586

Dear John:

Here’s the comparison of your Medicare options. Please check the attached printout from the
Medicare website that shows your prescription drugs as well as their dosages and monthly
quantities. If any information there should be changed, it’s easy for me to make the change and
re-run the costs.

In most cases the costs shown are estimates for the 2019 plan year. But some of Medicare’s
costs are the 2018 numbers because it has not yet announced how much Part B premiums and
the Part B deductible will be next year. Also, the cost-sharing amounts for various Medicare-
covered services haven’t been released yet, so on pages 6-7 the 2018 numbers are used.

You mentioned that you will likely need a new pacemaker before too long, and if that’s the case
you should get a Medigap policy. These policies can be purchased during the first six months
you have Part A and Part B without your having to answer health-related questions.

After that initial six-month period has past, you will have to answer questions about your health
and any procedures that doctors have recently recommended or that you know you will need.
That could make it difficult for you to get a Medigap policy.

Perhaps the most desirable attribute of Medigap policies is the flexibility they offer. You do not
need referrals to see specialists and you will be covered when you go to any provider who
accepts Medicare (as some 99% of doctors and public hospitals do). That means you can see
virtually any doctor in the U.S. or go to any hospital or clinic and be covered. All three of your
physicians accept Medicare, as shown in Appendix A.

Medigap policies can impose a “waiting period” of up to 6 months before they will cover a pre-
existing condition. But if you’ve had what’s called “creditable coverage” during the six months
before November 1, insurers cannot require a waiting period. Many companies don’t require it
in any case, but it’s something you will want to verify when you get quotes. The premium
quotes from the California Dept. of Insurance in Appendix B1 show each company’s waiting
period, and you’ll note that many of the companies have a zero waiting period, which means
that you will be fully covered on November 1. But you should verify that before you purchase.