Page 1 - Cover Letter and Evaluation for Mike Peaseley

November 17, 2017

Mr. Mike Peaseley
th
5202 80 Street S.W.
Lakewood, WA 98499

Dear Mike:

Your Medicare evaluation is enclosed. Please check the information on the client data sheet on
page 5 to make sure it is correct. Because your coverage will go into effect on January 1, you
should enroll in your supplemental plans by mid-December. That way, you will have your
enrollment cards by the first of the year. Also, you should have your Medicare enrollment card
indicating that your Part A and Part B coverage will be effective on January 1, 2018.

In most cases the costs shown in your evaluation are for the 2018 plan year. Because Medicare
has not yet said how much the Part B deductible and various co-payments will be next year, the
2017 amounts are used for Medicare cost-sharing on pages 3-4 and 6-7 of your evaluation (the
2018 amounts are expected to be about 4%-5% higher).

Medigap policy choices

You indicated in your questionnaire that you are interested in comparing both types of
coverage – Medigap policies and Medicare Advantage plans. Your evaluation compares two
Medigap plans (G and N), both of which provide good coverage, and two Medicare Advantage
plans – one a PPO and the other an HMO. The two Medigap plans are more comprehensive and
have substantially higher premiums than do the two Advantage plans.

As you may know, Medigap 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 six-month
period guaranteed-issue period is past, you will likely have to answer questions about your
health before you can enroll in a Medigap plan.

Once you have a Medigap policy, the state of Washington’s Medigap rules allow you to switch
from plan to plan and from one insurance company to another. You can do that at any time
during the year. You could, then, begin with a less comprehensive (and expensive) Medigap
plan and if you later want better coverage, you can upgrade (the only exception to this rule is
that people who have Medigap Plan A can only switch to another company’s Plan A).

Also, in the state of Washington insurance companies must use community ratings in setting
their premiums. In a pure community rating, everyone pays the same premium regardless of
age, gender or health status. Community ratings typically mean that younger retirees like you