Page 3 - Cover Letter and Evaluation for Gary Janke

or for me to know which ones they are). Most of these premiums, though, should be close to
current quotes.

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; second, these quotes also show the
insurance companies’ financial ratings by A.M Best and (for the larger companies) Standard &
Poor. They do not show the companies’ phone numbers, which can be found in Appendix B3

Discounts

Insurance companies that sell Medigap policies offer discounts of various kinds. As an example,
some companies have discounts for automatic debit payments of monthly premiums or for
paying a year’s premiums in advance. The largest discounts are typically available when both
spouses buy their policies from the same company. While not all companies offer these
“household discounts,” the ones that do often have substantially reduced premiums. In an
earlier e-mail I believe you’d indicated your wife may also be enrolling in Medicare, and if you
both decide to get Medigap policies you should inquire about the household discount.

In addition, the UnitedHealthcare/AARP Medigap policies have an early enrollment discount
that in your case is 15% below AARP’s standard rate. The discount is calculated by multiplying
3% by the number of years that you are younger than 75. In your case, the discount equals 5
years x 3%, or 15%, and that discount will be reduced by 3% each year until you turn 75.

If you acquire an AARP policy, then, you may have two increases a year – one a 3% increase
associated with the reduced discount (until you turn 75) and the other an increase for health
care inflation. AARP policies can be good choices if they are attractively priced, but you should
be aware that because of the reduced discount each year until you are 75, your premiums may
rise more quickly than with many other insurers. After you turn 75, the AARP premiums will
likely increase more slowly.

In addition to discounts, some insurers provide extra benefits such as membership in Silver
Sneakers, which give you access to more than 12,000 gyms and health clubs nationally.

Medicare Advantage plans

As you are aware, Advantage plans are managed-care plans – primarily HMO’s and PPO’s.
Before enrolling in an Advantage plan, you should verify with Dr. Ryan that he is in the plan’s
network -- occasionally the online directories that we use are out of date.

Here are summaries of the two Advantage plans compared in your evaluation, both them
sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee. These two plans share several good features
– large networks of 18,000+ providers, above-average four-star quality ratings in 2018, and
relatively low costs for the prescription drugs you take.

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