Page 2 - Cover Letter & Evaluation for Helen Dorroh

risk, then, of either paying more for a Medigap policy than they otherwise would or of having
no choice but to remain in an Advantage plan.

For that reason, the safest (albeit most expensive long-term) course is to get a Medigap policy
at the outset. Also, since you see several physicians, it might be difficult to find an Advantage
plan that has all of them in its network. You could enroll in an Advantage PPO plan and have
some coverage when you go outside the network, but you would be assuming quite a bit more
risk. Most Advantage PPO plans have a $10,000 out-of-pocket limit when non-network services
are included.

Virtually all Medigap insurers require you to go through underwriting when you want to
upgrade to a more comprehensive plan. As an example, someone who had Plan N but wanted
to upgrade to Plan G would likely have to answer questions about his/her health status before
upgrading or even providing a quote. The exceptions are the Medigap policies sold by
UnitedHealthcare (or UHC) and endorsed by AARP. In most states UHC’s practice is to allow you
to change plans -- from N to G, for example -- without being medically underwritten.

If this is something that you’re interested in, you should first verify that this is UHC/AARP’s
current policy in Georgia. And even if this is UHC’s current policy, it is not contractually
obligated to adhere to it in the future, i.e., there is no contract provision that prevents UHC
from changing this policy in a few years.

Paul indicated that you are leaning toward choosing Medigap plan G, which is a solid choice. To
give you an idea of the tradeoffs in various plans, your evaluation includes three other Medigap
plans (F, N, and L), all of which provide good coverage. Plans F, G, and N are similar, while Plan L
involves a bit more cost sharing but unlike the other three has an out-of-pocket limit. These are
not the only good Medigap plans, of course, but they are all relatively comprehensive and,
except for Plan L, among the most popular plans.

Since the evaluation compares four Medigap plans, it might help to review some features that
all Medigap policies share (you may be aware of these). 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.

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