Pre-Existing Conditions - If You're over 50, You Haz 'Em.

[progree]

28. Medicare Supplemental Plans (Medigap) - do they raise premiums based on age?

Like you, I'm in the Twin Cities (Golden Valley in my case)

I just got on basic Medicare, but as you probably know, Part A (Hospital Insurance) has some serious limitations and Part B (doctor visits, out-patient procedures etc.) pay only 80% -- the 20% that the person has to pay would bankrupt many seniors with a 6-figure set of medical bills. To overcome that I have the choice of (a) Medicare Advantage or Medicare Cost or (b) a Medicare Supplement policy (Medigap)

I've gravitated towards Medigap because of the no-networks thing. But now I look at the premiums in the "Heath Care Choices for Minnesotans on Medicare" book ... and then I read in the Medicare publication, "Choosing A Medigap Policy: A Guide", it says

Each insurance company decides how it’ll set the price, or premium, for its Medigap policies. It’s important to ask how an insurance company prices its policies. The way they set the price affects how much you pay now and in the future. Medigap policies can be priced or “rated” in 3 ways:
1. Community-rated (also called “no-age-rated”)
2. Issue-age-rated (also called “entry-age-rated”)
3. Attained-age-rated

And they go on to explain that community-rated don't raise the premiums based on your age -- everyone pays the same rate no matter how young or old. Whereas in the attained-age-rated, they raise the premiums based on your age. And that book says to call each insurance company you are interested in and find out..

Really crucial information because one can't switch Medigap policies (e.g. from "K" to "N&quot or providers later on and still retain the federal guarantees of guaranteed - issue and no medical conditions discrimination in premiums .... So I see my "job" as picking one that I can stick with for as many years as possible.... Meaning the plan with the higher premium in the book might be the cheaper one in the long-run if they use community-rated (don't charge older people more), compared to one that does charge older people more.

I talked to someone at the Senior Linkage Line, and it wasn't a helpful conversation, on the one hand she said the premiums listed in the "Health Care Choices" book were "flat rate" but on the other hand said it was up to the insurance company whether they raised premiums based on one's age. (Sigh)

Sorry about the wonky question, but maybe you plowed this furrow already... since you mentioned "supplements sold by the insurance companies" and that you are on Medicare, I'm guessing you have a Medigap policy or at least looked into them.

Maybe off-topic too, but age is a "pre-exising condition" that is guaranteed to get worse...

Thanks