# My Supplemental Insurance Just Went Up



## fmdog44 (Sep 16, 2021)

Got a letter yesterday stating my Aetna supplemental insurance went from $224.19/mo. to $267.19 an increase of 8.39%.


----------



## caroln (Sep 16, 2021)

Well, that takes care of any increase in Social Security, doesn't it?


----------



## PamfromTx (Sep 16, 2021)

fmdog44 said:


> Got a letter yesterday stating my Aetna supplemental insurance went from $224.19/mo. to $267.19 an increase of 8.39%.


That's around what we pay for my supplemental insurance.  It is ridiculous.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Sep 16, 2021)

My annual notice of change from Excellus BCBS said my current monthly premium would drop $9.00 next year.

I’m seriously thinking of going back to the zero monthly premium next year.  It seems that no matter which advantage plan I choose the annual  out of pocket is about the same.

This year I also signed up for a free NYS sponsored supplement called EPIC to help with increased drug charges when I hit the Medicare donut hole.

All we can do is take some time each year to select the plan that best suits us for the coming year.


----------



## JustBonee (Sep 16, 2021)

I don't like surprises,  especially of the medical  type.   
I've got a zero monthly advantage plan with Blue Cross,     and think I'll just  continue to stick with it next year.   It has worked out okay so far.


----------



## Don M. (Sep 16, 2021)

Health insurance premium increases will be yet another "side effect" of this virus.  As more and more people continue to get sick, insurance companies will certainly be raising their premiums.  Our plans should be releasing the 2022 rates in mid-Oct., and I'm anticipating a rise in costs.


----------



## Dancing_Queen (Sep 16, 2021)

Don M. said:


> Health insurance premium increases will be yet another "side effect" of this virus.  As more and more people continue to get sick, insurance companies will certainly be raising their premiums.  Our plans should be releasing the 2022 rates in mid-Oct., and I'm anticipating a rise in costs.


I suppose COVID deniers will be screaming about the idea that all of this "hype" about the virus has been a conspiracy perpetrated by the insurance companies so that they can raise their rates.


----------



## Butterfly (Sep 16, 2021)

Dancing_Queen said:


> I suppose COVID deniers will be screaming about the idea that all of this "hype" about the virus has been a conspiracy perpetrated by the insurance companies so that they can raise their rates.


No doubt . . . .


----------



## mathjak107 (Sep 18, 2021)

Supplements fall in to three pricing structures .

The simplest rating system is community-rated, which means the same monthly premium is charged to everyone who has the same Medigap policy. This means your premium will not be based on your age but could go up because of inflation.

Issue-age-rated has a premium structure in which your monthly premium is based on the age you are when you buy the Medicare Supplement plan. In this case, premiums will be lower for people who buy at a younger age. For example, if you bought a Medigap policy at age 65, your premium could be $200, but if you bought the same plan at 80, that policy might cost $300.

The final pricing structure is attained-age-rated, in which the monthly premium is based on your current age every year. In other words, your premium will renew every year and increase as you continue to get older. For example, you may have started paying $150 per month for your Medigap policy at age 65, but by the time you are 75, you could be paying $175 per month.

As you can see, differences in pricing structure can vastly change the amount you will pay for Medigap coverage during your lifetime. It is for this reason that comparing the same letter plan across multiple companies is vital .

however which plan or plans are available in your state can be set by your state


----------



## terry123 (Sep 18, 2021)

I still have my Humana Medicare plan and am waiting to see what changes are coming if any.  I pay nothing for my meds each month and a $5.00 copay at the doctors. I prefer this plan so I don't have to have a supplement and a drug plan.


----------



## mathjak107 (Sep 18, 2021)

_if it works for you great .

as long as I can afford govt medicare and medigap I would never have an advantage plan and a for profit insurer as my gate keeper _


----------



## Liberty (Sep 18, 2021)

Ditto for us, mathjak...like to keep the "see the docs" options open to choose who, where and when.  No referrals needed.


----------



## mathjak107 (Sep 18, 2021)

there can be a big difference in treatment paths  allowed between  govt medicare and a for profit insurer .

the insurer knows they have you over a barrel ... while they are supposed to cover what medicare does , the fact is you dont have govt medicare .

you can never say in your individual case what medicare would have done and the insurers know that . so they get to say yes or no to treatment paths


----------



## Dancing_Queen (Sep 18, 2021)

mathjak107 said:


> _if it works for you great .
> 
> as long as I can afford govt medicare and medigap I would never have an advantage plan and a for profit insurer as my gate keeper _


Ditto, Mthjak.  I've always refused HMO's and that's what Advantage plans are.

I got AARP Medigap when I turned 65.  It was the least expensive by far and I have their most expensive plan.  It goes up a couple of dollars a month every year.


----------



## mathjak107 (Sep 19, 2021)

i didnt mind the hmo structure when i was young and working and rarely saw a doctor . but as a senior it can be a whole other world .

i have seen first hand with advantage plans not only how exposed you can be financially if things do not go according to your plan , but i have seen them deny treatment l procedures that govt  medicare always approves . yet they were denied by the gate keepers and there is no way to prove what medicare would have done in your specific case since you dont have govt medicare


----------



## Dancing_Queen (Sep 19, 2021)

mathjak107 said:


> i didnt mind the hmo structure when i was young and working and rarely saw a doctor . but as a senior it can be a whole other world .
> 
> i have seen first hand with advantage plans not only how exposed you can be financially if things do not go according to your plan , but i have seen them deny treatment l procedures that govt  medicare always approves . yet they were denied by the gate keepers and there is no way to prove what medicare would have done in your specific case since you dont have govt medicare


Yup!  I'm in charge of my medical care.  I go to whatever doctors I want, whatever labs I want, whatever hospitals I want; and I just go straight to specialists unless it's the specialist who requires a referral as, for instance, most neurologists in my area do.  If that's the case, I just call my internist and ask him to send whatever's necessary.  Then, again, my internist knows that I know what I'm talking about.


----------



## Liberty (Sep 20, 2021)

That's why Advantage plans are called "managed care"...they are managing your care, not medicare.  Our insurance agent won't write an advantage care policy even though his commission is many times higher than for a regular medigap policy, They almost killed his mother.


----------



## terry123 (Sep 20, 2021)

My plan is not a HMO.  I have many many doctors to choose from.  My family doctor and the 2 specialists I see are on the plan.  I am amazed at the number of doctors I have to choose from.  My plan works for me. I just spent the weekend in the ER from an accident at home and all i had to pay was a $90.00 copay.


----------



## Dancing_Queen (Sep 21, 2021)

terry123 said:


> My plan is not a HMO.  I have many many doctors to choose from.  My family doctor and the 2 specialists I see are on the plan.  I am amazed at the number of doctors I have to choose from.  My plan works for me. I just spent the weekend in the ER from an accident at home and all i had to pay was a $90.00 copay.


What Humana plan do you have, Terry?  If you're on Medicare, from what I can see, all they have is Advantage and stand-alone dental and drug plans.  Besides, to my understanding, Medicare has only "Original Medicare" and "Part C -- Advantage Plans."  Advantage plans are HMO's.  You have to use the doctors on the list and, generally (if not always), you need referrals from a primary care physician to see specialists.  Where have I gone wrong about this?


----------



## Gemma (Sep 21, 2021)

I'm satisfied with my Highmark Medicare plan.  My monthly premium is dropping $10.  Will cost me $25.  No co-pay for a primary care visit.  $25 for a specialist. I pay mostly zero dollars for prescriptions, except for one which is $7 per month. Also have eye, dental & hearing coverage.


----------



## Russell Noga (Oct 31, 2021)

Regardless of how a company rates its Medigap plans (issue-aged, community, or attained-age), they all have rate increases every year. This is typically based on the anniversary of your policy, not based on the calendar year.  So each year you can expect a rate increase letter to arrive about 30-45 days prior to your anniversary. You have absolutely nothing to lose by applying with a different company to try to lower your rate (You will have to answer medical questions, so at least you'll know if you have a shot or before you submit an application). Also, I highly suggest you look at Medicare Plan N, it has great coverage and lower premiums than Plan G and especially Plan F. And it has far lower rate increases each year.


----------



## mathjak107 (Oct 31, 2021)

Our Humana high deductible f plan in ny has not gone up in 5 years  all that has gone up is the deductible as the Medicare deductibles go up.

however our part d is going down 20 a month


----------



## Russell Noga (Oct 31, 2021)

mathjak107 said:


> Our Humana high deductible f plan in ny has not gone up in 5 years  all that has gone up is the deductible as the Medicare deductibles go up.
> 
> however our part d is going down 20 a month


That's fantastic! HDF and HDG are definitely the exceptions, even they often have small increases. Claims are so low on those that they remain stable. Great plans!


----------



## mathjak107 (Oct 31, 2021)

Oh, yeah , we pay 91 a month and it includes silver sneakers so half that is covering our gym .

while we have a high deductible F- plan , my wife and I both were hospitalized for two weeks with covid …
Our bills  were 250k , but all copays and deductibles were absorbed by Humana if covid related .

we were non icu too


----------



## GeorgiaXplant (Oct 31, 2021)

I have Kaiser-Permanente. It costs me nothing. Want more coverage? It costs a few dollars with very little change in out-of-pocket costs.


----------



## mathjak107 (Oct 31, 2021)

Providing Kaiser has providers where one lives … Kaiser doe not even offer insurance where we are in ny


----------



## Lethe200 (Oct 31, 2021)

Healthcare costs have usually outpaced inflation, if I'm remembering my past 50 yrs correctly.

Yet another reason why I'm happy we got LTCi. The long period of low inflation enabled our policy benefits to keep reasonably in line with increased SCN and home healthcare costs.

We are Kaiser HMO members. Spouse has union retirement benefits including health, so our Senior Advantage plans are their top tier (Kaiser has many different levels of plan coverage) and cost about $200/mo. for both Spouse and me.

There are downsides - getting in to see specialists (unless it's an emergency, in which case Kaiser moves ASAP) sometimes takes time. But their preventive and GP care is very good, and their use of electronic records has really improved service.

We can switch during Open Enrollment to a Blue Shield PPO plan once a year, but have no plans to do so.


----------



## Liberty (Nov 1, 2021)

If you have a medicare supplement and your rates go up higher than they should, its time to get bids for a new plan through your agent.  We changed a total of 3 times in 10 years.  This is the 4th year with our current plan and its only gone up a little bit...probably for age adjustment.  Philadelphia American Life Insurance Co. is the underwriter for our plan G.  Wellcare is the drug portion - its like $18 a month.


----------



## mathjak107 (Nov 1, 2021)

We had WellCare take over our Aetna drug plan ….all of a sudden all our tier one drugs we got for 3 or 4 dollars were 30-40 dollars and now we had a 400 dollar deductible .

we were paying around 36 a month …we called e-health who shopped for us and found a 12 dollar a month well care plan for us with no deductible on our tier one drugs ..go figure


----------



## Butterfly (Nov 1, 2021)

Dancing_Queen said:


> What Humana plan do you have, Terry?  If you're on Medicare, from what I can see, all they have is Advantage and stand-alone dental and drug plans.  Besides, to my understanding, Medicare has only "Original Medicare" and "Part C -- Advantage Plans."  Advantage plans are HMO's.  You have to use the doctors on the list and, generally (if not always), you need referrals from a primary care physician to see specialists.  Where have I gone wrong about this?



I'm on an Advantage plan, which technically is an HMO, but it is affiliated with a local hospital and huge medical group and most doctors here, even if they are not in that medical group, also accept the plan.  I have hundreds of doctors of every speciality you can think of to choose from and generally those specialists do not require formal referrals; if I want to choose my own specialist who does require a referral, I just call my primary care guy and he gives me a referral to the one I've selected.

All HMOs are not the same.


----------



## mathjak107 (Nov 2, 2021)

advantage plans can’t be judged most of the time in advance of pending issues ….like a resume  they all look good .

the problem is when your gate keeper denies procedures , tests and treatment paths that govt not for profit Medicare would have allowed ..

so everyone is usually happy with their advantage plan — until they aren’t


----------



## Liberty (Nov 2, 2021)

mathjak107 said:


> We had WellCare take over our Aetna drug plan ….all of a sudden all our tier one drugs we got for 3 or 4 dollars were 30-40 dollars and now we had a 400 dollar deductible .
> 
> we were paying around 36 a month …we called e-health who shopped for us and found a 12 dollar a month well care plan for us with no deductible on our tier one drugs ..go figure


That was weird for sure.  Ours as varied from 12-15 or even 18 bucks a month, but the generics have stayed the same.  We do use GoodRX for a med hub takes.  He takes 2 meds - I have taken nothing.


----------



## Pauline1954 (Nov 5, 2021)

I havent heard how much my Medicare is going up. 

My Arkansas BCBS Plan N went from 128.30 to 138.00.  So Im paying more than any ss increase I am getting. Should be a law against this. 

My wellcare drug plan is just for a place holder went from 19.18 to 12.90 from what I was told on the phone. I have never heard of anything like this go down. I will see when I get the notice.


----------



## mathjak107 (Nov 5, 2021)

Pauline1954 said:


> I havent heard how much my Medicare is going up.
> 
> My Arkansas BCBS Plan N went from 128.30 to 138.00.  So Im paying more than any ss increase I am getting. Should be a law against this.
> 
> My wellcare drug plan is just for a place holder went from 19.18 to 12.90 from what I was told on the phone. I have never heard of anything like this go down. I will see when I get the notice.


Same here …but while it is a great deal on tier one and tier 2 drugs it is awful on 3&4


----------



## funsearcher! (Nov 5, 2021)

Liberty said:


> If you have a medicare supplement and your rates go up higher than they should, its time to get bids for a new plan through your agent.  We changed a total of 3 times in 10 years.  This is the 4th year with our current plan and its only gone up a little bit...probably for age adjustment.  Philadelphia American Life Insurance Co. is the underwriter for our plan G.  Wellcare is the drug portion - its like $18 a month.


Didn't you have to do underwriting to change to a different Part B supplement??


----------



## funsearcher! (Nov 5, 2021)

https://www.shiphelp.org/ is the place to find someone who is not selling plans but able to compare plans for you.


----------



## Liberty (Nov 6, 2021)

funsearcher! said:


> Didn't you have to do underwriting to change to a different Part B supplement??


Think it varies from state to state - here in Texas we go through underwriting to change but its not a big deal.  Our agent won't sell advantage plans and makes it 
very easy for us to change our medi-gap  if needed.


----------



## cheryl (Nov 14, 2021)

I live in Pennsylvania, Montgomery County near Philadelphia. I used to be on Aetna Supplemental Plan F, but last year switched to Cigna after Aetna raised their rates too much. The agent said Cigna tends not to raise prices as much. This year Cigna Plan F is going up only $5 a month. For Part D, my Well Care plan is increasing from $26 a month to $69 a month, so I applied for a different Well Care Plan that's only $12 something a month. It's ok for the drugs I use, only Tier 1 and 2. Like someone else said here, Tier 3 and 4 are super high.


----------

