Medicare Supplement

Before You Call a Medigap Carrier in Peoria, Read This

If you live in Peoria and you are looking at a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy, here is the single most useful thing to know before you call anyone: a Plan G is a Plan G is a Plan G. The letter tells you the benefits, and those benefits are set by federal law. What changes from one insurer to the next is how the policy is priced, how the price is likely to move over time, whether you can get a household discount, and whether you have to answer health questions to get in.

Medicare SupplementPeoria, AZ

That means the real comparison work in Peoria — which sits in Maricopa County — is not about the coverage. It is about the company behind the letter.

Who sells Medigap in Arizona

Nearly 30 insurers file Medigap policies for sale in Arizona, from national names to smaller regional carriers. The full list — with the plan letters each company sells — is in the table below. It includes companies like AARP – UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, Aetna Health and Life Insurance Company, BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona, Humana, Mutual of Omaha, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company and USAA Life Insurance Company, along with many others.

If you are newly eligible for Medicare today, the standardized plan letters you can buy are A, B, D, G, high-deductible G, K, L, M and N. Plans C and F are still sold, but only to people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.

Because the benefits inside each letter are standardized, a Plan N from one insurer covers the same things as a Plan N from another. That is what lets you compare companies apples-to-apples.

The three pricing methods — and why they matter

Arizona allows insurers to price Medigap policies in three different ways. When you ask for a quote, ask which method the company uses. It matters more than the first-year number.

• Community-rated (no-age-rated): Everyone with the same policy pays the same base rate, regardless of age. Your premium can still go up over time because of inflation, but not because you had a birthday.
• Issue-age-rated: Your rate is based on your age when you first buy the policy. Buy younger, and your starting rate is locked to that age. It can still rise with inflation, but not because you got older.
• Attained-age-rated: Your rate is based on your current age and typically increases as you age, on top of any inflation adjustments.

None of these is automatically "better." An attained-age policy can start lower and climb; an issue-age or community-rated policy may start higher but move differently over time. That is why rate history matters.

How to check a company's rate history

A first-year premium tells you almost nothing about what you will pay five or ten years in. Before you sign anything, look at how the same policy has been priced in past years.

Two good places to look:

• The Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions publishes rate filings and consumer guides for Medicare Supplement insurance.
• Medicare.gov's Medigap policy search at medicare.gov/medigap-supplemental-insurance-plans lets you enter your ZIP code and see which insurers offer which letters in Peoria.

Ask the agent or the company directly: "What have your rate increases been on this plan in Arizona over the last three to five years?" A carrier that is comfortable answering that question is usually a carrier worth considering.

Household and other discounts

Several Medigap insurers in Arizona offer a household or spousal discount — sometimes 5%, sometimes more — if another adult lives in your home, or if a spouse is also enrolled in a policy with the same company. Rules vary a lot:

• Some carriers require both people to have a policy with them.
• Some only require that another adult lives in the house.
• Some apply the discount only at issue; others apply it as long as the household qualifies.

Always ask: "Do you offer a household discount, and what do I have to do to qualify?" A discount you didn't know to ask about is a discount you don't get.

Underwriting: when you can be turned down

This is the part most people learn too late. During your Medigap Open Enrollment Period — the six months that begin the month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B — you have a one-time guaranteed right to buy any Medigap policy sold in Arizona, at the best available rate class, with no health questions.

Outside that window (and outside a handful of federal guaranteed-issue situations), Arizona insurers can medically underwrite. That means they can ask about your health, look at your prescriptions, and decline you or charge more. Each company's underwriting is a little different, so being declined by one insurer does not mean you'll be declined by another.

If you already have a Medigap policy and are thinking of switching to save money, ask the new insurer about underwriting before you cancel anything.

Putting it together in Peoria

A useful comparison in Peoria looks like this:

1. Pick the plan letter that fits how you use care (G, N and high-deductible G are common starting points for people newly eligible). 2. Look at the table below to see which insurers sell that letter in Arizona. 3. For each, ask about the pricing method, recent rate history, any household discount, and — if you are outside Open Enrollment — underwriting. 4. Then, and only then, compare the numbers.

Your Arizona SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) counselors can walk you through this at no cost. Call 1-800-432-4040 or visit azdes.gov and search for SHIP.