Medicare Supplement

Same Plan G, different insurer: how to compare Medigap policies in Chula Vista

Chula Vista, Calif. — If you are shopping for a Medicare Supplement policy here, one fact makes the whole search easier: a Plan G is a Plan G, no matter whose name is on the envelope. California follows the federal rulebook that standardizes Medigap letters, so the benefits inside Plan G (or Plan N, or Plan A) are the same at every insurer licensed to sell it. What actually differs from one company to the next is the price, how that price changes over time, whether the insurer gives a household discount, and whether it will ask health questions before saying yes.

That is where most of the real comparing happens. Below is a plain-language guide to the insurers selling Medigap in California today, and the handful of things that separate one Plan G — or Plan N, or Plan A — from another.

The same letter means the same coverage

Medigap plans sold today come in standardized letters: A, B, D, G, high-deductible G, K, L, M and N. (Plans C and F are still sold, but only to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.) Chula Vista is in San Diego County, and every insurer licensed in California must offer the same benefits inside each letter that CMS defines.

So if you are choosing between two companies' Plan G policies, you are not comparing benefits. You are comparing the company, the price, and the rules around the price.

The table below lists every insurer selling Medigap in California and the letters each one offers. It ranges from AARP - UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company and Anthem BlueCross - California to Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Company, Humana, Mutual of Omaha, State Farm, USAA and several others.

The three pricing methods to ask about

Insurers set Medigap premiums in one of three ways, and this matters more than most shoppers realize:

• Attained-age rated. The premium is based on your current age and generally rises as you get older. It often looks lowest at first and climbs over time.
• Issue-age rated. The premium is based on the age you were when you bought the policy. It does not go up just because you had a birthday, though it can still rise with inflation.
• Community rated. Everyone in the state who has that policy pays the same base rate, regardless of age. It can look higher at 65 and lower at 80 compared with attained-age.

None of these is automatically "better." What matters is how the premium is likely to behave across the 10, 15 or 20 years you may hold the policy. Ask any agent or insurer, in writing, which method they use.

Rate history and household discounts

Two policies that start at similar prices can drift far apart if one insurer raises rates more aggressively. California's Department of Insurance publishes a Medicare Supplement rate guide that shows historical rate increases by company. It is worth pulling before you sign anything.

Many insurers also offer a household discount — a percentage off the premium if you live with another adult (sometimes a spouse, sometimes any adult over a certain age, sometimes another policyholder from the same company). The size of the discount, and who qualifies, is different at every company. Ask.

Underwriting: when insurers can ask about your health

During your Medigap Open Enrollment Period — the six months that start when you are 65 and enrolled in Part B — insurers in California must sell you any Medigap plan they offer at their standard rate, regardless of your health. That is called guaranteed issue.

Outside that window, most insurers can use medical underwriting: they can ask health questions and either charge more, decline you, or exclude a condition for a period of time. Some insurers underwrite more strictly than others, and a few situations (like losing other coverage) still give you guaranteed-issue rights.

California also has a birthday rule. Once a year, in a window that starts on your birthday, you can switch to an equal or lesser Medigap plan with any insurer without new underwriting. It is one of the strongest consumer protections in the country, and it is worth marking on your calendar.

How to actually compare, step by step

1. Decide the letter first (G, N, high-deductible G, and so on). Coverage inside the letter is fixed. 2. Pull the list of insurers licensed to sell that letter in California — the table below is a starting point. 3. On Medicare.gov's Medigap policy search, enter your ZIP code to see the companies and their pricing method. 4. Check the California Department of Insurance rate guide for each company's recent rate-increase history. 5. Ask each insurer (or a licensed agent) about household discounts and, if you are outside Open Enrollment, what underwriting looks like. 6. Only then compare quotes. You are now comparing apples to apples.