Medicare Supplement

Same Medigap Plan G in San Bernardino: what actually changes between insurers

San Bernardino sits in San Bernardino County, where shoppers looking at Medicare Supplement (Medigap) coverage often run into the same puzzle: if a "Plan G is a Plan G" everywhere, why does it look so different from one company to the next? The coverage is the same by law. What changes is who is selling it, how they set the rate, whether they offer a household discount, and whether they will ask health questions before saying yes.

Medicare SupplementSan Bernardino, CA

Start with what does not change between insurers

Medigap plans sold in California are standardized by federal law. That means Plan G from one insurer pays the same Part A and Part B cost-sharing that Plan G from another insurer pays. A Plan N is a Plan N. A high-deductible Plan G works the same way at every company that sells it. The letters that a newly eligible person can buy today are A, B, D, G, G-HD, K, L, M and N. Plans C and F are only available to people who were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.

Because the benefits are fixed, comparing "the same letter" across insurers is really a comparison of the company behind the policy, not the policy itself.

Who sells Medigap in California

The table below lists every insurer currently offering Medigap coverage in California, along with the plan letters each one sells. Well-known names on the list include AARP – UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, Anthem BlueCross – California, Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Company, Humana, Mutual of Omaha (United World Life Insurance Company) and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, along with several other licensed carriers. Not every insurer sells every letter, so if you have your eye on a specific plan — say, Plan G-HD — your shortlist will be shorter than the full roster.

The three pricing methods, explained plainly

How an insurer sets the starting premium (and how it changes later) is the single biggest reason two Plan G quotes can look so different.

• Community-rated (no age rating). Everyone who buys the same plan from that insurer pays the same base premium, regardless of age. Premiums can still go up over time due to inflation and claims, but not because you had a birthday.
• Issue-age rated. Your premium is based on the age you were when you first bought the policy. A person who buys at 65 keeps that "65-year-old" starting point; the rate can still rise for other reasons, but not because you are aging.
• Attained-age rated. Your premium is based on your current age and typically increases as you get older, on top of any general rate increases.

Two policies with the exact same benefits can drift apart in price over 10 or 15 years simply because one is attained-age and the other is not. When you request a quote, ask which method the insurer uses in California.

Rate history, household discounts and underwriting

Beyond the pricing method, three more items are worth writing down for each insurer you consider:

• Rate-increase history. Ask how often the company has raised rates in California over the past several years, and by roughly how much. The California Department of Insurance publishes a Medicare Supplement rate guide that tracks this.
• Household or spousal discounts. Some insurers offer a discount when two people in the same household have a policy with the company, or when the applicant lives with another adult. The rules and percentages vary by carrier.
• Medical underwriting. During your one-time, six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period — which starts the month you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B — insurers must sell you any plan they offer, at their best available health rate, regardless of pre-existing conditions. Outside that window (and outside a few guaranteed-issue situations), most California insurers can ask health questions and can decline you or charge more. California also offers a "birthday rule," which lets current Medigap enrollees switch to an equal or lesser plan each year around their birthday without new underwriting.

How to actually compare, step by step

1. Decide on the plan letter first (A, G, G-HD, N, and so on). Because benefits are standardized, this narrows the field without any price talk. 2. Pull the list of insurers selling that letter in California from the table on this page. 3. Use the Medigap policy search at Medicare.gov to see licensed carriers for your ZIP code. 4. Cross-check with the California Department of Insurance's rate guide for the pricing method and rate history. 5. Contact two or three carriers (or a licensed agent who represents several) for quotes at your exact age, ZIP code, tobacco status and household situation. 6. Call your local HICAP counselor — California's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) — for free, unbiased help. In San Bernardino County, HICAP services are available at no cost.