Medicare Supplement

Before You Renew Medigap in Des Moines, Check These

DES MOINES — If you have a Medigap policy in Polk County, or you are shopping for one this fall, a few things move at the turn of the year. The plan letters you can buy depend on when you first became eligible for Medicare, the Part B deductible that Plans G and N are built around resets on January 1, and Iowa insurers file their new rates with the state. None of that changes what a Medigap policy is — it still fills in gaps in Original Medicare — but it does change what you should check before you renew or switch.

What plan letters you can actually buy

The Medigap plan letters are standardized by federal rule, so a Plan G from one Iowa insurer covers the same core benefits as a Plan G from another. What differs is the premium, the customer service, and sometimes small extras.

The rule that trips people up: if you became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, you cannot buy Plans C or F. Those plans pay the Part B deductible, and Congress closed them to newly eligible enrollees. If you were eligible before that date, you can still buy or keep them.

For most Des Moines readers turning 65 today, the practical choices are Plans A, B, D, G, G-HD, K, L, M and N. Plan G and Plan N are the two most people compare, because they cover the most after the Part B deductible is met.

The Part B deductible resets on January 1

Every January, the Part B deductible starts over. That matters for Medigap in two ways.

With Plan G, you pay the Part B deductible yourself at the start of the year, and after that the plan picks up the Part B coinsurance. With Plan N, you also pay the deductible, and then you may owe small copays for some office and emergency visits, plus any Part B excess charges. Plan G-HD (high-deductible G) works differently — you pay out of pocket up to a set high deductible before the plan begins paying.

The point is not the exact dollar figure, which the federal government sets each year. The point is that the clock resets, so early-year medical bills often feel bigger than late-year ones, even if nothing about your policy changed.

Rate-adjustment season in Iowa

Medigap premiums are not fixed for life. Iowa insurers file proposed rate changes with the Iowa Insurance Division, and those filings are public. Your carrier will send you a renewal notice before your rate changes take effect.

A few things to know:

• Medigap rates in Iowa can be structured as attained-age, issue-age, or community-rated, and each behaves differently as you get older. Ask your carrier which one your policy uses.
• A rate increase on your current plan does not automatically mean you should switch. Outside of your one-time Medigap Open Enrollment window (the six months starting the month you are 65 and enrolled in Part B), insurers in Iowa can generally use medical underwriting when you apply for a new policy.
• If you want to compare, get quotes from more than one insurer for the same plan letter, because the benefits are identical by law.

You can look up filings through the Iowa Insurance Division and use the Medicare.gov Medigap policy search to see what is offered in your ZIP code.

Insurers offering Medigap in the Des Moines area

Medicare.gov currently lists 29 insurers selling Medigap in the Des Moines area (ZIP 50309), covering Plans A, B, C, D, F, F-HD, G, G-HD, K, L, M and N across the market. The table below lists every insurer and the plan letters each one offers in Iowa.

Availability can shift during the year as insurers file to enter or leave the state. If your carrier stops selling a plan letter to new customers, your existing policy is generally guaranteed renewable as long as you pay the premium — but confirm that in writing before you assume anything.

How to decide what to do this season

1. Check when you became eligible for Medicare. That tells you whether Plans C and F are on the table at all. 2. Read your renewal notice. It will show your new premium and effective date. 3. Compare the same plan letter across insurers. Since benefits are standardized, price and service are the main differences. 4. Think about underwriting. If you are healthy enough to pass it, you may have more options. If not, staying put may be the safer call. 5. Talk to Iowa SHIIP (the State Health Insurance Assistance Program), which offers free, unbiased Medicare counseling to Iowans.