Medicare Supplement

How Texas Medigap shoppers can compare the same plan letter across insurers

Shopping for a Medicare Supplement policy in Plano can feel like reading the same book from ten different publishers. The chapters are identical — that's federal law — but the cover price and how it changes over time are not. If you live in Collin County and you're weighing a Medigap policy, the real work isn't picking a plan letter. It's comparing what different insurers do with that letter.

Medicare SupplementPlano, TX

Here's how to line them up the right way.

The same letter is the same coverage — everywhere

Medigap plans are standardized by the federal government. A Plan G sold by one company in Plano covers exactly what a Plan G sold by any other company covers. Same with Plan N, Plan K, Plan L and the rest.

That means when you're comparing insurers, you are not comparing benefits. You are comparing price today, how that price is set, how it has changed in past years, and what extras (like household discounts) an insurer offers.

For people newly eligible for Medicare today, the available letters are A, B, D, G, high-deductible G, K, L, M and N. Plans C and F are only available if you were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.

Who sells Medigap in Plano

There isn't a single official "Texas Medigap carrier list" we can hand you here, because the roster shifts and each insurer files separately with the state. The most reliable ways to see who sells in your ZIP code:

• Medicare.gov Medigap policy search. Enter your Plano ZIP and it returns every insurer offering Medigap in your area, along with the plan letters each one sells.
• Texas Department of Insurance Medigap rate guide. The state publishes a comparison guide that lists insurers and sample rates by age.
• Texas SHIP (the state's free Medicare counseling program). Counselors can walk you through the list and explain the fine print without trying to sell you anything.

Start with all three. One list confirms the other.

Pricing method matters more than the sticker price

Texas allows insurers to price Medigap policies in three different ways. This is the single most important thing to understand, because two policies with a similar price today can look very different in ten years.

• Attained-age rated. The premium is based on your current age and generally rises as you get older. It often starts lower and climbs over time.
• Issue-age rated. The premium is based on the age you were when you bought the policy. It doesn't go up because you get older — though it can still rise due to inflation or company-wide increases.
• Community rated. Everyone with the policy pays the same base premium, regardless of age.

None of these is automatically "better." What matters is matching the method to how long you plan to keep the policy and how you want your premium to behave over time.

Rate history: the number nobody puts on the brochure

A Medigap premium is not frozen. Insurers can raise rates on the whole block of policyholders, and some companies raise more often than others. Before you sign anything, ask:

• How much has this insurer raised premiums on this plan letter over the past three to five years in Texas?
• How often do increases hit?

Your insurance agent should be able to show you a rate history, and the Texas Department of Insurance rate guide is another place to sanity-check the pattern. A policy that looks inexpensive today but has a steep rate-increase history may not stay inexpensive.

Household discounts and other small differences

Because the coverage is identical, insurers compete on a few extras:

• Household discounts. Some insurers reduce your premium if a spouse, domestic partner or another adult in the home also has a policy with them (or sometimes just lives with you). The size of the discount, and who qualifies, varies.
• Payment discounts. A few offer small breaks for annual or electronic payment.
• Enrollment fees. Some charge a one-time policy fee; some don't.

None of these are huge on their own, but stacked together they can shift which insurer makes sense for you.

Underwriting: when the insurer gets to ask about your health

This is the part that surprises people. Federal law gives you a guaranteed six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period that starts when you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During that window, any insurer selling Medigap in Plano has to sell you a policy at their standard rate, no health questions asked.

Outside that window — and outside a handful of "guaranteed issue" situations — Texas allows medical underwriting. That means an insurer can ask about your health, and can decline you or charge more based on the answers. Different insurers underwrite differently; some are stricter than others.

If you're past your open enrollment window and thinking of switching, talk with a Texas SHIP counselor or a licensed agent before you cancel anything. You don't want to drop a policy you can't get back.

How to actually compare, side by side

A workable process:

1. Use the Medicare.gov Medigap policy search for your Plano ZIP to see every insurer offering the letter you want. 2. Ask each one (or your agent) for their pricing method, current rate for your age, and rate-increase history in Texas. 3. Ask about household and payment discounts. 4. If you're outside open enrollment, ask what underwriting looks like before you apply. 5. Cross-check against the Texas Department of Insurance rate guide.

The table on this page lists the plan letters available. Fill in the insurer column yourself using the tools above — it's the most accurate snapshot for your ZIP on the day you're shopping.