Medicare Supplement

Same Medigap Plan G in Spokane, different insurer: what actually changes

# Same Medigap Plan G in Spokane, different insurer: what actually…

Medicare SupplementSpokane, WA

SPOKANE — If you have shopped Medigap in Washington, you have probably noticed something odd: two insurers offer "Plan G," and the paperwork looks nearly identical, but the companies behave very differently. That is not a mistake. Federal law makes the letter mean the same coverage everywhere. What changes from one company to the next is how they price it, how they raise it over time, and whether they will even sell it to you outside your initial window.

Spokane is in Spokane County, and the same set of Washington-licensed Medigap insurers is available here as elsewhere in the state. This piece walks through how to line them up fairly — without naming a price — and where to look for the real numbers.

The letter is the coverage — the company is the price

Medigap plans are standardized by federal law. A Plan G sold by one Washington insurer covers the same gaps in Original Medicare as a Plan G sold by another. Same deductibles you are responsible for, same cost-sharing the plan picks up.

That means when you compare, you are not really comparing benefits. You are comparing companies: how they price the same coverage, how their rates have moved over time, and how easy they are to work with.

The table on this page lists every insurer selling Medigap in Washington and which letters each one offers. Newly eligible enrollees today can buy Plans A, B, D, G, G-HD, K, L, M, or N. Plans C and F are only available to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.

The three ways insurers price the same plan

This is the single most important thing to understand when comparing insurers, because two policies with a similar starting premium can drift far apart over the years.

Attained-age rating. The premium is based on your current age, so it goes up as you get older, in addition to any general rate increases. This is the most common approach.

Issue-age rating. The premium is based on the age you were when you bought the policy. It does not rise just because you had a birthday, though it can still rise with general increases.

Community rating. Everyone in the state who buys that plan from that company pays the same base premium, regardless of age. It still can go up with general increases.

None of these is automatically "better." A community-rated policy may start higher for a 65-year-old and look like a bargain at 80. An attained-age policy often looks the cheapest on day one and climbs from there. When you request quotes, ask each insurer which method they use in Washington.

Rate history matters more than the sticker

A premium quoted today is a snapshot. What you really want to know is how that insurer has raised rates on existing Washington policyholders over the past several years. A company with a low introductory rate and a history of steep annual increases can end up costing more than one that started slightly higher and held steady.

The Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner publishes rate filings and consumer rate guides. That is the place to look at the pattern, not just the price. Your local SHIBA counselor (Washington's SHIP program) can also walk you through recent filings for the insurers you are considering.

Household discounts and underwriting

Two other things vary by company and can change the math:

Household discounts. Several insurers reduce the premium — often somewhere in a modest percentage range — if you live with another adult, sometimes another Medigap policyholder, sometimes just any other adult. The rules and the size of the discount differ by company. Ask directly.

Medical underwriting. During your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period, which begins the month you are 65 and enrolled in Part B, insurers must sell you any Medigap plan they offer, at their standard rate, with no health questions. Outside that window (and outside a handful of guaranteed-issue situations), most insurers in Washington can ask about your health and decline you, charge more, or exclude coverage for a pre-existing condition for a period of time. Their underwriting standards are not identical, which is why one company might approve someone another one turned down.

How to actually compare, step by step

1. Decide on the letter first (for example, Plan G or Plan N). The table on this page shows which insurers sell which letters in Washington. 2. On Medicare.gov, use the Medigap policy search for your ZIP code to see the companies licensed to sell that letter to you. 3. Pull the Washington state rate guide from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner to see how rates have moved over time. 4. Contact two or three insurers, or a licensed agent who represents several, and ask each: What is your pricing method? What have your Washington rate increases looked like in the last five years? Do you offer a household discount, and what qualifies? What underwriting will apply to me right now? 5. If you are inside your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period, you have the most freedom. If you are outside it, ask about guaranteed-issue rights before you shop.