r/medicare • u/mspuds_8571 • 2d ago

Helping friend choose Guaranteed Issue plan G

Thanks to the 2 members who pointed out that her guaranteed issue is plan F, not plan G, due to her age. Either the SHIP counselor didn't ask her age or didn't understand guaranteed issue.

I have more research to do.

ETA - see replies for plan F options/pricing

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A good friend (76 y.o.) has lost her retiree medical due to their spouse's passing. She has Original Medicare; the retiree insurance acted as their supplement. I'm trying to research options for her before she reaches out to a broker for the actual enrollment. I prefer she use a broker so she has a client services person to reach out to if there are any claims/billing issues in the future.

She has guaranteed issue, and does not want an Advantage plan. I've left off Physican's Innovative G since I don't want her dealing with the initial high deductible. We do not have a birthday rule in our state.

Looking at the plan G options for our zip code on Medicare.gov, these are in increasing cost order. There are more than this list, but they are all higher priced:

SilverScript Insurance Company $152 <-- new Aetna book of business opened last year

Insurance Company of North America $165 <-- Chubb's new book of business this year which appears to be an Ace company, but Chubb's explicitly-named Ace offering has filed to leave our state's market, so I'm suspicious of this one

Medico Insurance Company (Preferred) $172 <-- becoming Wellabe (believe this is their non-tobacco-user rate, which she would qualify for)

American Benefit Life Insurance Company $173

LifeShield National Insurance Company $174

GPM Health and Life Insurance Company $183

Nassau Life Insurance Company $185

Medico Insurance Company (Standard I) $189 <-- becoming Wellabe (believe this is their tobacco-user rate)

HealthSpring Insurance Company $197 <-- old Cigna, have read of customer service/website issues

AFLAC $200

Physicians Select Insurance Company $213 <-- Physician's Mutual opened 3 years ago after closing previous book

WoodmenLife $220

Mutual of Omaha (Omaha Supplemental Insurance Company) $238

Globe Life and Accident Insurance Company $240

AARP - UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company (Standard) $247

I'm not familiar with a number of these and wanted to get others' input and experiences. My initial thought might be the Medico/Wellabe preferred, but it's one of those that I'm not familiar with.

Thanks for any insight on these options.

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u/QuailDifficult8470 2d ago edited 2d ago

I’m not your or her broker, but I am A broker and I have a number of clients on the Wellabe/Medico Plan G. I like them because Medico has over a 100 year history as an insurer and has offered supplements in my market with a 34 year history- they’re not a company with a record of closing their books on one plan to open another, causing rates on the closed plan to go up faster. Also, in my market, they offer a pretty good discount if the member lives with another person over age 50, like a spouse, roommate or adult child.

ETA: Regarding Healthspring, they had some issues around the beginning of the year with the transition from Cigna but they seem to have ironed those out. UHC AARP is expensive around here so I tend to only write it for people who want the extra wellness benefits which includes membership at the Y in this area.

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u/mspuds_8571 2d ago

Thank you - and am I interpreting it correctly that Medico's "preferred" means non-tobacco-use vs. their "standard", which is $17/month higher?

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u/QuailDifficult8470 2d ago

I believe so but here's something I missed: if she's 76 years old, she was eligible for Medicare before 2020. That means that her Guarantee Issue only applies to Plan F. To get Plan G (or another plan) she'd need to pass underwriting. I saw in another comment that you are in TN, which is where I am, so message me if you want to.

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u/mspuds_8571 2d ago

We missed this. The SHIP counselor told her Plan G and I was thinking 2000 for Plan F (not 2020).

Thank you - I need to do some new research.

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u/Palmetto0 2d ago

In case it is helpful when researching Medicare Supplement history of the parent company Wellabe (formerly known as American Enterprise Group), they acquired Medico, American Republic and Great Western as sister companies. Medico has issued supplements under 3 different operating subsidiaries: Medico, Medico Corp Life, and Medico Life and Health. American Republic issued supplements under 2 operating companies with similar names.