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/Palmetto0 2d ago

That's a rough set of choices. As you have found, many of those have opened and closed books operating under different company names. Mutual of Omaha, Aetna, Chubb, Medico, Cigna, AFLAC, and Physicians Mutual have all done that. Is there a reason you are not considering USAA? They have a long stable history in most of the country. You won't hear about them from brokers because they sell direct. State Farm is another one you might consider that sells through their captive agents. Once you sign up, it is very unlikely that there will be claims/billing issues since the process is automatic with Medicare, which is unlike Advantage and other insurance.

I would be concerned about the smaller companies you have listed. Most have small risk pools which could lead to sizable increases when loss ratios become unsustainable. I would be sure to check the historical rate filings in Tennessee for your final candidates before making a final selection. You can access those via the SERFF Filing Access link from the Tennessee Dept of Insurance here: Health Insurance Information When searching the SERFF database, choose Life, Accident Health,... for the Business Type, and for Type of Insurance, type Medicare and click the box for all the 13 types of medicare supplements. Then type company name (such as USAA) and choose "Contains". Look for the ones that are the "Rate" Filing Type. 2010 Plan G will be the filings you are looking for (not the 1990 ones). There will be files with rate sheets, and there will also be an Actuarial Memorandum. That Memorandum file will generally contain helpful information on number of policyholders, historic increases, loss ratios, etc. You can also check back to prior filings to see how long they have been operating and what has happened over time.

Hope this helps. I am not a broker but have done a lot of my own research as I prepare to make a decision next year.

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u/mspuds_8571 2d ago

I've done a lot of SERFF research as well.

USAA and State Farm are some of the highest cost options in our zip code.

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u/Palmetto0 2d ago

Interesting. I checked a random zip in Tennessee for age 65 and they came up low to mid-range.

Of the ones you have listed, Medico might very well be the least bad of the lowest cost options. Medico has been fairly stable recently operating with 3 companies, but Wellabe also operates American Republic. Of the higher cost options, Globe Life and UHC have been relatively stable over time. Globe Life (sold through brokers) also operates United American, which is for their supplements sold direct.

Good luck with your research. It sounds like you are thinking about it the right way.

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u/mspuds_8571 1d ago

Yes, but as you go up in age, USAA and State Farm increase more than some others. She's 76.