How much is Medigap insurance?
Medigap insurance, also known as Medicare supplement insurance, is sold by private insurance companies. These are sold based on standard plans that are set by the federal government or by the state.
The premiums, however, will vary depending on which insurance company you will buy it from. This is because insurance companies are allowed to charge the premiums they deem necessary for these plans. Not only are the benefits the same, the requirements and process of the claims will also be virtually the same. Mind you, the premium amounts don't change the standardized offering - these will remain identical.
Insurance companies can rate their Medigap insurance policies based on:
- Attained age. The age the person will attain during the policy year. Premiums will increase the higher the attained age.
- Issue age. The age of the person at the time the policy is issued. Policies sold under this basis will not increase the premiums even when the insured gets older.
- No-age rated or community rated. The premiums are based on the overall standing of the community or geographical area and not on one's age.
Other things that are taken into consideration include: medical underwriting, any related discounts, as well as geographical rating.
You can compare the different premiums based on the websites of the various companies. You can ask for quotes from the websites without any obligation to buy. When you do comparisons, make sure that you are comparing the same plans, since there are a lot of Medigap insurance plans available and this can be confusing.
Please note that Medigap insurance premiums will increase every year since Medicare's benefits are also adjusted annually. Since Medigap plans are meant to coordinate with Medicare, then Medigap benefit limits will also increase and so will premiums.
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