2025 Shocking Medicare Plan G & Plan N Rate Increases!

Have you noticed your Medigap premiums going up this year? The increase is partly due to rising healthcare costs and the residual effects of COVID. During the pandemic, many elective procedures such as knee and hip replacements were postponed, leading to a backlog of services. Hi, Joanne Quinn, independent insurance agent and co-founder of Remedigap.com. Thanks for being here today. As healthcare providers work through these delayed procedures, the volume of medical claims has surged. These upticks in claims, along with rising healthcare costs, has contributed to higher Medigap premiums. So what can you do to lower your Medigap, also known as Medicare Supplement, premium? Let's say that you have Plan G, and because of its predictable out-of-pocket costs, you want to stay with Plan G, but you also want to lower premium. Well, you can shop around for insurance companies that offer the same Medigap Plan G benefits, but have a lower premium. Remember, CMS standardizes Medigap plans, so ABC Insurance Company has the same Medigap Plan G coverage as XYZ Insurance Company. By law, the insurance companies can't modify Medigap plan benefits, but the premiums can differ. Now, recently we helped a husband and wife client of ours who wanted to keep their Plan G benefits, but lower their premium. Their combined premium for Plan G was $412.30 a month. We helped them move to a new insurance company while keeping the same Plan G benefits, and they are now saving a combined $2,496 a year by reducing their premiums from $188.17 down to $94.90 a month, and then also $244.13 a month down to $109.35 a month, again, while still enjoying their Plan G benefits. The only things that have changed are their ID card and their monthly premium. And also remember that you don't have to ask your provider if they take your new Plan G because you have original Medicare, which means you can visit any provider that accepts Medicare anywhere in the United States and U.S. territories. Your claims always go to Medicare first, and then Medicare forwards them to your respective Medigap Insurance Company. And as long as Medicare approves your claim, your Medigap company is required to pay their portion of the cost associated with your plan benefits. Now, another approach to lowering your premium is to move to a Medigap plan that has more out-of-pocket costs. For example, moving from Plan F, which covers all Medicare deductibles and copayments, to Plan G, which requires a small Part B deductible but has lower premiums, can be cost effective. Likewise, transitioning from Plan G to Plan N, which involves more cost sharing because of office copays but in turn offers lower premiums, might be worthwhile if the savings on premiums outweigh the additional out-of-pocket expenses. And I will say that it's becoming more common for people to move from Plan G to Plan N. Once someone has been on Medicare for a few years and has a better understanding of how the plans work, they become more comfortable with the idea of Plan N and are willing to change plans to save money. For example, one of our clients who had been on Plan G for three years moved to Plan N and is now saving $1,185 a year. His Plan G premium increased to $211.67 a month and his new Plan N premium is $112.92 a month, keeping close to $100 a month in his pocket. Are you paying too much for your Medigap coverage? Find out by clicking the link in the pinned comment for a free quote. Let's see how your current plan measures up against new rates. And if you're considering changing to a Medicare Advantage plan to lower your premium, take a look at a high deductible Medigap plan. In most states, the premium is well under $100 a month and your annual out-of-pocket max is typically lower than a Medicare Advantage plan. Additionally, with a high deductible Medigap plan, you can still visit any provider who accepts Medicare anywhere in the United States and U.S. territories, so you don't have to worry about using a network of providers specific to an insurance company like you do with the Medicare Advantage plan. Another big positive is that with the high deductible Medigap plan, Medicare is still managing your health care. Whereas on a Medicare Advantage plan, the insurance company sponsoring the plan is controlling decisions surrounding your health care. And be aware that Medicare Advantage plans also face the same pressure of higher health care service usage, and they will also have some control changes by the federal government, which may lead to benefit changes or the decision to withdraw entirely from certain locations. Now you may be saying to yourself, this is all well and good information, but how do you even know where to start to look at other Medigap options? Well, it can be overwhelming, especially when you can quickly find yourself doing a lot of research and still not have a solution. One of the first things you can do on your own is visit Medicare.gov. Medicare is doing a better job at listing current Medigap rates, and it's a great place to dip your toe in and see how your premium compares to other plans. The problem is, what do you do with the information? Well, Medicare provides contact information for each insurance company, but you do have to call each company that you're interested in. And if you're trying to change your Medigap plan, you are probably going to have to answer health questions to get approved for a new policy. Yes, it's true. You may have to answer health questions. So if you talk to ABC Insurance Company and they're not a good fit, then you have to call the next company. It takes a lot of time, especially because the insurance companies are going to ask you a bunch of questions before you get the information you were looking for. Now, let's go back to the health questions. You're probably thinking, why do I have to answer health questions? Well, Medigap plans are allowed to medically underwrite your application to see if you qualify for a policy. Because Medigap is supplemental insurance, these plans are not categorized as official health care plans under the Affordable Care Act. So they don't have to abide by the same rules. So this means Medigap companies can even ask you health questions during Medicare's annual enrollment period, which occurs between October 15th and December 7th. I know this is surprising, but this enrollment period is for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans, but not for Medigap. Now, some states do have separate annual enrollment opportunities with specific state guidelines, and your insurance company should soon send you a letter each year letting you know if your state has a Medigap open enrollment opportunity. As you can see, changing plans is not always a straightforward process, which is why the best way to look at your Medigap options when you want to change your plan is to communicate with an insurance advisor. You may have someone that you worked with in the past, but if they're long gone, there are many insurance professionals like myself who will take the time to review your options. Now, here's where you want to take some caution and not start giving out all of your personal information. Unfortunately, there are still some insurance agents who want to gather a lot of information or a lot of details before reviewing your options. Some of it is necessary, but they don't need your Social Security number, Medicare number, or payment information to look at plans in your area. And if someone is pressuring you to make a decision at that moment by telling you that rates are going to go up, it's time to part ways. Medigap premiums don't always go up on January 1st. Insurance companies raise rates at various times of the year, depending when the state's Department of Insurance approves the increase. But the bottom line is if your premium is increasing, then it's time to see if there's a lower premium plan that will work well for you. My clients who change their Medigap plan every three years, give or take, are always keeping their premium in a good position. And if you love your company and you don't want to change, you're not alone. But let me leave you with this story. I have a client that we could have changed his plan last year and saved him $30 a month, but he did not want to leave his Medigap company. Perhaps for him, $30 a month wasn't significant enough to make a change when he really liked his company. But we spoke again this year and talked about changing plans again since his premium increased by another $20 a month. This time he was ready to make the change. So we started to review his health history and unfortunately he had a medical event earlier in the year, which made him ineligible for a new plan. The good news is that he still has his original Medigap plan and we can revisit the health review in a couple of years. But it's disappointing that he had the opportunity to keep money in his pocket and didn't take advantage of it initially. I understand that peace of mind is important and you always want to be comfortable with your Medigap plan, but premiums will creep up on you. So it's always a good idea to look at your options and consider making a change when you can. I hope you found this video helpful and don't forget to click the link below for a free Medigap quote to see how your current plan compares to new Medigap rates. Thanks for being here. I'll see you next time.