Well for those of you who had been on Medicare for quite some time now and have 
had a Medigap plan, you probably realize that sometimes things change.
And by things, I mean usually your rate!
Rate increases happen every year, it’s just a fact of life in the world of Medicare supplement insurance.
But sometimes you get a real doozy.
That letter comes in the mail, and it lets you know how much your premium increase is going up based on percentage.
And sometimes, it knocks you on your butt!
Believe me, I understand, because we get calls all year long from people when that happens, and were able to save many of them a good deal of money on their premiums.
They usually call up asking, “When can I change my Medicare supplemental insurance plan?”
You can Change Medigap Plans Anytime!
My name is Russell Noga with Medisupps.com, and in this article, I’m going to cover when you can change plans, why you absolutely should try to change, as well as some other enrollment periods and deadlines that you absolutely need to know about.
So if you did in fact get knocked on your butt with a rate increase letter, I’m sorry here that!
One thing we do here at Medisupps.com has contacted you before you even get your rate increase.
We’re already shopping the rates so we can have it offered to pass and make sure you don’t end up overpaying on your Medicare supplement insurance.
But let’s talk about the deadline for changing Medicare supplement plans if you already got one.
The deadline is…
None! There is no deadline!
With Medicare supplement insurance, you can change plans anytime during the year. That’s great news.
So if you did get a rate increase, simply click the banner below to get rates online to see how much you can save.
Or you can call us at 1-888-891-0229 which is even faster and easier, and we can show you some rates that were not allowed to display online.
Medicare open enrollment period
Most people think they have to wait until the open enrollment period each year to change their Medicare supplement plans.
This time frame happens from October 15 through December 7 each year, and although there are some different changes that can only be made during this time Medicare supplement plans are not one of them.
The fact we change about 10 to 15 people a day off of their supplement plan to a different company to save their money. It happens all the time, every month of the year.
So if you did just get a rate increase then call us now, do not wait until October!
Medicare Supplement Rate Increases
You might be wondering why these rate increases happen with Medigap plans each year.
When you first sign up for a Medigap plan, most companies will give you a one-year lock-in on your rate. This means for the first year, your premiums will not change each month.
About 45 days prior to the anniversary of your policy, you’ll get a letter in the mail stating that your premium is going up a certain percentage for the following year.
Many people think that the insurance companies are out to get them, or that they had some health claims that year, and because they visited the doctor quite a bit that it’s causing them to raise the rates.
This is simply not true.
Rate increases and the amounts of them are determined by how many claims are being paid out of the group you are in, not your own individual claims.
The actuaries of insurance companies will compute those numbers against the number of new premiums coming into the group, and raise the rates accordingly based on a mathematical formula put by the government.
Simply put, a certain percentage of every dollar they collect in premiums must go towards health claims.
So insurance companies do not make these rates up out of thin air, and because people get older and statistically have more health claims the premiums go up each year.
That does not mean that you need to pay a higher premium with that particular company!
Call us now if you’ve recently got a rate increase letter.
In fact, call us now anyway because we can probably lower your monthly premium even if you then get a rate increase!
We shop the rates from all of the companies and save you money each year.
We’ve helped over 10,000 people with their Medicare supplement insurance in the last 11 years, and we’d love to help you too!
Call today!
Medicare supplement plans are standardized
One of the most important things to remember when it comes to Medigap Insurance is the fact that every single insurance company offers the same coverage.
Regardless of the plan letter, each company has the same benefits within that plan letter.
Yet they all charge different premiums for it!
Many people don’t know this, and sometimes people call the insurance carrier directly to enroll.
Big mistake!
When you call the insurance carrier direct, you get one premium. Theirs.
You can ask them what other companies charge, and they will likely laugh at you. Why on earth would they give you other companies’ rates when they just want to sell you there’s?
We are an independent agency with the ability to offer all of the top companies the exact same premiums.
The big differences are that we can offer them all, shop all of their rates, and we’ll work for them.
We work for you!
Medicare open enrollment period
So you might be asking “Well what does happen during this Medicare open enrollment period?”
And that’s a great question because we know you can change your Medicare supplement plan anytime during the year.
During the open enrollment period, a number of different changes can take place.
Keep in mind the changes below may only take place between October 15th through December 7th each year, and then the new changes go into effect on January 1st of the following year.
- Change a Medicare Advantage plan to a different Advantage plan
- Disenroll from an Advantage plan and return to original Medicare/Medigap
- Opt out of original Medicare and enroll in an advantage plan
- Change a part D drug plan
So as you can see, nowhere in there does it say you can change a Medicare supplement plan to another Medicare supplement plan. That can be done now!
To get the process started just give us a call today. We’ll get you the best out now with your Medicare supplement insurance as well as for years to come!
Russell Noga is the CEO of Medisupps.com, an online Medicare Agency and resource center helping Medicare beneficiaries learn about Medicare, Medigap and Part D drug plans, and Medicare Advantage plans since 2009. Russell is licensed in all 50 states and has been featured as a keynote speaker, and author of several publications, along with hosting the very popular Medisupps.com Youtube channel.