Maximize Your Medicare by Jae Oh

Author:Jae Oh
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781621537557
Publisher: Allworth
Published: 2020-01-01T16:00:00+00:00

SPECIAL TOPICS

It may seem that enrolling in Medigap is easy, and the selection of carriers is irrelevant. However, this chapter has revealed that this may not be the case. This is a short list of other issues that affect Medigap.

Not All Medigap Carriers Are Equal

While Medigap policies are identical to each other, the carriers differ notably. Here are issues to consider.

If you are subject to medical underwriting, then you need to be very careful. The reason is that carriers ask different medical underwriting questions, and underwriting decisions will vary from carrier to carrier. The ripple effect is that if you are rejected by a specific carrier, then it will be more difficult to be accepted by the next carrier. Applications generally ask, “Have you applied for Medigap in the past, and were you rejected?” Only an expert will be able to reasonably guide you in this instance, because an expert should know which carriers will be more likely to accept your application from the beginning.20

If you are in excellent health, then you may be better off by selecting a carrier with the most difficult underwriting standards. Why? It has to do with the way that rate increases occur in the future. Future premiums are more likely to rise at a faster rate if you purchase a Medigap policy from a company that does not place restrictions on enrollment. Insurance companies can raise prices based on the claims history of the other policy owners that have the same policy.21 Therefore, there is no reason to enroll in a policy and be in the same pool with others that are more likely to have a greater incidence of claims, because those higher claims will justify higher premiums in the future. While we have no crystal ball, an expert will have special insight on the underwriting process that occurs at the different carriers in your location.

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