MedicareFAQ

Hi everyone Lindsay here with Elite Insurance Partners and MedicareFAQ.com. Thank you so much for joining us today. If it's your first time welcome. Today, we're going to try and clarify some confusion around a specific enrollment period for Medicare, that's the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period.

Previously you may have heard of this enrollment period referred to as the Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period. Before, this enrollment period ran annually between January 1st and February 14th, and you could do exactly what it was said, which was disenroll from a Medicare Advantage plan. However, the legislation decided to discontinue this back in 2010.

Unfortunately, this was causing a lot of issues for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. Normally if they had enrolled during the Annual Enrollment Period, which runs between October and December.

Then the New Year came in January, and they went to go use their new benefits and ended up finding out that there was a lot of unexpected out-of-pocket costs that they weren't prepared for, or maybe they went to go see their doctor, and the doctor was not in the plans Network. So, unfortunately, since there was no more Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period, they were stuck in that plan until the next annual enrollment period.

Well, as of 2019, legislation decided to bring it back and rename it. It is now called the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, and it runs annually between January 1st and March 31st. Now, this enrollment period is only for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. So if you are not currently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you cannot make any changes at this time.

Coverage will start the first day of the following month after you enroll. For example, if you enrolled February 10th, your coverage would start March 1st. Now an important difference between the Annual Enrollment Period and this Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period is that during this one, you can only make one change. During the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period, you can make multiple changes, and the last change is what would take effect. With this one, you can only make one change, so choose wisely.

Now, let's go over what you can and cannot do. You can switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another. You can switch from one Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan to another. And you can disenroll from your current Medicare Advantage plan and go back to Original Medicare.

And at that point, if you choose to do so, you can enroll in a stand-alone Prescription Drug plan and a Medigap plan. What you cannot do. You cannot enroll in Part A and Part B, and you cannot switch from one Part D plan to another Part D plan at this time. It is only for making changes to your Medicare Advantage plan.

We know how confusing all of these enrollment periods can be. Today, I hope we helped clarify any confusion around the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period. If you have any questions, please feel free to post them below.

If you haven't already joined our Medicare Facebook Community, make sure to do so. We post new videos and content regularly to keep you updated informed on all your Medicare benefits. You can also post questions to the community that other beneficiaries can help answer, and you can also read about their experiences. Until next time. Bye!

Medicare Supplement Plan G has been the runner-up plan when compared to Plan F. Plan F is known as the all-inclusive plan since it leaves you with zero out-of-pocket cost. You can think of Plan G as one level down. The only thing it does not cover is your Part B deductible. When you compare Plan G to Plan F regarding rate increases, you will see that over the past years Plan G has had a lower rate increase history compared to Plan F. 

Plan G will cover the Part A deductible, any hospice co-pays, and coinsurance, foreign travel, it will also cover any excess charges that fall under Part B. For those who find that Plan F monthly premium is out of your budget Plan G is a good alternative.

It's important to compare what you'll spend out of pocket in monthly premiums when deciding between Plan F and Plan G. For example, if you multiply the monthly premium for Plan F x 12 as well as a monthly premium for Plan G x 12, you may find that what you spend on a monthly premium when comparing plan G and Plan F is actually more than what you would spend for the Part B deductible.

However, this may not be the case for all. That's why it's important to speak to a licensed agent who can compare these numbers to see which one makes the most sense financially and will save you the most money. Let's say Plan F costs you $120 per month. Over a 12-month period, you'd be paying $1,440 out-of-pocket for the year. When you compare Plan G monthly premium, Let's say it's $100. You'd be spending $1,200 over a 12-month period. That means your out-of-pocket difference between the two plan premiums is $240. It would have been more cost-effective to go with Plan G. 

Another good alternative to Plan G is a newer High Deductible Plan that was introduced in 2020. That's High Deductible Plan G. As long as you're comfortable with paying the high deductible. Then the high deductible version of Plan G will save you a lot of money in monthly premiums when compared to the standard Plan G monthly premiums.

It's important to know that there have been some significant changes to Medicare. This includes MACRA, and the discontinuation of first-dollar coverage plans. Plan F High Deductible Plan F and Plan C are considered first-dollar coverage. So if you are not eligible for Medicare until after 2020. That means that you cannot enroll in Plan F. Therefore Plan G is no longer the runner-up plan, it is now the plan with the most coverage that you are eligible for. 

Another important fact to know is that Plan G before 2020 was not a Guaranteed Issue plan. This means regardless of how you got guaranteed-issue rights, If you were using them to enroll in a Medigap plan you cannot enroll in Plan G. Plan F was the plan that would accept Guaranteed Issue. 

To wrap it up Plan G is a great Medigap plan to enroll in. It has decent monthly premiums that aren't too high. Definitely not as high as Plan F. And pretty much check off every box under the benefits chart. The only thing it does not cover is your part B deductible. 

Resource link: https://www.medicarefaq.com/medicare-supplements/medigap-plans/medigap-plan-g/

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#MedicareSupplementPlanG #MedigapPlanG #PlanG

Hi everyone, Lindsay Engle here with Elite Insurance Partners in MedicareFAQ.com. Thank you so much for joining us. Today, we're going to go over Medicare Supplement Plan N. Medicare Supplement Plan N is an attractive alternative for newer beneficiaries, because it has the same benefits as Plan G. The only difference between Plan N and Plan G is that Plan N requires a small co-pay when visiting the doctors or the emergency room. There's a $20 copay when visiting your doctors and there is a $50 copay when visiting the emergency room.

Basically, in exchange for these small co-pays, you'll have a reduced monthly premium. Additionally, if you go visit an urgent care facility versus an emergency room, there will be no co-pay. So, as long as you're okay with paying co-pays Plan N is a good option for beneficiaries who are looking for a smaller monthly premium without losing benefits. In addition to paying these co-pays, the only out-of-pocket expense you're responsible for is the Part B deductible.

For example, we’ll compare the out-of-pocket cost you'll see with Plan N when compared to Plan G. Let's say you are not someone who frequently visits the doctor's office. If you went with Plan G. Your premium could be or somewhere around $100 per month. Over a 12-month period, you would spend $1,200 in annual premiums plus the Part B deductible.

Now, if you went with Plan N your monthly premium could be around $90 per month. If you visited the doctor's office twice during the year. Your out-of-pocket cost would be the annual premium of $1,080 plus the Part B deductible plus the $20 co-pay for both doctor visits. Giving you a grand total of $1,318. In this scenario, you would have saved around $80 annually if you went with Plan N.

However, if you did visit the doctor's office frequently, let's say once per month. Your total out-of-pocket cost for the year would be around $1,518. Therefore, you would have spent $120 more annually with Plan N then you would have with Plan G.

Medigap Plan N is one of the most recommended plans that we offer our clients. This is because most of our clients rather have to pay these small co-pays upfront versus a higher monthly premium. The only other benefits Plan N doesn't cover is excess charges under Part B. However, excess charges are not common in some states like Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, and a few others don't allow excess charges. As long as your doctor accepts Medicare Assignments, you won't have to worry about them.

So to wrap it up beneficiaries with Medicare Supplement Plan N will only be responsible for the Part B deductible as well as small co-pays when visiting the doctors and emergency room. Hopefully, after watching today's video, you have a good understanding of how Medicare Supplement Plan N works.

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Like what you see? Join our Facebook group! It's a group dedicated to helping people become educated on Medicare. Whether you're a current Medicare beneficiary, taking care of a loved one on Medicare, or will be aging into Medicare shortly, this is your Medicare resource center.