Hi everyone. I'm Lindsay Engle and I'm with Elite Insurance Partners and MedicareFAQ.com. Thank you so much for joining us. And in today's video, we're going to discuss and compare the differences between Medigap Plan F versus Plan G versus Plan N. But before we start comparing the plans, we need to address some important changes that have impacted all Medicare beneficiaries that were newly eligible as of 2020. The year that you became eligible for Medicare is what will determine which plans you are eligible to enroll in. So if you are eligible for Medicare before 2020, you can enroll at any of the top three plans being Plan F Plan G or Plan N. If you were not eligible for Medicare until this year or after 2020, you will not be eligible to enroll in Plan F. Your options will be Plan G and Plan N. 

Plan F is considered a first-dollar coverage plan because it will leave beneficiaries with zero out-of-pocket costs outside of their monthly premium. With Plan F you'll have no cost-sharing. This includes deductibles, coinsurance, and co-pays.

Plan G has been the runner-up plan to Plan F due to it covering almost all of the same benefits. The only Benefit Plan G does not cover is the Part B deductible. The Part B deductible is $198. What this means is you'll have coverage for all of your out-of-pocket expenses, including co-pays coinsurance and deductibles. Once you've met that Part B deductible of $198, the only out-of-pocket costs will be what your monthly premium for Plan G. 

Plan N has quickly become one of the most popular choices that our clients choose to enroll in. Plan N is considered a cost-sharing plan. This is because when you visit the doctor's office or the emergency room, you will have a small copay to pay. These co-pays are what keeps your monthly premium low. When you go to the doctor's office, you'll have a $20 copay. If you end up in the emergency room, you'll have a $50 copay. In addition to the co-pays, you’ll be responsible for the Part B deductible of $198 as well as any excess charges. However, most beneficiaries don't need to be concerned with excess charges. Some states do not even allow them and most doctors won't charge you with excess charges. Quick tip, If you can find an urgent care facility near you, then you won't have any copay to pay when you go to visit. This is important to take into consideration if you visit the doctor's office often. If you are not one to visit the doctor's office often then Plan N may be a good choice for you. It's important to remember that premiums vary from state to state. 

For more information, please visit https://www.medicarefaq.com/faqs/plan-f-vs-plan-g-vs-plan-n/

For information on the 2020 changes visit https://www.medicarefaq.com/faqs/medicare-changes-2020/

Plan F - https://www.medicarefaq.com/medicare-supplements/medigap-plans/medigap-plan-f/

Plan G - https://www.medicarefaq.com/medicare-supplements/medigap-plans/medigap-plan-g/

Plan N - https://www.medicarefaq.com/medicare-supplements/medigap-plans/medigap-plan-n/

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https://www.medicarefaq.com/original-medicare/medicare-parts/medicare-part-c/

A Medicare Advantage plan is also known as Medicare Part C, it's offered by private insurance carriers and it's an alternative to a Medicare Supplement. Generally, Medicare Advantage plans are good for people who are healthy, because they don't have as many doctor visits and co-pays for specialists and it's also beneficial for someone who can't afford a Medigap policy because, in reality, some insurance is better than no insurance. These plans, you must have your Part A and B active in order to qualify to enroll. There is one health question, do you have end-stage renal disease. Now, if you do have end-stage renal disease, the standard Medicare Advantage plans won't be available. However, in some areas, there's what's called a Special Needs Plan.

Your Medicare Advantage plan will have a card for you, so when you go to your doctor, you will show your Medicare Advantage card instead of your Medicare card. This is because that private insurance carrier is now gonna handle your claims. Some of these plans include routine dental, vision, hearing and even gym memberships. It's important to remember that some of those services are only routine. So if you need dentures, fillings, root canals, you may want to purchase a separate, standalone policy.

Now, also with Medicare Advantage plans, you will have a one year trial right through your Guaranteed Issue, meaning that you will have 12 months to have your Medicare Advantage plan and within that time, you can either choose to stick with it or switch to a Medigap policy instead. You will also be protected if your Medicare Advantage plan leaves your service area through Guaranteed Issue, and you'll be able to switch at that point as well.

Well, the biggest pro that none of us can ignore is the zero dollar premium. And I know some of the plans do just have a lower premium, I've seen them between $20, all the way up to $100 bucks, depending on where you live. The downside to having a low premium is that you end up with higher out of pocket costs. The way you gotta look at it is either you're gonna pay for it upfront or you're gonna pay for it later. 

Another thing to think about is when you have a Medicare Advantage plan, you have a more restricted network. As were with the Medigap policy, you can go anywhere where Medicare is accepted. That's not the case for Medicare advantage plans. Additionally, in most cases, referrals are needed to see specialists. So you will have to go to your primary care doctor, pay that copay to then go to the specialist and pay that copay. So all are very important things to think about when you're planning your year ahead. And if you throw in a hospital visit, a lot of them are $100 to $300 a day for the first 4 to 6 days. 

One pro is that your Medicare Advantage premium can be deducted right from your social security, so it is one less bill you have to worry about manually paying. Another pro is there's national emergency coverage, so if you travel frequently and you have an emergency situation, you do have coverage with your Medicare Advantage plan, however, if you leave the country and have an emergency, you pay for that out of your own pocket.

So as you can see, there are a lot of pros to Medicare Advantage plans and there are a lot of cons that you would have to factor in. If you're someone who's confident with your health, who doesn't really frequent the doctors often, this might be a great plan for you.

Medicare Advantage vs Medicare Supplements: https://www.medicarefaq.com/faqs/medicare-advantage-vs-medicare-supplement/

Best Medicare Advantage Plans for 2020: https://www.medicarefaq.com/faqs/best-medicare-advantage-plans/

Join our Facebook group! It's a group dedicated to helping people become educated on Medicare.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/MedicareFAQ/

Hi, I'm Lindsay Engle and I'm the Medicare expert for Elite Insurance Partners and MedicareFAQ.com. Thank you so much for joining us on our Medicare Community YouTube channel. Today's topic is the Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period.

Medigap plans were created to help supplement your Original Medicare benefits. They cover out-of-pocket costs such as the 20% coinsurance that falls under Part B. The most important thing to remember about your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period is that for the majority of beneficiaries it only comes around once in a lifetime.

Many beneficiaries may confuse the Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period with the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period that comes around every October. When in fact the Annual Enrollment Period is not for Medigap plans at all. The Annual Enrollment Period is for Medicare beneficiaries who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage or Part D plans. That is the time period that they can make changes. Now you can still enroll in a Medigap plan during the Annual Enrollment Period, you'll just have to go through medical underwriting and answer health questions.

Your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period is a six-month window that begins with your Part B effective date. During this time frame, you can enroll in any Medigap plan with any carrier without having to answer any health questions. You're guaranteed to be accepted into the plan. Medigap plans are also guaranteed renewable. A carrier cannot cancel your policy due to health conditions.

The only time your Medigap policy can be canceled is if you don't pay your premiums. Now for some people, your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period may happen more than once in your lifetime. There are two ways that your Medicare supplement open enrollment period can come around twice in your lifetime. One way is if you retire and go back to work. Then later on when you retire again, and you enroll in Part B, your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period six-month window will begin again. 

The other way your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period may come around twice in your lifetime is if you're under 65 and collecting Social Security Disability Income. After collecting Social Security Disability Income benefits after 24 months you'll be eligible for Medicare. At that time, if you choose to enroll in Medicare Part B, your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period six-month window will begin. 

Now many beneficiaries and many states may not be able to afford the premiums for Medigap plans for those who are under 65. Or you may live in a state that doesn't offer plans to people on disability under 65. So in this case when you do turn 65, you'll have another Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period. At that time you can enroll in a Medigap plan with the premiums being the same as everyone else versus being more expensive because you're under 65. 

Now some states have their own guaranteed-issue rules such as California, Connecticut, Washington, Maine, New York, Oregon, and Missouri. For example, California has a birthday rule. This allows you to enroll in any Medicare Supplement Plan without having to answer health questions around the month of your birthday each year. Connecticut has a year-round Open Enrollment period. This means that residence in Connecticut can change or enroll in a Medigap plan without answering health questions at any time of the year.

If you missed your once-in-a-lifetime Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period and don't live in one of the states that have their own guaranteed-issue rules. You can still enroll in a Medigap plan at any time of the year. 

Hi everyone Lindsay here with Elite Insurance Partners and MedicareFAQ.com. Welcome. If it's your first time joining us, we're very happy to have you here. Now there are many different enrollment periods when it comes to Medicare. Today we're going to talk about the General Enrollment Period and what low-income beneficiaries should know.

The Medicare General Enrollment Period

The Medicare General Enrollment Period runs annually between January 1st and March 31st. It's the second opportunity you have to enroll in both Medicare Part A and B. When you enroll during the GEP your coverage will begin July 1st.

Most Medicare beneficiaries are unaware that if they delay enrolling in Part A and Part B without Credible Coverage, they're going to see some penalties.

There are two ways around these penalties. One of them is if you're low income and you qualify for Medicare Savings Program. And the other one is if you're collecting Social Security Disability Income and you were paying these penalties when you turn 65 those penalties will then be waived.

Medicare Savings Programs

If you're a low-income beneficiary you may have some other options. If you decline Part B because the premium is too expensive, there are three Medicare Savings Programs that you may qualify for.

These MSPs will pay your Part B premium and also protect you against any penalties. In addition, to qualify for a Medicare Savings Program you must be enrolled in Part A.

Now if you didn't work enough quarters, and you don't get Part A premium-free, so you declined it due to it being too expensive, you may qualify for a Qualified Medicare Beneficiary Program.

Qualified Medicare Beneficiary Programs

Now, I could go much more into detail about these Qualified Medicare Beneficiary Programs and these Medicare Savings Programs, but that would make this video over an hour long. So we'll make sure to include some links below to our MedicareFAQ.com to where it will go over these in more detail.

Part D Special Enrollment Period

For those looking for Prescription Drug Coverage, when you use the General Enrollment Period to enroll in Part A and B, you'll actually get a Part D Special Enrollment Period. This Special Enrollment Period for Part D will be between April 1st and June 30th. The effective date will be alongside your Part A and Part B, which is July 1st. 

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.

If you haven't already joined our Facebook Community, make sure to do so today. We’ll include a link in the description below. Also, don't forget about our YouTube channel. We post videos regularly to our Facebook Community as well as our YouTube channel to keep all of our beneficiaries up to date and informed on any Medicare changes. Until next time. Bye.

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.