Medigap Policies Available at Age 65 in Missouri in 2012
Prepared by George Jacobs, author of Managing Your Medicare, published by Self-Counsel Press
I am doing an extensive analysis of the Medigap (Medicare supplement) policies currently available to Medicare beneficiaries. This is because the structure of new policies available to beneficiaries changed in June of 2010, and by now there is enough information to give some guidance on both the availability and prices of the newly structured policies.
There is no need to go into explaining the new structure; this is all spelled out in Managing Your Medicare, on page 157. But what I have available here is information, for those age 65, which is when most beneficiaries get a Medigap policy, on the number of policies available, the lowest priced one available, the highest priced one available, and the average price. Even better, this information is given for each policy type. Also, there is a quick comparison of the average price of each policy type to type “A”, the “basic” policy, so you can easily determine roughly how much more or less the policy type you are looking at compares to the basic one, or indeed, to any other policy type. All this is harder to explain than it is to show.
A word of caution, though. This data was collected from the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Regulation and Professional Registration website www.difp.mo.gov. Unlike many state’s similar websites, this one gives the information in a composite manner, and for example, does not separate male rates from female rates, or rates in one of the areas in the state from another (although it does separate by age). Rather, it gives the average of what a particular Medigap policy type would cost for a year. So what you will be quoted will vary up or down from the rates shown, depending on gender, your location in the state, tobacco use, whether your payment method is given a discount, etc.
Again, remember that for each policy type, the benefits are exactly the same no matter who sells it, and you should aggressively look for the best price. You will note significant differences in prices for the same policy type. Some of this may be due to whether or not it is “guaranteed issue” or if it is underwritten. The Missouri Department of Insurance has issued an exceptionally fine publication, The Missouri Medigap Shopping Guide, which has well-done explanations of these differences, and you should check it out as well as the information in Managing Your Medicare. (Call 800-726-7390 for a free copy of The Guide.) But a good deal of the variation appears just to be different prices for the same benefits. And, of course, use these dollar amounts as general guides rather than exact “matches,” but they are a good guide both to which policy type and which insurance company’s policies you will want to look more carefully at. The dollar amounts shown below are the average annual cost of the policies.
And you should note that three insurers sell SELECT Medigap policies. These generally require you to use that insurance company’s network of providers to get your claims paid. So if you decide to go for one of these, be sure your physicians, hospitals and other health care providers are in the network before you buy it.
This information was updated in June of 2012 with the rates then in effect.
Medigap Policies –– Missouri –– Age 65 –– 2012
Policy A: The lowest average price available is $830, the highest is $2,451, and the average is $1,481. This is the “basic” policy. Some 50 different policies are available. A SELECT policy is available for $1,471.
Policy B: The lowest average price available is $1,490, the highest is $2,791, and the average is $1,840. On the whole, these cost about 24% more than Policy A. 18 different policies are available. Two SELECT policies are also available, for $1,308 and $1,582.
Policy C: The lowest average price available is $1,776, the highest is $3,172, and the average is $2,070. On the whole, these cost about 40% more than Policy A. 23 different policies are available. Two SELECT policies are also available, for $1,711 and $1,812. These “C” policies are popular.
Policy D: The lowest average price available is $1,614, the highest is $2,444, and the average is $1,818. On the whole, these cost about 23% more than Policy A. 19 different policies are available. One SELECT policy is available for $1,332.
Policy F: The lowest average price available is $1,398, the highest is $3,195 and the average is $2,134. On the whole, these cost about 44% more than Policy A. 47 different policies are available. Three SELECT policies ranging from $1,508 to $2,004 are also available. These “F” policies cover all Medigap benefits and are popular.
Policy F – High Deductible: The lowest average price available is $379 the highest is $978, and the average is $756. On the whole, these cost about 49% less than Policy A. 17 different policies are available. No SELECT policies are available. The deductible in 2012 is $2,070.
Policy G: The lowest average price available is $1,542, the highest is $2,453, and the average is $1,855. On the whole, these cost about 25% more than Policy A. 30 different policies are available. Two SELECT policies are also available, for $1,347 and $1,434.
Policy K: The lowest average price available is $780, the highest is $1,325, and the average is $919. On the whole, these cost about 38% less than Policy A. 9 different policies are available. One SELECT policy is available for $646. This is the 50% catastrophic policy. The catastrophic level for this policy in 2012 is $4,660.
Policy L: The lowest average price available is $1,128, the highest is $1,757, and the average is $1,341. On the whole, these cost about 10% less than Policy A. 7 different policies are available. No SELECT policies are available. This is the 75% catastrophic policy. The catastrophic level for this policy in 2012 is $2,330.
Policy M: The lowest average price available is $1,467, the highest is $1,867, and the average is $1,663. On the whole, these cost about 12% more than Policy A. 13 different policies are available. No SELECT policies are available. This policy is very new.
Policy N: The lowest average price available is $1,214, the highest is $2,197, and the average is $1,547. On the whole, these cost about 4% more than Policy A. 33 different policies are available. Three SELECT policies ranging from $1,107 to $1,548 are also available. This policy is very new.
If you email me at gjacobs23@windstream.net I will send you a one-page Excel spreadsheet with additional details.
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