Medicare Supplement Plans M and N for June 1, 2010
Medicare Supplement Plans M and N for June 1, 2010 Will Offer Substantially Reduced Premiums
As of June 1st, 2010 Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) will include two new plans for Medicare eligible people – Medicare Supplement Plan M and Medicare Supplement Plan N. At that time, Medicare will no longer offer supplement plans, E, H, I and J. They will also lose some of the existing benefits they carry such as most of the preventative care options.
Current people enrolled in Medicare Supplement policies will be grandfathered into the plans. Medicare will allow clients to stay in them if they choose. As of June, 2010 enrollment into the current plans will stop. All plans that clients purchase after June will be separated into new policy groups.
The New Medicare supplement plan N
will have benefits similar to Supplement plan D. Although, Plan N will have copay benefits similar to those of Medicare Advantage plans. A $20 0r $25 copay will apply for Plan N for doctor visits but not until the client pays the $135.00 deductible. Plan M will also have benefits similar to supplement plan D. Although, Plan M will only cover 50% of the part A deductible and you will still pay the part D deductible. After the client meets the deductible, , there will not be a copay of any type. It is suspected that plan N will have premiums about 70% lower than the current Plan D (depends on the carrier). Plan M will cost about 90% less than plan D and will more or less take the place of high deductible plan J but with a lower deductible for hospital and physician services vs. the current high deductible J which carriers a $2,000 deductible.
With the large decrease in premium,
the new plans will be very popular with the public. It is not know who will offer the new plans but it would be surprising if the major Medicare supplement companies in the Connecticut market do not offer them. It will also be interesting to see how the carriers are going to price the plans vs. their current offerings. Medicare supplement plan D prices vary greatly depending on the company offering them. We will see if they will price M and N based off of their current pricing of supplement plan D or if they will reset prices based off some other model.
If there are substantial cuts to Medicare Advantage funding,
the new Medicare Supplement plans may have a very attractive price point for the benefits provided. This would most likely cause a large scale migration from current Medicare supplement and Medicare Advantage plans over to the new M and N plans.
When making decisions about your current plans vs. the new supplement plans available, it is important to speak with an advisor that can offer all of the companies available in the Connecticut market. Pricing for Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage plans vary by company. The new supplement pricing will be no different. Make sure that the person you work with can show you everything in the Connecticut market.