Best rated insurance brokerage for selling Medicare Supplement Insurance
Site Last Updated on: January 27, 2012
I don't think I've ever been more pleased with a service than I have been in dealing with your staff. Everybody was both friendly and knowledgeable and I felt my best interests were always considered.

Mike & Courtney D. Richmond, Virginia

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Medicare Supplement Insurance Online Applications

Why Work with GoMedigap?


GoMedigap is widely known in the industry as a leader in the Medicare Supplement Insurance space. We take our jobs seriously and have a goal of both educating our clients on how Medicare and Medicare supplements work and ensuring they get the best rate available to them. We’re prolific on all topics related to the space and have provided pointed and detailed information below to help you understand what Medicare and Medicare supplement insurance provide and how to best shop for a Medicare supplement.

You’ll find that we: We have a tremendous amount of human resources available for our clients and always take an approach of treating you as we would a family member. As you might imagine, this means we always go the extra mile and ensure you get the best deal available to you - not just when you first become a client but each year as you get a rate increase we’ll work to find you better rates.

Medicare Supplement Quotes Online


You can begin your search by reading more about how Medicare and Medicare Supplements work below and by getting Medicare Supplement Quotes right here on the website or by calling our toll-free number (866) 894-3258 and speaking with one of our experienced Medicare supplement sales professionals.

There is no cost, whatsoever for our services and you’ll find that the rates we provide are the same rates you’ll get from any agency or working directly with one of the insurance companies. No agency or company can give you better rates than we can.

What Is Medicare Supplemental Insurance?


Medicare Supplemental Insurance is insurance coverage that was designed to cover gaps in Medicare, including deductibles, coinsurances, co-pays, and something called excess charges. This coverage is also often referred to as Medigap Insurance because it covers gaps in Medicare.

In order to best understand how Medicare supplements work it’s best to first understand the basics of Medicare coverage.

What Does Medicare Cover?


Medicare offers several benefits related to medical and prescription drug coverage and on its own can provide pretty decent coverage although it can leave you exposed to potentially significant co-pays and coinsurance with no limits of financial exposure.

Medicare breaks it’s offering down into to four parts categorized by letter designations.

Medicare Part A is your hospital insurance and helps cover medical expenses while you are staying in a hospital setting. Your exposure with Medicare part A includes deductibles, coinsurance, and co-pay expenses that can become pretty significant if you do not have supplementary coverage to Medicare. You will automatically be entitled to, and enrolled in, part A at age 65 if you worked 40 quarters in the United States. You can also qualify for coverage through a spouse that worked 40 quarters.

Medicare Part B is coverage for outpatient medical services. You are exposed to a deductible, coinsurance, co-pays, and excess charges if you don’t have a supplement for Medicare. This coverage is elective but most Medicare recipients take it. You will pay a monthly premium for Medicare part B that will be based on your income level. If you make more per year you’ll pay more for part B. The current minimum premium is just over $100 a month.

Medicare Part C is a privatized plan that is also known as Medicare Advantage. You can choose to take this plan offered by private health insurers instead of regular Medicare. Although there are some benefits to this plan in that is required to cover you as good or better than Medicare, you will typically find that there are far fewer doctors and hospitals that accept this type of policy and that there isn’t a reliable way to supplement the financial exposures in this coverage. You will still have to make your Medicare part B premiums to own this type of policy and may pay anywhere from $0 additional to over $100/month for this type of plan. If you have this type of plan you will not be able to buy a Medigap (Medicare Supplemental Insurance) plan as Medicare supplements are not intended to cover gaps in Medicare Advantage.

Medicare Part D was introduced in 2006 as a component of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. It provides coverage for prescription drug costs and is elective coverage (although if you don’t take it when you initially can and decide to take it later you can face some fairly stiff penalties). This is not the type of plan you should by from an agent as an agent is typically not going to be able to represent the best plan for everyone’s situation. These plans have minimal standardization when it comes to important things like premiums, co-pays, coinsurance, deductibles and which drugs they’ll cover (known as formularies). Some may also be more restrictive than others in requiring step-therapy or limiting the amount you can order each month. The best way to find out which drug plan to use os to either call (800) Medicare or by visiting their Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder tool at: Medicare Part D Plan Finder.

How to Choose a Medicare Supplemental Insurance Plan.


One of the great things about shopping for Medicare Supplemental Insurance is that these plans are mandated to have standardized coverage between companies. So, you don’t have to necessarily worry about whether one company is going to provide better benefits than another, if one company will have better doctor’s networks than another, or if one company is better at paying claims than another. All of these areas are standardized almost to the point of being a commodity.

Medicare supplemental insurance plans have letter designations indicating the benefits included with each. The most popular is Medicare supplement plan F because it covers all the gaps in Medicare. Over half the people who own a Medicare supplement plan own plan F.

So, understanding what you’ve read to this point, you should feel comfortable that if you want a plan F that you can just get rates from different insurance companies and go with the plan F from the company that offers the best combination of Medicare supplement rates and financial stability. It’s really that simple. As stated above, you don’t have to worry about whether one company has better benefits or another company has a better doctor’s networks or is better at paying claims. Standardized Medicare Supplement Plan F will work the same without regards to which company you purchase the plan from.

There is another area of standardization that is important to understand and that is that rates are standardized. This doesn’t mean that a Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Supplement Plan F is going to cost the same as a United of Omaha plan F. The standardization of rates means that if you get a rate for a United of Omaha Plan Medicare Supplement Plan F from one agency then you would only be able to get that same rate from any other agent or agency or directly from the company for that same plan. No agent, agency, or company direct agent can give you a lower or higher rate for the exact plan you’re considering. It’s a fixed rate. It’s not negotiable and all agents, agencies, and companies work off the same Medigap rate sheets. This makes it easy to just shop with one trusted broker and know that you’re getting the best rate for the Medigap plan you’re considering.

There are many standardized Medicare supplement plans available to you as demonstrated by the chart below:

Medicare Supplemental Insurance
Here Are Answers to Some Common Questions You May Have...

Do I Need a Medicare Supplement Policy?


Medigap coverage (remember Medigap and Medicare Supplemental Insurance are interchangeable terms) is entirely elective. You can choose to purchase it if you see the value in covering the gaps in regular Medicare and reducing or completely eliminating your exposure to medical expenses. If you’re on a very limited budget you can decide to gamble and just use regular Medicare coverage - which is pretty decent coverage on its own. You just have exposure to unlimited amounts of coinsurance exposure.

Rather than not going with a Medicare supplement altogether you might consider a lower cost plan like a plan G or N that will protect you from most major medical expenses.

I Have VA Benefits or TRICARE


If you have VA benefits or TRICARE we want to thank you for serving our country. You have very good medical benefits that the average civilian would be envious of. If you have good VA facilities nearby then you can just not take a Medicare supplement plan and feel comfortable that you’re protected from major medical expenses and have good and easy access to medical services available to you. However, there are many former service people who live a pretty good distance from VA doctors and /or hospitals. In this case, you might get a Medigap plan G or N to be able to see doctors that are closer to you or be able to go to non-VA hospitals. If you live a long distance from a VA hospital and have a medical emergency you will be covered at a local hospital;however, they will want to transport you to a VA hospital as soon as you’re stable and that can be uncomfortable if not unsettling. There are also mixed reviews about the quality of care at VA hospitals. Some veterans love them and some hate them. If you’re in the latter group you might want to purchase a Medicare supplement plan to be able to go to civilian doctors and hospitals.

I Have a Medicare Advantage Plan


If you currently have a Medicare Advantage plan then you should not buy a Medicare supplement as a Medicare supplement plan is intended to cover the gaps in traditional Medicare. Medicare Advantage plans replace traditional Medicare and all your benefits are received through a private insurance company. So, if you own a Medicare supplement (Medigap) plan and are on a Medicare advantage plan you’re paying for coverage that you can’t use. It is actually illegal for an insurance agent to sell you a Medicare supplement if you are currently on a Medicare Advantage plan (and insurance companies go through great effort to prevent this from happening) - unless you are in the process of switching from a Medicare Advantage plan to traditional Medicare in a special enrollment period or annual enrollment period (October 15th-December 7th of each year).

I Have Medicaid and Medicare (also known as dual-eligible)


This one varies by state. Generally, if you are receiving additional medical coverage from the state then you should not, and in some cases cannot, purchase a Medicare supplement.If Medicaid is only helping you with covering the cost of the part B premium then you can make a determination of the value of a Medicare supplement to you and how well you can fit it into a limited budget. If you cannot afford a Medicare supplement plan then you might consider just keeping traditional Medicare or looking into Medicare Advantage plans.You might also consider purchasing a lower cost Medigap plan like Medigap Plan N. Just a teaching note: Remember that Medigap and Medicare supplement are interchangeable terms.

Why Are There Big Differences in the Premiums That Medicare Supplement & Medigap Companies Charge for the Exact Same Coverage?


Although Medicare Supplements are standardized in a lot of ways you’ll find that different companies will charge very different rates for the exact same coverage. So, if you look at a Medicare supplement plan F from one company at $150/month you might find the same plan from another company at $100/month. The plans will work the exact same way but you can save $50/month or $600/year.

Here are some factors that come into play that can affect pricing one way or another:

Pricing Strategy:

Attained-Age Pricing: This is currently the most popular way companies set their Medicare supplement rates. With this type of pricing you will get not only the normal medical inflation adjustment each year based on the company’s claims from the previous year but also a small increase for your new age.

Issue-Age Pricing: Some states are making it mandatory that this be the only type of pricing available for Medicare supplements (Medigap). This ensures that your rate will be partially dependent on the age at which you take the policy and will not have annual rate increases based on your new age each year (as long as you don’t change the policy). This does not mean that you will not get a rate increase each year. You have to be a little careful with agents on this one because some agents will tell you something to the effect of “Nice thing about this policy is that the rates will not ever go up based on your age.” This statement is true but it is often intended to make you think that you will not receive rate increases at all - which is not the case. Every policy will have Medical Inflation rate adjustments each year based on the insurance companies’ claims experience from the previous year. If there are larger than expected number of claims then there is a larger than anticipated increase in rates the next year.

Community Rating: You really don’t see this type of pricing much anymore. It’s the easiest as everyone in a particular area gets the same rate regardless of age, tobacco usage, gender or age. This type of pricing tends to be high if you’re younger and low if your older because they blend the rates. Insurance companies have found this type of pricing to be less profitable.

Tobacco Usage:Some companies don’t charge an increase for tobacco usage which can affect price.

Number of Years Offered in State:

Typically the longer a plan has been offered in an area the more expensive it tends to become as it takes rate increases throughout the years. The newer a company’s plan offerings are to an area the lower the rate tends to be.

All of these things and others can significantly impact the rates charged by different companies for identical coverage.

In order to ensure you get the best deal available to you for Medigap (Medicare supplement) Rates you should work with a broker that offers plans and pricing from the top providers in the country. Our agents are available to help you through this process and you can find numerous research materials on this site and can also get rates from several companies such as United of Omaha and Blue Cross Blue Shield and Gerber Life and many others right on this site. Only a few of the many companies we represent allow us to show their rates via our website. So, if you would like a more comprehensive quote please call us at (866)894-3258.

Whether you’re searching for a Medicare Supplement for the first time or have been on a Medicare Supplemental Insurance (Medigap) policy and are just looking for a better rate our staff can ensure you fully understand your Medicare supplemental insurance options and get the best rate available to you from dozens of Medicare supplement companies.

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Medicare Supplement Companies:


Aetna | American Continental | Blue Cross Blue Shield | Continental Life | Family Life | Gerber Life | Humana | Loyal American | Mutual of Omaha | New Era
United of Omaha | United Healthcare | United World | Woodmen of the World and/or Assured Life Association

Medicare Supplement Plans:


Medicare Supplement Plan C | Medicare Supplement Plan F | Medicare Supplement Plan G | Medicare Supplement Plan M | Medicare Supplement Plan N

States Served for Medicare Supplements:


Alabama Medicare Supplement | Arizona Medicare Supplement | Arkansas Medicare Supplement | California Medicare Supplement | Colorado Medicare Supplement
Florida Medicare Supplement | Georgia Medicare Supplement | Illinois Medicare Supplement | Indiana Medicare Supplement | Iowa Medicare Supplement
Kansas Medicare Supplement | Kentucky Medicare Supplement | Louisiana Medicare Supplement | Michigan Medicare Supplement | Mississippi Medicare Supplement
Missouri Medicare Supplement | Nebraska Medicare Supplement | Nevada Medicare Supplement | New Mexico Medicare Supplement
North Carolina Medicare Supplement
| Ohio Medicare Supplement | Oklahoma Medicare Supplement | Oregon Medicare Supplement
Pennsylvania Medicare Supplement | South Carolina Medicare Supplement | Tennessee Medicare Supplement | Texas Medicare Supplement
Virginia Medicare Supplement | Washington Medicare Supplement | West Virginia Medicare Supplement

Medicare supplement Insurance