Question about Medicare Plan F

I live in Arkansas.

I'm not licensed in Arkansas so you can be sure I won't try to sell you anything. But I do have access for rates to almost all, if not all, of the companies and plans throughout the country. I certainly could give you all the information you need without worrying about bias.

Rick
 
I heard that Plan F is being discontinued (phased out) in 2020. Is that true? If I were to join this year (2019), would I get "grandfathered" in? Would it continue to pay for Part B deductible through future years, if I join now? Or am I too late? Is there a downside to joining Plan F now? :confused:

YES, Plan F is being phased out starting 01/01/20 but As long as you are on Plan F before Dec. 1st 2019 you WILL be grandfathered in :)
 

Ummmmm sorry you are WRONG
prior to 1/1/20 IS Dec. 1st 2019, if you are an agent you'd KNOW that in order to have a 1/1/20 effective date you would need to enroll at latest Dec. 2019 in a plan F to be grandfathered in
 
Ummmmm sorry you are WRONG
prior to 1/1/20 IS Dec. 1st 2019, if you are an agent you'd KNOW that in order to have a 1/1/20 effective date you would need to enroll at latest Dec. 2019 in a plan F to be grandfathered in

Well, since I am an agent and in fact teach Medicare I know I’m right. Do you want me to get you a link or can you spend 2 minutes learning on your own?

Rick
 
[FONT=&quot]Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, all newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries will not be able to buy a Medigap plan that covers the Medicare Part B deductible (currently, only Plan F and C). However, people who already have these plans will be exempted. Medigap offers many different plans, but only Plan F and C cover the entire Part B deductible. Beginning in 2020, new enrollees will not be able to get this coverage, and Plan F and C will be phased out.[/FONT]
[h=3]Anytime Medicare makes changes, it can be complicated. But, there is some good news: if you already have Medigap Plan F, you will not lose your coverage in 2020. In fact, you will be “grandfathered”, and can keep your plan for as long as you like. The phase out is directed at new enrollees only. Of course, other Medigap plans will still be available even after Plan F and Plan C are no longer available. Plan G and N offer similar benefits. And, Medicare will be creating a new high deductible Plan G for new and current enrollees.[/h][FONT=&quot]In Summary:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you are already enrolled in Plan F, in 2020[/FONT]

  • You will not be kicked off your plan.
  • You can still buy coverage from another provider.
[FONT=&quot]If you are not enrolled in Plan F, in 2020[/FONT]

  • You will not be able to join as a new enrollee
[FONT=&quot]If you are eligible for Medicare before 2020, but delay enrollment because of employer coverage[/FONT]

  • You can join Plan F when you retire or when you lose employee provided coverage.
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
 
HDF will stay andalso a new G HD ive learned there will be a high deductible plan. What is closing to any new people is the first dollar coverage. Macra if i remember correctly is to try and cut seniors from going yo the doctors do often. Its become very costly i guess. I dont have time to visit doctors. The further i stay away the better my life expectancy is. �� but true.


N maybe a plan i like more than HDF. Its kind of hard to compare these two since they are different. Its all in what i feel i can afford and what i want to afford.
 
Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, all newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries will not be able to buy a Medigap plan that covers the Medicare Part B deductible


The way I understand this along with every agent and carrier I've spoken with is that if you are eligible for Medicare prior to 01/01/2020 you can get Plan F. Since Plan G generally saves $300 in premium against paying the $185 Part B deductible renders Plan F virtually valueless. Although many agents still sell it and "panic" their clients into believing if they don't buy it now they can't get it after next year.

Here's what I found on the Internet and it agrees with me:

[h=3]Medicare Eligibility Before and After 2020[/h]Plans F, C, and High-Deductible Plan F are going away for new enrollees in 2020. However, Americans who are already on Medicare prior to 2020 should be able to select or switch from these plans at any time in the future.



 
Yes, thats probably correct. Those darn details. :) Anyone after 2020 cant enroll from what I understand and are closed. Also, the rising rates in F will probably go up and the pool will not grow. Its really odd that these plans rise and change when the pool risk gets riskier and or some wise people try and creatively get our money and make us pay more. Why in the world cant they get it right. I hate the fact all costs in just about any plan will likely be a steady incline in rates and we have to continually adjust. Ugh the HDF is still open for next year. Im wondering exactly how Plan G will look since there are new adjustments coming in 2020. It seems to me this high deductible is the wave of the future. Im just listening to others. But I did talk with bcbs from the 800 and the agent told they were all waiting to see whats changing. Im wondering how high the deductible will be for the new HDG. Too bad I can have a chance to,change ;) but maybe i can if i like it.
 
Yes, thats probably correct. Those darn details. :) Anyone after 2020 cant enroll from what I understand and are closed. Also, the rising rates in F will probably go up and the pool will not grow. Its really odd that these plans rise and change when the pool risk gets riskier and or some wise people try and creatively get our money and make us pay more. Why in the world cant they get it right. I hate the fact all costs in just about any plan will likely be a steady incline in rates and we have to continually adjust. Ugh the HDF is still open for next year. Im wondering exactly how Plan G will look since there are new adjustments coming in 2020. It seems to me this high deductible is the wave of the future. Im just listening to others. But I did talk with bcbs from the 800 and the agent told they were all waiting to see whats changing. Im wondering how high the deductible will be for the new HDG. Too bad I can have a chance to,change ;) but maybe i can if i like it.

The HDG will be exactly like the HDF with one exception. It's is VERY unlikely but possible you could meet the plan deductible (let's assume $2,300) and not yet met the Part B deductible of $185. That will be the only difference.

Plan G won't change nor will any of the others aside from new Medicare enrollees being excluded from Plans C and F.

Rick
 
Thank you. A person can go watch and read 10 different articles and videos on Plan F and new changes for 2020 and it seems not everyone is accurate.

I was of the belief when imfirst started looking at plans that once you got in your premium and deductible was set. I learned early on thats not the case at all.

How is the N as popularity with your clients? Ive heard G is it but g could become the new F and G to N as far as top 3 choices.

Thank you.
 
Thank you. A person can go watch and read 10 different articles and videos on Plan F and new changes for 2020 and it seems not everyone is accurate.

I was of the belief when imfirst started looking at plans that once you got in your premium and deductible was set. I learned early on thats not the case at all.

How is the N as popularity with your clients? Ive heard G is it but g could become the new F and G to N as far as top 3 choices.

Thank you.

My clients like Plan N because for most it's the best value. Period.

If you can save $300 over plan G with the only real risk is paying up to $20 for an office visit and $50 for ER if you're not admitted why wouldn't you? Excess charges don't happen enough to bother covering. I've never received a call about them from any of my clients.

You can't plan for everything. Go with what likely works and be done with it. Nobody can predict 5 years from now. Spending months trying to review and get opinions from everyone is not helping with decisions. I wrote this before and I'll write it again - find an agent that you trust and go with it. It's really not rocket surgery.

Rick
 
True. Ive learned enough on what i will make a decision with. Its those uknowns that make me think. The rate increase and more so deductible in hd plans are so hard to predict but past increases gives me an idea. Thank you
 
We went with a high deductible f plan .. what a great value for us ... it is 2k a year cheaper then an f plan each ... that is a 4K savings and maybe we each spend 300 each in out of pockets ..

but the best is half of our premiums come back to us with silver sneakers paying the 80 a month for both of us for gym

Thanks for this post. I learned something new today.

Greetings from the Inland Northwest. I enjoy your posts on this and other forums. DW is rapidly approaching the Medicare sign-up window and is 90% certain that she is going with HD F. Plan N would be the alternative. Lowest cost HD F is $44 and lowest N $121. Your post, however, has me wondering if lowest cost represents best value.

We thought Silver Sneakers was an Advantage only benefit. Turns out that in our market, there’s a Humana F HD plan for $76/month that’s Silver Sneakers eligible.

Unfortunately, our $78 “senior family” dues at the YMCA would drop to $61 for me alone. The $17 we would “save” is less than the $32 real savings we’d get from going with the lowest cost plan.

 
I learned as much as I could in order to ask questions with Select Quote before I signed up. She was very helpful. Don't be too scared there are changes you can make if you are not happy.
 
I learned as much as I could in order to ask questions with Select Quote before I signed up. She was very helpful. Don't be too scared there are changes you can make if you are not happy.

I hope she didn’t tell you to buy Plan F for hospital benefits. Did you compare the price for other plans?

Rick
 
She said Plan G would suffice but I wanted F.

Everyone has to buy what they're comfortable using. If Plan F is the one you wanted then you bought the right plan.

However, I ran a quick check of Houston rates. The differential from F to G is over $400. So basically you are paying the insurance company $400+ so you can avoid one cost - the Part B deductible of $185. Again, if it makes you happy then Plan F is perfect. But understand you are wasting about $250.

Rick
 


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