If anyone tells you the Medicare supplement plan they are offering will never increase in price they are lying to you, plain and simple.
ALL standardized Medigap plans will increase in price over time. There are several driving factors that affect the rates. Your Medicare supplement rate can increase with your age, inflation, the insurance companies internal reasons (claims, cost of doing business, etc), or a combination of all three. See our full explanation on how policies are priced here.
Some states have specific rules regarding rate increases. For example; Arizona does not allow Medicare supplement insurance companies to increase rates because of age.
On average, Medicare supplement Plan F increases the most. In my experience, the average increase for Plan F is about 8% per year. The increases vary greatly depending on the state you live in and the company you are with.
It’s is very important that you select a company that has a conservative and stable history of rate increases. We can provide you with this information for each company in your state. Contact us for a free quote or call us at (800) 208-4974.
In most states, your supplement plan will increase by about 3% every year because of your age. In addition, the insurance companies will increase the rates for everyone in the entire state all at once. The statewide increases are plan specific.
For example; in Arizona, Aetna may decide to increase Plan F by 6%, Plan G by 3% and Plan N by 5%. These statewide increases apply to everyone on their respective plan letter. Some years your rate may only go up a few dollars and other years it may go up more.
The best way to minimize future rate increases
- Select a Plan G or N. These two plans have a history of lower rate increases than plan F.
- Have an independent broker who specializes in Medicare supplement plans, shop the rates for you each year. You will have to go through underwriting every time you change, and each company has different health requirements, so it’s important your broker is an expert on health underwriting.
To find out if you are eligible to change companies, please contact us directly toll-free at (800) 208-4974.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Alex Wender is the founder and CEO of Bluewave Insurance. He has been blogging about Medicare-related topics since 2010. Since then, he and his agency have helped thousands of people across the country choose the right Medicare to fit their needs.
