If you live in Oklahoma and have a Medicare Supplement Plan, there’s an excellent option that allows you to shop your premium each year, regardless of your health. It’s called the Oklahoma Birthday Rule.
What is the Oklahoma Birthday Rule?
The Oklahoma Birthday Rule allows individuals with a Medicare Supplement Plan to switch carriers to the same plan or one with lesser benefits each year around their birthday without any health questions. This rule is incredibly valuable as it lets you bypass the health underwriting required in most states to change carriers. That means you won’t get stuck with your insurance company if your health doesn’t permit switching carriers.
Why Switch Carriers?
Why would someone want to change carriers? The reason is simple: different insurance companies offer the same Medicare Supplement Plans but charge varying premiums. For example, in Oklahoma, over 30 companies offer Plan G and Plan N, with a wide range of premiums. It makes sense to go with the carrier that has the lowest premium using the Birthday Rule. There’s no risk of getting stuck with a carrier due to health issues, as you can change every year around your birthday.
How Does the Oklahoma Birthday Rule Work?
The window to change starts each year on your birthday and lasts for 60 days. During this period, you can switch carriers without any health underwriting, but you need to stick with the same plan or go down in coverage. For instance, if you have Plan G, you can move to another Plan G or move down to Plan N. However, you can’t move up from Plan N to Plan G or from Plan G to Plan F.
Benefits of the Birthday Rule
Rate increases are less concerning because most carriers offer a 12-month rate lock. At Bluewave Insurance Services, we reach out to our clients around their birthday each year. We let them know they can change without health underwriting if lower rates are available, and we simply switch them over and lock their rate for the next 12 months. When their birthday comes around the following year, we do the exact same thing, keeping them on a continuous rate lock without any health worries.
The Application Process
When applying with a carrier using the Birthday Rule, each carrier is a little different. Some require extra items to be submitted with the application, such as proof of current coverage and proof that your current coverage is active and the most recent bill has been paid. At Bluewave Insurance, we get a copy of our client’s current Medicare Supplement card and proof their policy is paid to date. We send these items in with the application, which usually gets issued within a few days, no questions asked.
States with Similar Rules
Other states like California, Oregon, and Nevada have similar rules that allow individuals to shop around their birthday, regardless of their health. We are licensed in all these “Birthday States,” so we actively reach out to all our clients and give them the option to shop the rates around their birthday, allowing them to take advantage of a lower premium if that’s something they’d like to do.
Bluewave Insurance Is Here to Help
Do you have questions about the Oklahoma Birthday Rule or want to learn more about how to take advantage of it? Contact Bluewave Insurance today!
Give us a call at 800-208-4974 to book an appointment with us. We charge nothing for our services and can shop the rate for you each year, just as we do with all our clients. It’s a great way to save money if you live in Oklahoma.
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.
