Beat The Medicare Supplement Premium Creep by Shopping Around!
If you’ve been in your Medicare Supplement Plan for 3-5 years or more without switching, it’s likely that you are overpaying big time.
You see, Medicare Supplement rates change from year to year. The one that was the best value last year may not be the best value now. In fact, they tend to creep—up and up and up. And here’s why:
What Goes Up, Won’t Come Down
Medicare Supplement rates depend on total claim dollars the company pays out. Makes sense, right? The more money a company spends in claims, the more it needs to make, and the more it has to charge.
So as health care costs rise and policyholders make more expensive claims, premiums will slowly increase. And it doesn’t just stop. It continues to click upward, slow and steady, like a roller coaster. Until—after a while—people unhitch their harnesses and exit in search of a more affordable plan.
But here’s the problem: the policyholders who leave aren’t the sick ones. Most of them wouldn’t be able to qualify for other insurance based on their health. No. The policyholders who leave are the healthy ones. The ones who balance out the budget, make fewer claims, and (ultimately) keep insurance companies in the black. This leaves an unhealthy pool of beneficiaries behind, the ones who need insurance the most and make the most (and the most expensive) claims.
So how does an insurance company cope? They let their premiums creep up even more, even faster. Click. Click. Click. But unlike a rollercoaster, the premium will never peak. It will never come back down.
Beat the Creep by Shopping Around!
But fortunately, most people don’t have to be stuck on that ever-climbing rollercoaster. Even if you have less-than-perfect health, you can shop around. As I said before—if you haven’t switched your Medicare Supplement Plan for 3-5 years or more, you’re probably paying too much! It’s time to switch.
Some More Good News
And this doesn’t mean you have to reduce your coverage either. You can get the exact same benefits for much less. Because of standardization, a plan F at one company is identical to a plan F at any other company. The same goes for all 11 Medicare Supplement Plans. So as long as the provider is decently rated (we usually recommend a B+ or above), you can go with the least expensive plan without sacrificing anything!
The bottom line is this: there’s really no reason to not take a look. We’ve had clients save hundreds a year by switching. So check the competition. Bargain hunt. Shop. You have nothing to lose, and a much lower premium to gain.
Need a quick way to compare Supplement prices? Use our Supplement Quoting tool to get you started. If you have any questions about what you find, call Seniormark at 937-492-8800. We’re here to help.
About the Author
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