For the general audience:
Good strategy.
Medigap and Medicare Supplement are two names for the same type of private insurance policy that helps pay for out-of-pocket costs not covered by Original Medicare, such as copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles.
They are also known as:
There are actually more plans than that but those are the most commonly used ones (see https://www.medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/medigap/basics/compare-plan-benefits) All medigap/medicare supplement plans are standardized in minimum benefits they provide regardless of insurance provider of the plan.
Yes I know. I just used those as an example.
Yes, I was trying to actual reply to Dr Q in regards to that and mistakenly replied to you.
Read recently (I'll try to find the article) that more and more seniors are switching from Medicare Advantage to Medicare Supplements. Or aren't even going with MA in the first place.
This is where working with an insurance broker can be a tremendous help. When Cliff was diagnosed with bladder cancer we switched from an advantage plan to a PPO for him. When we moved, the teaching hospital where he was to become a participant in a medical trial wouldn’t/couldn’t work with the PPO. Hospital gave me the names of two brokers, first one who returned my call knew that Blue Shield had a moratorium on their supplement program and were accepting new clients without underwriting. She signed Cliff up there, and then a few months later switched him to an Anthem supplement that cost about $100 less per month. (Don’t know if it is a California law that allows you to switch supplements once you have a plan, or nationwide).
California and several other states have the "Birthday rule" for Medicare supplements (Medigap) where you can switch between Medicare supplements without underwriting around your Birthday each year. Here are the states an AI summary returns: California, Idaho, Illinois (with age restrictions), Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Virginia.
That was a major factor in my continuing to seek employment when I was RIF'd at age 62. I had enough stashed away for retirement (according to our FA), but covering healthcare was my main concern. I had planned on working contracts until I hit 65, but it turned into a permanent gig.
It’s a shame we can never get our politicians to get together and work on something so near and dear to many voters!
@DrQ , this is the biggest reason I am still working both my accountant and the fee based FA my company provides me for Free, have stated it behoves me to work to 65 since my company has such a generous and rich benefit medical insurance package. My company also just started late last year a Mega Backdoor Roth thru our 401K, so I really would like to have at least 3 years of contributing the max to that each year.