Medicare Supplement Hidden Risks Part 02 

Thank you for explaining the why behind the rules. It makes for longer content, but those of us getting ready to make these decisions need just this information that is not found elsewhere.

So valuable Matthew. Some folk don’t have a business sense. Most of us need guidance. I am so grateful to you for this 😊

Not boring at all (to those of us craving to know "the why," those of us desirous of obtaining a fuller-body of knowledge before we make this critical, possibly life-altering decision). Thanks, Matthew!

If you’re willing to invest time to make informed supplement choices and then to follow up this series is perfect.

Here is a Link to Part 1 if needed ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-N6_4uJ6ViV4.html medigapseminars.org/contact-us/ What do you think of this video?

Plan "N" because I am on a budget. If I wasn't on a budget I would pick plan "G"

Thank you for all this education.

Thank you for your service. You make things so much clearer.

Matthew-great video! Call it “Advanced Medicare Training for nerds!” I’m a nerd, and have been studying Medicare since I was 60 - mostly via RU-vid videos. It’s this type of video that goes above and beyond, and has attracted me to have already contacted your firm - I turn 65 next May! Thanks for “advanced” videos like this!

All the best. No one ever mentioned AM Best ratings.

Once again you've provided important information about Medigap policies. Thank you very much!

Excellent video. You've given tips that would not have thought of.

Fantastic I would never have guessed that the business end was going to become so complicated! Thanks I will be sure now to check the history of each company! Great job keep up the great work 🎉

This is very valuable information. I must watch video one and two again to absorb this information. Thank you very much.

I am so glad I clicked on a link to see a totally unrelated video because somehow that video led me to you! It had to be fate since there is no other explanation. My husband and I are totally lost in what I call The Medicare Maze. I was panicking until I watched one of your videos. This is only the second video of yours that I have watched and I have already calmed down considerably. You are exactly what we need. Your videos are filled with an enormous amount of information yet you explain everything so clearly. I will be back later today along with my husband to watch more of your videos. Thank you so much for caring enough to share your incredible amount of knowledge with those of us who desperately need it.🙂

Very helpful video for someone who's new to this and just doing some research.

Liked, been subbed quite awhile. Never bored with your videos. Always have pen and paper taking notes! Thanks for all the great info Matt. Appreciate it!

I just signed up for a supp and so glad I went with a national company that's been around. Good information.

Great video. Thanks for the information and your guidance.

Wow! I hope people find your videos because everyone needs to know this before signing up for a supplemental plan.

Great points for people to take into consideration. I especially like the manor in which you describe some of the internal information regarding the insurance industry without being overly pointed. Having worked for many years in a State Insurance Department (legal division) I knew many of the risks you speak of, and have directed several friends nearing retirement to view your videos for a better explanation of the pitfalls to avoid. I tend to be entirely to caustic when speaking privately. You do a much better job. Thanks for educating the public.

Great video Matt. I thought it was very easy to follow and understand!

WOW, thank you for all the digging up information you get to share with us. So very helpful and eye opening. I really appreciate the work you do. Much of this video was so much new information. Thanks

FANTASTIC, THANK YOU!!!

Very Interesting, Thank you for sharing.

Great information. Thank you👏👏👏

Thank you. Very helpful.

Yes, Matthew, what a great video. (Before I retired, I used to do presentations rather like this in an entirely different zone & I know, from the many hours I spent at that, how much time & energy goes into producing content--clear & useful-- in a zone that will be at least somewhat "exotic" to the audience.) Many many thanks for the ongoing education & the peace of mind that comes from listening to your videos. Your depth of knowledge & believability shine through.

Excellent presentation - very clear and diffidently not boring.

Good information. Thanks for the insight.

Again, thanks for such a great informative, empowering video!! You and Christopher Westfall are my favorites. I will definitely be calling you to see what my options are, hopefully to get a lower rate on my Plan F supplemental. I know how lucky I am to have Plan F, arbitrarily denied anyone past a certain age (GRRRR!), but I'd still like to pay less than $300 for my Medicare supplement. I think it's outrageous that it costs nearly double what I pay on my Medicare premium, just for that 20% Medicare doesn't cover. Ridiculous! You'll be hearing from me after the first of the year.

Great video, as usual, Matthew. In addition to Lumico, Elips is also owned by Swiss Re. Also, my sister who lives in PA was in a Plan G with Transamerica since she turned 65 in January 2019. A little more than a year after that in September 2020, Transamerica stopped offering supplement plans to new people. (They had been in the supplement business only 5 years, since 2015.). Her rates went up at least 14% each year. We talked about it back in June of this year and she passed underwriting and moved to a Plan N with Mutual of Omaha in August. She's saving $64/mo. I was afraid that her premiums would keep rising with the ever shrinking pool of people in the Transamerica plan. I've learned SO much watching your videos and some other videos on RU-vid. Thank you for what you do for seniors!!! (I'm a subscriber and I 👍all of your videos.)

I love your calm, fact based approach. I have learned a lot from watching your videos. My initial enrollment period doesn't begin till January but from watching your videos I know I'll be selecting a Plan N supplement plan. I now realize I'll likely need help picking the insurer, lol.

Great video! Thanks for explaining and providing examples.

Excellent content; very meaty and informative! I have one year to go before I enroll in Medicare and definitely will be in touch about four months out before my Medicare effective date. In the meantime, I have been educating myself about Medicare... pros, cons, pitfalls. With such a life-impacting decision, it pays to do research! I am reminded of a proverb: "The inexperienced person believes every word, but the shrewd one ponders each step." Thank you for taking the time and thought to record this, Matthew!

Consistently excellent programs, thanks

Love all the info!

Great info! I’m really enjoying your videos! I did sign up for a consult. Thank you

Thank you for the information. Very helpful.

Being a geek I like knowing these background details but at the same time count on people whose day job it is for advice. When my wife and I worked with you several years ago to change supplement plans you talked about some of these topics but this was more in depth coverage. Interesting point you stressed that picking the right insurance carrier is as or more important than picking the right supplement plan. One needs to do both and hope their crystal ball is as accurate as possible. At least in our case your recommendations have been spot on and I appreciate the effort you put into educating folks about Medicare.

Thanks very informative

Very good video. Luckily our employer recommended large, well known insurance companies for our supplement plans. So far(5 years), this has been fine. You mention Blue Cross/Blue Shield, these are the main Medicare Advantage plans that MD Anderson will take. It is uncertain (from their website) that MD Anderson will take other Medicare Advantage plans.

Worked in the life insurance business for 19 years. This is a great video. Personally, I would advocate 1 step up from your ratings guides. Very glad I found your company, you set me and my BTW with great supplement plans, would have made a bad decision if I tried to do it on my own.

Thanks Matthew, as an broker in NM I have often thought of these scenarios, but they have never been explored or explained by any of the uplines I've been aligned with. Time to seek out a new upline...AGAIN! Good info here! Now subscribed, +👍 !

I have been educated by your videos and watch the new ones you publish. I have recommended you to my sister and friends urging them to get informed BEFORE they sign up for Medicare. Please know your efforts are appreciated.

You make Medicare so much easier to understand

Thank you for this information. It was all new to me and I thought I was pretty well informed

Terrific insight as usual Matthew! I had no Idea about BC/BS. I just established supplemental and part D plans. I can say one aspect that was confusing, was verifying my prescriptions in the 2024 formularies. One has to triple check generics AND drug strength to verify coverage. The same drug in different strengths may be covered differently.

Fascinating!

I’m a fan of your videos and have learned a lot from you. I even used your team to help me shop for a supplement policy when I retired almost two years ago. I purchased a policy through you from Accendo as recommended by your team. I did question the short time they had been offering policies but was assured it was CVS/Aetna behind the company. 2 years later and Accendo is one of those short lived companies you warn against in this video. A bit disappointed……

Thank you!

Mathew, Thanks for another informational video. The subject matter is quite different than the usual video floating around. I thought the content was well organized and presented. More visual props might have been used in a few cases, such as when you state the 'Rules'. I had to repeat some areas of the video to grasp the message, but it finally soaked in. We signed up with Jordan last year using Allstate Healthcare and we are happy with her responsiveness to questions and the performance of the carrier. I started to think we might have made a mistake until you mentioned the Allstate purchase of National General and its history. I still don't quite understand the depth of that, and I will seek a little more clarification down the road. Thanks again.

Very informative

Let me say you are not boring at all. You are talking about stuff nobody talks about. We will be contacting you when we are ready. I honestly don’t understand anything you are saying about the AM or S and P fitch Weiss talk. All foreign topics to me. But I’m willing to listen and learn .

Great video Matthew! I continue to learn so much from all your videos. You are my go to expert. My husband and I worked with Talita at your firm & she was excellent & very knowledgeable. We are signed up & feel confident in our choices using her assistance & your knowledge guiding us. 😊

Helpful information. I think that when I'm ready for Medicare I'll just give your company a call and tap into your knowledge.

I learned all kinds of new things from this. Thank you. But I'm not seeing the link to the recommended companies.

Thank you again! I am subscribed and you are liked 😊

Great video Matthew. Your advice is spot on. I saw a video recently about the "Top 10 medigap companies" and in the video the host explained to avoid large companies because they have the biggest rate increases. I almost fell off my chair. He mentioned several companies I had never heard of. It went against my sense of what to look for and was very different to your sage advice.

Ill be calling your office next week for help and advice to sign up for Medicare

I forgot to mention in my first comment that I was watching Lasso closely and had planned to use Lasso in a trial right scenario to get the cash up front to help pay medical bills and premiums the first year, then switch to a supplement at the end of the trial right. But, I learned about a month ago from someone on RU-vid that they were in trouble with CMS, and would not be allowed to offer their product in ‘24. And there is more to the story that I won’t get into here. I will be avoiding their products altogether, especially that you said they were planning to get into the supplement market. I’ll just wonder if it was the original Lasso founder or the more recent Lasso owner after the first one sold it a couple years ago.

Also a very helpful video

The best is Medicare A and B with Tricare For Life. In my opinion the best coverage in the United States.

Before watching this video I wanted to state I have Medicare A&B and Premara Blue cross plan F medicap coverage and I love the coverage. It has been a godsend for me covering all my medical needs. Now I will listen.

As a new broker/agent I find your videos helpful for my own knowledge to pass on to clients. You, like my upline, do things with integrity, but they have limited time to train me, so these videos are very helpful.

I had Lasso and got that letter just a month ago. Went with AARP United for a G supplement. I got a 2 year look at how advantage plans try and dictate what procedures they are willing to OK for ya and if it’s expensive they will deny,deny,deny until you file a grievance with Medicare. Do you know exactly why Lasso quit the MSA plan ? I called them up, and as their customer rights says in writing on the website, that they must send me in writing the reason for cancellation of policy. All I got from the conversation with some gal was “Oh that statement is for if we cancel you individually, not if we totally drop the plan for everyone” I said BS. It says for any reason, if we drop you’re plan we will send in writing Why. She hung up on me. So, so, so, glad to be rid of Lasso

You specifically mentioned Allstate/National General which is competitive based on 4 ongoing discounts offered. How do you think they measure up?

Thank you for this information. It was an eye opener.

Medicare insurance agent here...thank you, thank you, for the information you presented in this and the previous video! I have discovered some, but by no means all, that you presented regarding med supp companies, ONLY from experience and ZERO through training, etc. Thank you for making these informative videos that I will benefit from to be a better and more informed agent for my clients. Thank you, also, for not disparaging agents like we are all money-hungry, disingenuous, amoral cockroaches like another youtuber (except him, of course)--rhymes with "Westfall."😊 I truly appreciate all the information that IS NOT widely known (I don't know where you got it all from) that you so articulately conveyed. From one agent to another, I thank you. PS...You mentioned Allstate/National Gen. In my state currently (not Florida)...they have come in at the lowest rates all of a sudden. You warned us about what traditional P and C companies are doing, but then you said in another portion they should not be considered new and they say on the quote engine DECADES in the business...but they are new in our state with med supp...we didn't have Nat Gen med supp, either. Is All-State one of those trying to recoup from p and c losses? Thanks again!

Interesting information. I’ve been listening to several explanations of benefits. However I’m not hearing about the comparison of insurance companies. I will be contacting your company. Are there videos of comparing companies?

I really like your video. So much useful information. I'm 68 and planning on retiring next year so I'm trying to learn how to make an informed decision. This helped!!

I have watched and learned from many of your videos, thank you. How familiar are you and your team with the rules and companies in Washington State?

What is the difference between a N plan and a N plus plan , I was checking on AARP insurance first time I saw that.

Would like to pass a thought by you. Why would a advantage plan expect patients to go through physical therapy before approving surgery,couple examples. Needing total knee replacement,& fragments both knees from calcium above tibia from Osgood slaters. I know both indeviduals.

Mathew, I thought that if you transfer to “like” supplement plan, you are not subject to underwriting. Example; if you have a plan G and your insurance company goes bye bye are you not able to get a plan G from another insurance company without underwriting? Please comment. I used MS when I started MC a few years ago and continue to do so. Great video thanks for helping senior weed thru the supplement carrier jungle!

Question: If a company ceases operating completely, would I be able to transfer to another company offering the same supplement plan without being subject to underwriting?

I learned something but what if my insurance man isn't on top of all this? I am pretty overwhelmed.

I'm wondering if it would be better to get a broker from my state or it doesn't matter.

How do I check how creditable the company is. How do I check?

I was surprised & aggravated that Accendo stopped issuing policies less than 2 years after Medigap Seminars enrolled me. I didn't choose a medicare advantage because I didn't want the hassle of constantly reveiwing & changing. Now I'm told I should change medigap company already if I can pass underwriting. 😕

Is AETNA a good company?

Just signed up for part B effective Oct 1. Your videos have been very informative and helpful. Have a call scheduled with Vondrea to sign up for a supplement. I just watched your 2 hidden risks videos. Information was very good but I was a little disappointed in the quality of the subtitles in these videos. Several mistakes in what you said not matching what was typed. I got the impression the subtitles were computer generated and were a literal translation of your words but not your meaning. Really like your videos but thought you should know.

In general, "Avoid the small regional insurer, in order to avoid exposure to business instability" makes sense. But I am in California and went with Blue Shield of California for a Plan G. They've been at it a long time and California is huge. Do you think the regional rule should still apply in this case? Supplement plans don't have the same kind of regional risk that "Advantage" plans have: Supplement is based on original Medicare and works wherever Medicare is accepted, unlike an network-limited HMO/PPO Advantage plan. So if the only regional risk that is relevant to a Supplement plan is size of insurer, BS of CA shouldn't be a worry, should it?

Really love your videos. I start Medicare in Jan. 2024. I was automatically enrolled in parts A & B because I have been on permanent disability (SSDI) since Jan 2023. I was approved for medi-cal with a share of cost (SOC) of $1300 a month because I was above the poverty level. Pretty much worthless. Can I still get a Medigap plan to supplement the cost. I was told no by a broker but I checked the internet and it said yes. Just wondering if you might know.

Matthew, based upon what you said in the Hidden Risks videos, is the take away just to stick with the company that has the greater historical price stability from the get go or is there a need to reevaluate periodically?

Hi Mathew, I have what might be a funny question about Medicare Supliments, I understand that an insurance company takes the risk for paying out for medical needs with an Advantage plan, In a Supliment plan I thought the government paid out for medical needs and the Supliment company only managed it, please let me know if this question makes sense to you. Thank you for the great videos.

I have been on Medicare since July 2022 & I’m really confused if I was sold the best plan. I’m afraid to change anything

Are there any additional risk to consider with an insurance company that is reinsured by a major P&I insurer, such as Mutual of Omaha?

I thought a g plan was the same coverage for all companies. They can tack on a silver sneakers or something,but a g pays a certain way throughout.

Do you have any opinion on Devoted Healthcare, they haven't been around for 5 years, they are in 50 states.

I'll be 65 in 9/24. I am busy learning about Medicare. I have a question: Can we change insurance companies for a lower premium at renewal and stay in the same plan (i.e. HDG) without medical underwriting? Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Do you write in Texas?

We were on Lasso MSA for 4 years, do you see another MSA coming soon?

I turned 65 in JULY 2023. I have original Medicare A & B plus California Medi Cal (Medicaid). my income increased and I will be put on A Medi Cal Share of Cost program in 2024 with a MONTHLY Share of Cost deductible of $1,400. Time to just go ahead and get off that program and buy a supplement plan if I can afford it?? So confusing.

Do different insurance companies pay you different amounts for signing people up, which could therefore influence the company you help guide the person to choose?

What do you think of AARP G plain ? And do you sell it?

Mr Classen what Medicare supplement company do you recommend for plan G?

Unfortunately, the "bots" are cluttering the comments. Informed viewers, beware!

What is your opinions on retired military members currently using Tri-care prime and about to become medicare age in 2024, concerning about a "medigap" or advantage plan???

Had signed up for Accendo insurance and before had asked agent if it was ok company, he said no complaints so far. The card said Accendo CVS on it so maybe CVS does co ins.? You have more info hadnt heard from our old agent. What think of medicare ins. co's like State Farm and USAA?

It appears that when a company loses interest in or wants to ramp down their Medigap business there is nothing to prevent them from raising prices 15 or even 25% per year. Their customers mostly cannot easily leave. Is that true?