New Era Medicare supplement rates are changing, but not by much. Since 2011 New Era Medigap rates in Georgia have increased less than any other carrier. Georgia Medicare Plans has complete confidence in New Era and consider them a preferred carrier for our Medigap clients.
Retirees turning 65 can easily become confused with all the options. Medicare Advantage or original Medicare plus a supplement plan?
Your zip code may offer as few as 4 Advantage plans or up to a dozen. With more than 170 Medicare supplement plans state wide your head is probably spinning.
How do you find the right plan that fits your needs and budget?
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Medigap or Medicare Advantage?
Which plan is best for you?
It depends. Each approach to funding your out of pocket medical needs is unique. What works for Joe may not be good for Mary, and vice versa.
Medicare Advantage plans have moving parts (deductibles, copay’s, out of network penalties, etc.). The lower premium can be attractive but trying to budget for out of pocket expenses which can run as high as $6700 for network approved charges is a challenge.
Medigap (also known as Medicare supplement) is easy to understand. There are no doctor or hospital networks, you can use your plan anywhere in the state of Georgia or across the country without worry. With most Medigap plans your out of pocket is less than $500 per year, even if you use your plan a lot.
Over 80% of our clients chose a Medicare supplement plan from New Era and have never regretted that decision.
New Era Medigap rates are not available online but we are happy to provide you with a quote via email.
Choosing a Medigap plan
CMS (Center for Medicare Services) makes it easy for Georgia retirees to choose a Medigap plan. The 2015 edition of Choosing a Medigap Plan is just a click away. This 50 page booklet explains the difference in Medicare Advantage vs. original Medicare and a Medicare supplement plan. Page 9 of the publication contains the following statement.
Each standardized Medigap policy must offer the same basic benefits, no matter which insurance company sells it. Cost is usually the only difference between Medigap policies with the same letter sold by different insurance companies.
If all plans with the same letter are identical in every way why not just find the plan with the lowest rate and buy it?
That theory used to work, for a while. As more carriers entered the market they jockeyed to gain market share by undercutting the premiums of other, established carriers. New carriers enter with low “teaser” rates then exit the market (like AFLAC) or they swap out an old carrier (such as United World with United of Omaha). When the swap occurs older (loyal) policyholders are stuck with paying higher rates to subsidize the lower rates offered to new policyholders.
Musical chairs was a fun game when we were kids but not so much when the music stops and you get left out of the circle because you are unable to qualify for a new, lower priced plan due to your health.
New Era rate increase
New Era has announced a rate increase for 2015. The new rates apply to plans with an April, 2015 effective date or later. It is not too late to save money by applying now.
Let us know how we can help.
