While the vision and dental portions of the insurance companies are clearly not the sectors consuming most of the companies funds they still cut into the companies overall profits.  With that said, many of the companies have started offering programs that more similarly reflect “discount” programs.  They just offer a certain percentage off of your bill no matter what the charge is.

This can be beneficial in cutting the costs of premiums for insurance clients across the board, but it can also cause individuals that need to visit their eye doctor on a more regular basis more of a financial burden.

In regard to dental there is good news for medicare patients.  Although, medicare will  not cover day to day maintenance of dental work it will cover with surgical procedures need for the patients such as jaw reconstruction surgery and the placement of necessary splints.

As the trend for medicare to provide medical and prescription advances to its clients continues doctors are making less money.  The new Obama Healthcare Plan may also have a negative impact on doctors as far as client availability.

Obama care will create a situation where clients are waiting longer to see a doctor because health care is cheaper on the front end.  This enables more people to get medicare supplement plans and various other health care coverage.

The decrease in medicare may not solve everyone’s financial woes because it seems as if there is a trend in the rising cost of medicare supplements.  So with all things considered it may wind up costing about the same once both premiums are paid.

There are alternatives to enrolling in a medicare supplement.  Part C of medicare can also be viewed as medicare advantage plans.  The advantage plans are less expensive than medicare supplement plans, but they also have more limited coverage and pay out less in medical expenses.

There are other factors, especially in recent years, that contribute to the rising cost of medigap insurance and medicare.  Two primary contributors are changes made to medicare and current economic situations.

Another factor that has been affecting medigap rates is the recent trend of medicare advantage clients switching off of medicare advantage plans and replacing them with supplemental plans.  This is due largely in part to the fact that the advantage plans are beginning to offer less coverage for their clients.

It is very easy for seniors to become confused on what their limitations are in regard to medicare supplements.  The only plans that must be acted upon during open enrollment are medicare advantage plans and prescription drug plans.

If someone wants to get onto or leave one of these plan types then they must act upon it during the open enrollment period.

However, medicare supplements can be changed at any time during the year.  It gives the insured more flexibility over their health care needs and finances.

Open enrollment does not apply to medicare supplements at all.  You can change your medicare supplement at any time during the year. 

Although this is the case there is an “open enrollment” element to supplemental healthcare insurance but it refers to the time period after an individual first turns 65 and then they have a 6 month timeframe in which they will not be denied coverage for a supplemental plan. 

If you choose to go with the new supplement and you are not in your open enrollment time period you would have to answer the medical/ health questions and be able to answer no to all of them in order to get approved and/or not get rated up.

A lot supplement policy holders can become very confused with the barrage of commercials informing them that they only have limited time to change their medicare supplement plans.

It is important working in the medicare field to inform individuals what plans fall into time constraints and which ones do not.  It enables them to make the wisest decision regarding their policies and premiums without feeling pressured.

Trust is the single most important thing to remember and ensure when dealing with a medicare client.  You are informing them on financial and medical matters and they in turn disclose very sensitive information with you as their agent or broker.

In 2011 the premium for new medicare participants was $115.40.  The premium for 2012 will be $99.90.  This will new rate will benefit a lot of people that are on a fixed income.

The premium is not the only thing  Medicare has decided to lower.  They have also lowered the deductible from $162.00 to to $140.00 for the coming year of 2012.

All in all people are pleasantly surprised with the adjusted rates.  They seem to fall more in line with the income distribution social security is distributing to its members.

It will be interesting to see how the decreasing rates will influence the medicare supplement plans rates.  However, whether or not they influence the medicare supplemental rates the decrease in premiums for medicare in 2012 could be a good sign of things to come.

Every year we see an artificial increase in the number of people wanting to re-evaluate their Medicare supplement coverage.  Maybe artificial is not the right word.  Maybe “unnecessary” is better.

Medicare recipients are so confused by enrollment periods that many feel that the only time they can switch their Medicare supplement plans are at the end of the year.

The truth is that end of the year window (which was changed to October 15-December 7^th in 2011) is only for people that are wanting to either get into, or want to change their, Medicare Advantage coverage or Medicare Part D Drug coverage.

Medicare supplement changes are not limited to being changed during this window.  You can actually make a change to your Medicare supplemental insurance at any time throughout the year.  The only caveat is that you have to qualify medically, in most cases, for the new company’s plan.  You’ll have to answer a series of questions related to your medical history and will want to wait until you’re approved before you drop your existing coverage before taking the new coverage.

So, in the future, the best time to re-evaluate your Medicare supplement coverage is whenever you take a big rate increase.  This will typically be once a year and can happen at any time during the year.  Not all Medicare supplement insurance companies change their rates in January.  In fact, most of them don’t.

Should you work with a GoMedigap agent you won’t have to worry about going and doing research each time as we make it a practice to proactively call you when you get a rate increase to see if any of the other companies (we work with over 30 Medicare supplement companies) can offer you a better deal.

Should you be reading this and are not a current client of ours and want to see if we can get you similar or identical coverage for less money then give us a shot.  We’re confident you’ll be happy with our service and offerings.

Give us a call…we really are here to help and make the process as easy for you as possible.  Give us a call if you want to start researching Medicare Supplement rates and companies!