Medicare Supplement Insurance - Is Price Everything?

When it comes to Medigap Insurance, all plans are created equal, or are they really? Senior consumers have been conditioned to believe that all Medicare Supplement plans are on an even playing field. As you will see, this may very well not be the case.

In the early 1990's the Federal Government standardized all Medicare Supplemental Insurance plans. Standardization was put into place to assist the consumer when shopping for or comparing Medigap Supplement plans. There are currently twelve standard Medicare Supplement Insurance plan choices and they are labeled with the letters A-L. Simply put, all similarly lettered plans are identical regardless of which Medicare Supplement Insurance company is offering the plan.

One could easily assume that when all Medigap plans which are similarly lettered are identical, that the only reasonable basis for selection would be price. Or would it? If all Supplemental Medicare Insurance plans which are similarly lettered are equal, then why are all Medigap plans which are similarly lettered, priced so differently? That is the question we will address in this article. The below example of Medicare Supplement Insurance plans available in Kansas should certainly raise some eyebrows.

1. Plan "F" $1336.72 annually with United World Insurance Company. (Mutual of Omaha)

2. Plan "F" $1720.45 annually with Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company.

3. Plan "F" $2182.02 annually with Bankers Life and Casualty Insurance Company.

4. Plan "F" $3117.60 annually with State Mutual Insurance Company.

Now, all of the above plans are created equal when only considering the plan benefits, but as you can obviously see, price is another question. How would any consumer feel if after purchasing Plan "F" Medicare Supplement with State Mutual Insurance Company, they learned that they could have purchased the same plan benefits with United World Insurance Company (Mutual of Omaha) for literally half the price?

Is price then, everything? Well, not really! Price is obviously a major factor, but there are other things to take into consideration. Examples of other factors would be, company rating, financial stability, history in the marketplace, customer service and history of rate increases.

As you can see, all plans are not really created equally. Consumers should obviously consider price, but not automatically purchase either the lowest priced Medigap Insurance plan, nor should they assume that a more expensive plan translates to a more stable company.

The easiest and least stressful method to shop and compare Medicare Supplement plans would be to involve a Medicare Supplemental Insurance specialist. A Medigap specialist will know the ins and outs of the marketplace, the history and commitment to the marketplace of each particular Medigap company and each individual Medicare Supplement Insurance company's history of rate increases. With the advent of the Internet, locating a qualified broker is as easy as loading your favorite Internet search engine and typing in the words, "Medicare Supplement Insurance Quotes" or "Medigap Quotes".