California Medicare Supplements; Discounts, Perks, and Special Rules
Medicare Supplements are great insurance and when it comes to Medicare Supplements, California is a great place to own one!
The California Birthday Rule for Medicare Supplements
In most states, you have to go through Medical underwriting (answer a bunch of health questions) to move from one Medicare Supplement carrier to another. Even if you just want to downgrade your plan (like moving from a Plan F to a Plan G or Plan N) and you have to pass medical underwriting. You can be essentially held captive by your current Medicare Supplement carrier.
But not in California. In California we have the “California birthday rule” for Medicare Supplements which allows owners of Medicare Supplements to move to any other carriers, equal or lesser Medicare Supplement without health questions around their birthday each year.
Because of the birthday rule no Medicare Supplement policy holder in California can ever be trapped on a plan with higher premiums or be unable to move from a higher-cost plan letter to a lower-cost plan letter (e.g. Plan G to Plan N).
Nice Discounts
Medicare Supplement policy holders in California also enjoy nice rate discounts including a $25 a month new-to-medicare discount offered by some carriers for the first 12 months when you’re new to Medicare.
“Spousal” or “ Household” discounts are available in range from 5% to 10%. Rules to qualify vary by carrier but if you’re married or live with another person and one or both of you have Medicare Supplements be sure to ask about Spousal our Household discounts which could save each of you as much is 10% off your premium.
Most carriers also reward you with a $2-$5 a month discount if you pay your premium by monthly bank draft. Automatic monthly bank draft payments are also convenient and help protect you from having your Supplement canceled if you forget to pay the premium.
Some Great Perks Available
When you think of “perks” with Medicare plans we might think of Medicare Advantage Plan perks but in California some nice perks are available on Medicare Supplements. For example several leading carriers offer free or low-cost gym memberships to their Medicare Supplement policy holders. The value of these memberships can range from $15 to over $75 a month. Plus they incentivize you to exercise and stay healthy!
Additional “perks” available on some California Medicare Supplements include vision, hearing, roadside assistance, over-the-counter and other nice benefits and discounts.
Shop and Compare Medicare Supplements
Because Medicare Supplements provide such great coverage it’s easy to get complacent and just keep the plan you have but in California it’s easy to change plans and take advantage of some nice discounts and perks.
A good agency like Summit independent insurance services can easily help you shop and compare Medicare Supplement Plans and there is no charge for our services, so contact us today!
