Are med sups doomed ?

[DonP]

It’s seems more and more “healthy “ T-65’s opt for mapd because they “rarely “ use services. We can argue what’s better a sup or mapd . But what we can’t argue is what will happen to future pricing with sups .If mostly sickier t-65’s buy med sups and mostly sickier people keep med sups as they get older . What happens to pricing ?.Med sups need a big influx of healthy people to keep rates increases even at 8-10%. Every company will be playing shell games and closing blocks . Those people will be stuck with 15-25% rate increases . If necessary mapd plans can reduce or eliminate extra benefits to keep medical benefits stable .

 

[Chazm]

If T65’s in Florida buy med supps for $200. I’m sure other states will take years for T65’s to get to that point and they will still buy.

 

[Midlevel]

I think people turning 65 are so used to having a high deductible and copays plus in some cases a pretty high premium that when they see the $0.00 premium and $3900 max oop they see that’s far superior to what they have always had.

I know I’ve said this before but we pay around $300.00/month thru wife’s employer and have a 3500.00 deductible before we get help with a Dr. visit. It’s an HSA so have built up a nice chunk there. Plus we oay 44.00/month for dental, 26.00 for vision and around 350.00 for a gym membership. So now I’m going to get all that rolled into one for 0.00? Sign me up.

And I don’t see that affluent people are any less likely to take an MA, They could care a less about a 3900.00 oop. Just how it works in my neck of the woods and Med Sups are still around 110.00 for a G plan at age 65. And yes, I do show them all 3 of their options which takes quite awhile to explain.

 

[DonP]

If T65’s in Florida buy med supps for $200. I’m sure other states will take years for T65’s to get to that point and they will still buy.

But the craze in mapd has gone haywire so the last 3-5 years . The med sups bought those last 5 years are just now having bigger claims . If not a large amount of healthy t/65’s join pricing will sky in the yrs to come . Aldi your not factoring in the sky rocketing part D’s .

 

[rmhaire]

Med Sups aren't going anywhere.

It's got a lot to do with where you're located. Down here in the South, the majority of the people I talk to are conservative and Republican. They want less government control not more. And that carries over to their healthcare.

Spoke to a lady this week turning 65. The first thing out of her mouth was Don't talk to me about those damn Advantage plans, I know how to manage my risks.

I'm sorry if it comes as a surprise to you, but me and @somarco get those kind of calls every day.

 

[Yagents]

Your post ignores the facts that some people actually have $$$ and put their health care costs near the top of their budget priorities.

I dont think a $10 a month increase is going to rattle their cages.

Inflation is everywhere. I guess everyone will be leaving Texas and Florida due to skyrocketing home insurance rates. Nope. Population growing.

I guess people will move from NY due to $5000/mo avg rent? They would be foolish to not move to Iowa. Doesn't seem to be happening.

And with a 100% increase in gas prices, people will start taking mass transit or stop buying tesla cars. Oops. Not happening.

Those on the fringe may move to mapd, but most of my clients have a large nest egg that won't be effected and planned for inflation when planning for retirement.

There will be fools that keep their fancy cars, 15 premium TV channels, upgrade to newest cell phones yearly.......and bitch about premium increases and move to mapd. Not a client I want.

 

[Yagents]

And UHC med supps just had one of their largest increases in 8 years this past June. I maybe got 1 call (out of 800+ clients) complaining about the increase. People have realized to just accept BidenFlation

 

[goillini52]

It’s seems more and more “healthy “ T-65’s opt for mapd because they “rarely “ use services. We can argue what’s better a sup or mapd . But what we can’t argue is what will happen to future pricing with sups .If mostly sickier t-65’s buy med sups and mostly sickier people keep med sups as they get older . What happens to pricing ?.Med sups need a big influx of healthy people to keep rates increases even at 8-10%. Every company will be playing shell games and closing blocks . Those people will be stuck with 15-25% rate increases . If necessary mapd plans can reduce or eliminate extra benefits to keep medical benefits stable .

Sickier...is that a new word? I likes it. I'm sickier than you.

Companies have been playing the shell games for at least 25 years. MOFO gets credit for starting the shell game, but I think Physician's Mutual was the 1st to do it, with Physician's Life.

 

[somarco]

Sickier...is that a new word?

Let me check my Funk & Wagnalls and get back to you on that . . .

Spoke to a lady this week turning 65. The first thing out of her mouth was Don't talk to me about those damn Advantage plans, I know how to manage my risks.

I'm sorry if it comes as a surprise to you, but me and @somarco get those kind of calls every day.

I do get those calls plus a lot wanting to know why everyone that calls wants to talk about Medicare Advantage with all the "free" stuff and never bother to explain how these plans can get by without charging a premium. Most of these folks are smart enough to know if something is free there must be a catch.

They also seek us out because so far, no one has bothered to talk about Medicare supplement other than to say the premiums are really high.

That's pretty disgusting if you ask me . . . but on the other hand it opens the door to explain how Medicare supplement plans work as well as how MAPD really works.

Everyone is pitching benefits but never bother to explain how to use the plan.

It's like the EV sales pitch. The cars are priced on the high end but when you factor in the taxpayer subsidies some are affordable at least to the middle class.

Sales people talk about being pollution free but probably fail to mention the owner may need to install a 220 - 240v receptacle in their garage to charge the vehicle. That adds $1,000+ to the initial cost.

EV insurance is several thousand more than an ICE car. One article I read mentioned $3k - $5 more than traditional auto insurance.

And how about that trip from Atlanta to Chicago for grandma's funeral? You will probably have to stop 2 - 3x to "refuel". Good luck finding a charging station. Even more, finding a charging station that doesn't have a queue. Once you plug in expect to wait 2 - 4 hours before you can get back on the road.

If more people knew this they probably wouldn't be as quick to buy an EV.

When folks ask me what I think of MAPD I tell them they are great plans . . . until you use them . . . especially for something major . . . then you may not like them as well. Oh, and by that point you may not have an option to buy a Medigap plan because of this thing called medical underwriting . . . something most folks have not been exposed to if covered by EGH or at least since Obamacare came on the scene. Yes, they really do believe Obama made medical underwriting illegal . . .

And about those rate increases . . .

Most of my clients get single digit increases, $15 or less and some as low as $6. Pretty easy to budget for that. The Part B deductible changes have been nominal. And if they like their doctor they can keep their doctor . . .

So, are Med supps doomed?

No, and neither are MAPD plans . . . at least as long as CMS keeps promoting them, sending taxpayer dollars to carriers to help fund claims, advertising and bonuses. And as long as folks will buy into the idea of a free lunch, something for nothing pitch, MAPD will still be around.

 

[wehotex]

If T65’s in Florida buy med supps for $200. I’m sure other states will take years for T65’s to get to that point and they will still buy.

Is that what a T65 pays in FL?!! Are you a Birthday Rule state?