Cigna Medicare Supplement Plans Review

Cigna is a large insurance company that is incorporated in Connecticut and operates primarily within the US, although it does conduct some business worldwide. It is publicly traded and held, and is estimated to have a net worth of around $53 billion. The company provides health, dental, disability, and accident insurance, primarily offered through employers. It also provides Cigna Medicare Advantage and Cigna Medicare Supplement plans.

The company was founded in 1982 when the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company and INA Corporation merged. Cigna’s motto is “Together, all the way” and it is generally accepted and trusted by its customers. It used to offer other forms of insurance but sold most of its international insurance business to the ACE Insurance Company in the late 1990s and sold most of its life insurance business to Lincoln Natural Corporation in 1997, apparently in order to concentrate more on health-related insurance offered through Medicare and employers.

Cigna routinely donates money to charitable organizations that are involved in health issues, such as the March of Dimes. It also gives its employees paid time off to engage in community service activities related to wellness.

Compare Cigna Medicare Supplement Plans

Because classic Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B have limitations and gaps in coverage, private insurance companies are allowed to offer Medicare Supplement plans, sometimes also referred to as Medigap plans, that persons enrolled in Medicare can purchase to help cover the limitations and gaps of classic Medicare coverage.

These plans are standardized by the government and thus Cigna Medicare Supplement plans, such as Plan F, provide the same coverage as a Medigap Plan F purchased from any other private insurance company. Many seniors find this rather confusing and struggle to decide which insurance company to turn to for their Medicare Supplement insurance needs.

There are, however, several things to consider when selecting an insurance company to provide your Medicare Supplement insurance. First and foremost is customer service. Is the company able to provide guidance about which plan is best for each individual senior? Is the company responsive to any questions or concerns its beneficiaries have? In surveys of customers, Cigna is routinely ranked as one of the top three insurance companies for excellent customer service.

Another advantage that Cigna offers is it generally provides Cigna Medicare Supplement plans to anyone who applies, even if they have serious health conditions, individuals that most insurance companies reject. Insurance companies cannot reject anyone applying for Medigap coverage during their open enrollment period (the first six months after you turn age 65), but seniors who forget to enroll in a Medicare Supplement plan during that period can be required to submit health records, and insurance companies can refuse to sell Medigap plans to individuals they consider to be at high risk of being too costly as customers.

Cigna also offers a 7% household discount plan if both members of a married couple sign up for Cigna Medicare Supplement plans.

Cigna Medicare Supplement Plan F Benefits

Cigna Medicare Supplement Plan F has been the most popular plan across the country for many years. However, as of 2020, individuals newly enrolled in Medicare will not be able to purchase Medicare Plan F, but individuals who enrolled in Medicare prior to 2020 can keep their Medicare Plan F for life.

Medicare Plan F offers the most comprehensive coverage of all available Medigap healthcare plans, covering:

• Part A coinsurance costs
• An additional 365 days of hospital costs after classic Medicare benefits have been used up
• Part B coinsurance and copay costs
• The first three pints of blood per year
• Part A hospice care coinsurance and copay costs
• Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance costs
• The Part A deductible
• The Part B deductible
• Part B excess charges
• 80% of foreign travel emergency healthcare costs

There is also a high-deductible version of Medicare Part F, where its benefits only apply after a deductible is met each year ($2,340 in 2020). The yearly premium for the high-deductible plan is lower than for the regular plan and thus it may be a good choice for a generally healthy senior who doesn’t need much healthcare. However, it should be noted that if a high-deductible beneficiary develops one or more health issues, paying the deductible out of pocket each year for several years in a row to cover their Medicare healthcare may have a devastating financial impact.

Cigna Medicare Plan Supplement G Benefits

Medicare Plan G is taking the place of Medicare Plan F for individuals new to Medicare as of 2020. It is essentially the same plan as Medicare Plan F except it doesn’t cover the Medicare Part B deductible. The Medicare Part B deductible is $198 in 2020, and Medicare Plan G enrollees will need to pay their Part B premiums and the deductible before any Medicare Plan G benefits become available for their healthcare.

Cigna Medicare Supplement Plan N Benefits

Medicare Plan N is very similar to Medicare Plan G. The two differences are that Medicare Plan N doesn’t cover some Part B copays, such as $20 copayments for some office visits and a $50 copay for emergency room visits that don’t end in hospital admission. It also doesn’t cover Plan B excess charges.

Most doctors have agreed to only charge the amount that Medicare reimburses for their services, a status referred to as having “accepted assignment.” However, some doctors have not accepted assignments and charge up to 15% more than Medicare reimburses for certain services. These charges get passed on to the patient, who is responsible for paying for them.

If a senior regularly consults with a specialist, it may be wise to determine if that specialist has accepted the assignment or not before enrolling in a Cigna Medigap Plan N. Excess charges can really add up over the years, especially if the senior is a heavy user of healthcare.

Cigna Medicare Supplement Plan Rate Chart

Every individual’s premiums for the various Cigna Medicare Supplement plans will be slightly different. They vary by geographical location, the individuals’ age, the selected plan, and some other factors such as what method the insurance company is using to calculate its premiums. However, the average monthly premiums in 2019 across the US were:

• Plan A $421
• Plan B $481
• Plan C $347
• Plan D $303
• Plan F $346
• Plan F high deductible $67
• Plan G $301
• Plan L $249
• Plan M $389
• Plan N $219

Note that seniors will also need to pay their monthly Part B premium, which will be $144.60 in 2020. In order to get prescription drug coverage, seniors will need to enroll in Medicare Part D, which will cost $32.74 per month. In addition, since Medicare doesn’t currently cover dental or visual care, seniors may want to enroll in separate private insurance plans that cover those benefits; the average monthly premium for dental coverage is around $30 per month and it is around $10 a month for visual care.

When Can You Apply for a Medicare Supplement Plan

When a senior turns age 65, the government will send the senior information about how to enroll in classic Medicare Part A and Part B. At this point in time, it is a really good idea to speak to an agent with extensive experience in health insurance because there are a number of decisions that need to be made, such as whether to enroll in classic Medicare plus one of the Cigna Medicare Supplement plans or whether to opt for a Medicare Advantage plan.

Medicare Advantage plans can be substituted for classic Medicare; the primary disadvantage of these plans is that they are usually PPO or HMO plans, meaning beneficiaries can only receive care from in network providers and hospitals. Classic Medicare plus Cigna Medicare Supplement plans allow seniors to use any healthcare provider across the entire country.

After enrolling in classic Medicare, seniors have six months during which they can purchase any Medicare Supplement plan available in their home state, called their Guaranteed Enrollment Period. They cannot be denied coverage for any reason. Once a senior has purchased one of the Cigna Medicare Supplement plans, as long as they continue to pay their premium the plan cannot be canceled by the insurance company for any reason.

Seniors can provide their zip code and a few personal details, like their age, to any Cigna insurance agent and immediately get free quotes for costs for the various Cigna Medicare Supplement plans available.

Learn more: Cigna Medicare Supplement Insurance

*Please note, we are not Cigna insurance company. This is simply a review.