Medicare Supplement Plans in Minnesota

Medicare Supplement plans in Minnesota are intended to cover costs that Original Medicare Part A and Part B don’t cover, such as co-insurance, co-pays, and deductibles. Individuals purchase Medigap plans to ensure that they pay as little out of pocket as possible for the benefits that they need, which depends on their health status and issues.

Unfortunately, Medicare Supplement plans in Minnesota will not cover dental care, eyeglasses, most eye exams, or hearing exams and hearing aids; private health plans can be purchased that provide these benefits. However, you can enroll in a separate policy to cover your dental, hearing and visions. In addition, Medigap plans in Minnesota do not cover prescription drug costs and a separate Medicare Part D prescription drug plan needs to be purchased to cover prescriptions.

There are nine different types of Medicare Supplement plans in Minnesota in addition to Part D, the prescription drug plan. These plans are:

• Sold by private insurance companies to supplement Original Medicare
• Must meet the state-mandated benefits
• Cover expenses like co-pays, deductibles, and co-insurance that are not paid by Original Medicare
• May cover benefits like medical costs during foreign travel that are not covered by Medicare

All of these health plans are reviewed by the state government to ensure they meet state and federal standards for Medicare Supplement insurance.

Best Medicare Supplement Plans in Minnesota

All but three states use the standardized federal Medigap plans, and Minnesota is one of the three that has developed its own standardized plans. There are several different Medicare Supplement plans in Minnesota from over 20 different insurance companies. These plans are standardized and each plan with the same name offers the exact same benefits across the entire state regardless of which insurance company is offering it. Residents of Minnesota can choose from among a Basic supplement plan with or without a rider and an Extended Basic plan with or without a rider in addition to Medigap Select (an HMO) and Medigap Plans F, K, L, and M (starting in 2020, Plan F, which covers the Part B deductible, is being replaced by Plan G, which covers everything Plan F covers except for the deductible for Part B, and similarly Plan M is being replaced by Plan N with the same loss of Part B deductible coverage). For example, the Basic Supplement plan, regardless of which insurance company offers it, will cover:

• 100% of Part A coinsurance
• 100% of skilled nursing facility coinsurance
• 100% of Part B coinsurance
• 100% of Medicare preventive care
• 80% of emergency health care costs during foreign travel

The other best Medicare Supplement plans in Minnesota, such as the Extended Basic plan, have slightly different levels of coverage, some offering coverage beyond what is provided in the Basic Supplement plan and others offering a lower level of coverage. For example, Plan K covers only 50% of skilled nursing facility coinsurance, Plan L covers 75% of skilled nursing facility coinsurance while the Basic Supplement plan covers 100% of the coinsurance costs. Adding a rider to the Basic Supplement plan or the extended plan adds additional coverage.

In addition, a high-deductible Medigap policy (an option for Plan F and Plan G) is offered. This policy provides complete coverage beyond the Medicare benefits but only after a $2300 out-of-pocket deductible is met each year. It has a lower monthly premium than the other plans offered. This policy could be a good choice for someone who is generally healthy and doesn’t expect to require much in the way of healthcare. However, this policy could end up being a financial disaster for someone who requires a lot of outpatient or home health assistance or ends up suddenly being hospitalized, since the lower monthly premium will be more than offset by the out-of-pocket costs of the yearly deductible.

Although the benefits provided by each plan are the same across the state regardless of the insurance company offering the plan, the monthly premiums for Medicare Supplement Plans in Minnesota may vary across the different insurance companies. This is because insurance companies use different methods to determine your premium, such as:

• Community rates where everyone pays the same premium
• Age attained where the premium depends on your current age and increases over time as you get older
• Insured age where the premium is set based on your age when you first buy the policy

Most insurance companies in the state use the community rate method to set their premiums for Medicare Supplement Plans in Minnesota. Thus, choosing among insurance companies may involve considerations about levels of customer service more than premium costs.

Residents should also keep in mind they will need to purchase a Part D plan that provides drug coverage in addition to a Medigap insurance plan, and they may wish to also purchase life insurance.

Overall, around a million residents of Minnesota are enrolled in Medicare. Unlike most states, more than half of these individuals have opted to enroll in private Medicare Advantage or Medicare Cost plans rather than enrolling in Original Medicare. Thus, only around 406,000 individuals are enrolled in Original Medicare, and among these, around 122,940, or 30%, are also enrolled in a Medigap insurance plan.

Minnesota has the lowest level of enrollment in Original Medicare plus a Medicare Supplement insurance plan of any state (Hawaii has the second-lowest level). This is probably due to the fact that many of the residents of the state who became eligible for Medicare in past years enrolled in the pilot Medicare Cost program; in fact, two-thirds of all people nationwide enrolled in Medicare Cost programs are residents of Minnesota. The Medicare Cost program was piloted in the 1970s as a private Medicare program, but it is gradually being replaced by Medicare Advantage nationwide. Thus, many residents of the state will be forced off Medicare Cost in the near future or have recently been forced off it as it slowly gets phased out; they then become eligible to obtain Medigap or Medicare Advantage plans after being forced off of Medicare Cost. This is another great reason to compare Medicare Supplement Plans in Minnesota.

The popularity of Medicare Cost in Minnesota in particular is probably due to the fact that a significant proportion of the elderly population only resides in the state during the summer and then moves to a warmer state during the winter (snowbirds). Original Medicare and Medicare Cost have no network limitations and beneficiaries of these plans can use them nationwide at any Medicare-participating clinic or hospital, whereas Medicare Advantage plans generally are only accepted locally within an approved network of healthcare providers. It is expected that most of the snowbirds being forced off of Medicare Cost will enroll in Original Medicare plus a Medicare Supplement plan due to its acceptance nationwide versus switching to Medicare Advantage since Advantage plans are geographically restrictive.

How Much are Medicare Supplement Plans in Minnesota?

The prices for Medicare Supplement Plans in Minnesota will vary depending on which plan you are applying for, your gender, tobacco status, and age. Here is a sample Medicare Supplement Plan Chart in Minnesota showing a rate comparison for a 65-year-old male.

Basic Medicare Supplement	Basic Medicare Supplement with Riders	Extended Basic Supplement
$204.75	$288.97	$216.58

Again, rates will vary by age, gender, and tobacco status so if you’d like a custom quote, feel free to request one using the form at the top of the page.

When Can You Enroll in a Medicare Supplement Plan in Minnesota

The best time to enroll in a Medicare Supplement is during your open enrollment period, which begins on the day you enrolled in Original Medicare and ends six months later. During open enrollment, insurance companies are required to sell the Medigap plan of your choice to you. If you didn’t enroll in a Medigap insurance plan during your open enrollment period, you can still purchase one but the insurance company may require you to fill out a health status questionnaire and/or undergo a physical exam and they can refuse to sell you the policy of your choice.

How to purchase a policy:

• You must have already enrolled in Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B
• Contact the insurance company or agent selling the Medigap policy you want to purchase
• You will be provided with an outline of coverage in addition to an in-depth description of the policy
• After purchasing the policy, you will need to pay a monthly premium to the insurance company
• If you decide to cancel the policy within 30 days of purchase, you will receive a full refund
• The insurance company cannot refuse to renew the policy in the future or cancel it even if you develop new health issues
• As long as you pay your monthly premium, you will be covered
• If you move out of state, you can keep the same policy as long as you pay your premiums

How to Sign Up for a Medigap Plan in Minnesota

As an independent insurance agency, we’re able to help Minnesotans find the right Medigap plan that fits their needs. Medicare can be confusing and complicated. In addition, the plan that is right for your friend may not be the plan that is right for you, since everyone has different health issues and thus everyone requires different insurance benefits. In addition, often choosing the best health care plan involves performing complicated calculations as to which plan will be most cost-effective for you. We have licensed agents in Minnesota standing by to answer all of your questions about Medicare.

Do not hesitate to ask for help in navigating Medicare Supplement insurance policies. Consider contacting the Minnesota State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for assistance and advice.

If you have other questions or if you’d like a free quote, give us a call at 800-974-0552.