Like most complicated insurance systems, Medicare has many issues that can be hard to decipher. Among all the confusing parts, changing a Medicare supplement plan is the hardest one due to federal laws about the insurance plans that are different from other parts of Medicare.
Most people don’t know that Medicare supplement insurance plans are different from Medicare normal plans. They are outlined to supplement your Original Medicare insurance coverage by paying out-of-pocket. You can enroll in the Medicare plan at any time of the year; just like that, you can also change it anytime but on one condition, and that is it’s not during your Medigap open enrollment period.
You can change some situations like you are within your six-month Medicare open enrollment period or are eligible under certain circumstances and issue rights. Otherwise, you won’t have a right under federal law to switch Medicare supplement policies.
If you want to get more details about the conditions and ways for switching Medigap policies, the following information is something you should know.
How Can You Switch to a New Medicare Supplement Plan?
In case you already have a Medicare Advantage plan but you want to change it, follow these steps:
- Contact your current plan to switch to original Medicare.
- If you want to change your current supplement plan with the new one, join the supplement insurance plan you select during one enrollment period. You will automatically be disenrolled from your current project and get a new coverage policy when you do this.
If you are new and don’t know how you can change your Medicare policies, don’t worry. Just contact the new insurance company and make all the arrangements to apply for a new Medicare supplement plan.
Once they accept your application, tell your old insurance company and ask for your coverage to end. You can get the remaining details on how to submit a request to terminate your coverage from the insurance company.
The best thing about getting a new plan is that you have thirty days to decide whether you want to keep the new supplement plan or not. This period is known as the free-look period, and it starts when you get a new Medicare supplement plan.
If you want the premium one, you have to pay for it. It is advisable not to cancel your current supplement policy until you are 100% sure that you want to keep the new Medicare plan because this will prevent any possible lapses in coverage.
🡺 READ MORE: The Average Cost of Supplement Insurance for Medicare.
Reasons to Change the Supplement Plan
There are many reasons people change their current supplement plan, such as their current policy is more expensive than the one available with the same benefits. In some cases, they want to change their insurance company to a better one. Or maybe they want to switch Medigap policies because they are paying for the services they don’t need or need more policies.
Deadline for Switching Medicare Supplement Plan
There is no deadline for changing Medicare supplement plans; the only condition on changing Medicare supplement plans is that the applicant must have guaranteed issues again. This is one of the pre-existing conditions as the carrier requires you to undergo the medical underwriting test. By this, you could deny the coverage plan or, in some cases, not be able to get it back on your comprehensive Medicare policy.
So, it is essential to ensure that you have some other options before canceling your old Medicare supplement policy. Keep in mind that your old supplement plan only cancels after you start the new insurance policy to prevent any gaps in coverage.