The carriers who offer Medicare Supplement plans in California will also offer various discounts and benefit features with their plans. Some of the features can save money, like household discounts, while other benefits may be of little value to you.
This review of Medicare Supplement plans is based on offerings in California by five different carriers. While the review is based on actual plans from five different carriers, I have removed the actual company names and assigned letters. Some of the discounts and benefits will change over time. This review is intended to give you insight on various features you might use to compare different Medicare Supplement carriers.
In California, Medicare Supplement plans, also referred to as Medigap, are the federal standard benefit design. It doesn’t make a difference if you enroll with carrier A or carrier C, the plan you select will cover the same Original Medicare cost sharing based on the structure of the standard benefit design. Because the coverage is exactly the same, regardless of the insurance company, the carriers offer extra discounts and features to attract customers to their standard products.
Medicare Supplement Discount Features
This biggest premium discount is the one given to households. When you and your spouse or partner are enrolled in the same plan with the same carrier, some carriers will offer a household discount up to 10 percent. One carrier offered no household discount. Most carriers will offer a 7 percent discount from the monthly premiums. There can be another discount for auto-pay when the premiums are automatically deducted from your bank account. Most of the carriers are offering a new to Medicare discount of $25 per month for the first 12 months of enrollment.
Medicare Supplement Extra Benefits Features
Beyond financial incentives, the carriers may offer a variety of extra benefits and discounts to enrolled members. Note that some Medicare Supplement plans have a membership or application fee to enroll in a Medicare Supplement plan. All the carriers were offering a basic gym membership at no cost. Check if your preferred gym is included, not all gyms are covered. Most of the plans offer a nurse on-call feature to get basic health guidance if you are not feeling well.
A few of the carriers will offer discounts on dentistry, optometry, pharmacy purchases, and hearing exams and hearing aids. These discount offerings are NOT insurance. Some of the carriers also offer dental, vision, and Part D prescription drug plans. It’s possible that those carriers would rather you enroll in their insurance plans instead of using a discount program. The discount plans may be valuable for some people who can leverage the programs to save money.
All of the Medicare Supplement will have pre-existing conditions exclusions. While Original Medicare will cover a health care service for a pre-existing condition, a Medicare Supplement carrier may not cover their portion of the bill. However, the pre-existing clause is usually waived if the applicant has had creditable health insurance prior to enrolling into Medicare and the supplement plan. Customer service and security can be subjective. I recommend talking to family and friends with a plan you are considering to learn how the carrier service is.
Security is a growing concern for many people. Some carriers have more security protocols, such as multi-factor authentication, than other carriers. On the insurance agent side, I experience how some of the carriers implement tighter controls and verification to access the carriers’ websites. While I appreciate the security challenges, other people find jumping through all the security hoops to be annoying.
Medicare Supplement Premium Rate Increases
The above rates are from Northern California, guarantee issue new to Medicare, from age 65 to age 70. The rates are directly from the carriers for a July 1, 2026, enrollment into plan G. No discounts have been applied. You can see how a one-year increase of age translates into a 4 to 10 percent increase in the premiums for various carriers. Some of the carriers increase the monthly premium quicker than others. Carrier B has a 31 percent increase between 65 and 70, while carrier H only has a 19 percent increase over the same age range.
The change in your monthly premiums will be affected by a couple of different situations. If you are receiving the new to Medicare discount of $25 or $30 per month, that will end after twelve months. You will be another year old and the rate based on your age will increase 4 to 10 percent. Finally, all the carriers have annual or bi-annual inflation rate increases applied to all the plans in a specific region. The annual inflation increase could be a little as 2 percent or upwards of 10 percent. Based on the rate review above, over time, you can see that carriers A through D have had inflation increases that make their rates relatively comparable and competitive in the Northern California market.
YouTube video on Medicare Supplement feature review.
