Medigap Plan F no longer available January 1st 2020

[Velos]

Just wondering how many existing  Plan F users changed to Plan G or stayed in Plan F this past enrollment period?

https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/medicare/supplement-all/is-medicare-supplement-plan-f-going-away

Is Medicare Supplement Plan F being discontinued?

Apparently so, for some people. According to congress.gov, starting in 2020, Medicare Supplement plans that pay the Medicare Part B deductible will no longer be sold to those newly eligible. This change is part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).

• If you already have Medicare Supplement Plan F (or Plan C, which also covers the Part B deductible), you can generally keep it.
• If you were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020, you may be able to buy Medicare Supplement Plan F or Plan C.
• If you qualify for Medicare on January 1, 2020 or later, you may not be able to buy Medicare Supplement Plan F or Plan C.

Medicare Supplement Plan F: how much is the deductible in question?

The Medicare Part B deductible, which is the deductible amount involved in the MACRA legislation, can change every year. In 2019, it’s $185. That’s the amount you have to pay before Part B pays for covered services.

Is there another Medicare Supplement plan that may be comparable?

If you become eligible for Medicare in 2020 or later, although you may not be able to buy Medicare Supplement Plan F or Plan C, you may be able to buy a very similar plan.

Medicare Supplement Plan G generally has the same basic benefits as Plan F, except for the Part B deductible. A high-deductible version of Plan G might become available in 2020, according to Oregon.gov. So, you might want to look into Plan G.

[Kirk W]

We shifted from F to G a couple of years ago because the decrease in premiums was more than the cost of the Medicare deductible with the plan that we have. 

[Twotoes]

As Kirk said, it is a lot cheeper to pay the plan G lower premiums and pay the small deductible than pay the higher premiums of plan F to avoid a small deductible. I have been on G since i signed up last year.

[Sehc]

I have F. My worry is the premiums for F may increase faster than the other plans. The F plan will have those that can't change plans due to pre-existing conditions.

[chirakawa]

5 hours ago, Twotoes said:

As Kirk said, it is a lot cheeper to pay the plan G lower premiums and pay the small deductible than pay the higher premiums of plan F to avoid a small deductible. I have been on G since i signed up last year.

Not necessarily.  My old company's Plan F was only $10 more per month than Plan G.  I changed companies this year and went with Plan G, which was cheaper.

[chirakawa]

6 minutes ago, Sehc said:

I have F. My worry is the premiums for F may increase faster than the other plans. The F plan will have those that can't change plans due to pre-existing conditions.

I changed from Plan F to Plan G this year and I have several pre-existing conditions. 

[Velos]

Thank you all for the information.