2020 Medigap Plans: Who offers the best value?

It’s no secret that 2020 Medigap plans could help save you money. A Medicare Supplement plan, also referred to as Medigap, provides supplemental coverage to Original Medicare Part A and Part B. Original Medicare takes care of expenses related to hospital stays and most other medical services. Still, there are some things Original Medicare does not cover. Out-of-pocket expenses can add up quickly. For this reason, about 25 percent of Medicare beneficiaries opt to purchase Medigap insurance, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield are two of the most popular companies seniors look to when it comes to purchasing a Medicare Supplement plan. Both of these companies are well known in the health insurance industry, and both offer Medigap coverage. Read on to learn more about what is provided by each company and see which one we most often recommend to our customers. We will compare several of the two companies’ Medigap plans to determine the best value. 

2020 Medigap Plans in South Carolina 

In South Carolina, Aetna and Blue Cross offer several options for 2020 Medicare Supplement plans. These include Plans A, B, C, D, F (including the high deductible F plan), G, K, L, M, and N.

Both companies’ plans provide all the same deductibles, copays, and coverage limits based on the 2020 Medicare Plan. This is because benefits are standardized, meaning that the benefits for each plan letter are the same no matter which Medigap insurance company you choose.

For example, if you are hospitalized for up to 60 days, you will pay at most $1,364 for it with a Medigap Plan A policy, whether it’s issued through Aetna or Blue Cross. If you have a Medigap Plan B,C,D,F,G, or N policy, you will pay nothing.

Blue Cross Medicare Supplements vs. Aetna 

So why choose one provider over another if all plans are standardized? Well, the differences come in the form of monthly premium rates. So, for example, Jenny, a 68-year-old woman from Charleston, South Carolina, will pay $106.86 a month for Plan A coverage with Blue Cross, while Aetna’s monthly premium for her would be $94.50.

When compared to Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna offers similar savings across plans and for both women and men. Other examples: 

• A 2020 Medigap Plan B policy for a 75-year-old man in South Carolina, will cost $2,632.56 for the year with Blue Cross, while the same plan will cost $1,846 with Aetna. 
• A 65-year-old woman will pay $139.03 a month for a Blue Cross 2020 Medicare Supplemental Plan G policy but only pay $105 a month on Aetna’s policy in South Carolina. 
• An 80-year-old man from South Carolina will pay $181.33 a month for Aetna’s 2020 Medicare Supplemental Plan B coverage while spending almost $100 more a month, at $273.39, with Blue Cross. 

Household Discounts 

As you can see, Aetna offers considerable savings over the 2020 Blue Cross Medigap plans. Those savings become even more significant when factoring a two-person household. 

Consider that a 2020 Blue Cross Medigap plan for a South Carolina household with a 68-year-old female and a 70-year-old man will offer a 5% discount. This will result in the following monthly premiums: 

• Plan A: $106.86 (female) + $129.65 (male) = 236.51 -5% household discount= ​$224.68 
• Plan B: $145.09 + $176.04 = $321.13 -5% household discount = ​$305.07 
• Plan F: $180.26 + $218.74 = $399 – 5% household discount = ​$379.05 
• Plan G: $158.65 + $192.50 = $351.15 – 5% household discount = ​$333.59

Aetna offers a 7% household discount. The monthly premiums for the same plans for the same household consisting of a 68-year-old female and 70-year-old man with Aetna are as follows: 

• Plan A: $94.50 + $114.08 = $208.58 – 7% household discount = $193.98​     
• Plan B: $108.42 + $131 = $239.42 – 7% household discount = $222.66​
• Plan F: $106.08 + $128.17 = $234.25 – 7% household discount = ​$217.85     
• Plan G: $125.92 + $152 = $277.92 – 7% household discount = ​$258.47

The savings for a Medigap plan with Aetna are quite considerable versus with Blue Cross. Over one year, this household would see almost $370 in savings with Aetna’s Plan A over Blue Cross’ Plan A; $988 in savings with Plan B; over $900 in savings with a Plan G; and $1934 in savings with a Plan F. 

Now that we’ve provided you with the numbers, you can see that Blue Cross’ 2020 Medigap plans offer the same coverage as Aetna but at considerably higher premium costs.