- Your Medigap coverage ends.If your Medigap insurance company goes bankrupt and you lose coverage or if your Medigap policy ends through no fault of your own, then you have a right for up to 63 days to buy most of the Medigap plans available in your area.
You may need to provide a copy of notices from the insurer showing that your coverage was terminated with your application for a Medigap policy to prove that you have a guaranteed issue right.
What are some special Medigap state protections?
Your state may haveadditional periodswhen you can buy Medigap policies regardless of your health. Three states — Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York — allow you to buy a Medigap policy at any time even with preexisting conditions. In these states, the Medigap insurers also must charge everyone the same rate regardless of age, called “community rating.”
And in Maine, for one month every year, insurers can offer Medigap Plan A, which provides the least amount of coverage, to state residents age 65 or older regardless of their health.
Several states allow people who already have Medigap policies to switch plans at certain times of the year regardless of their health. For example, in Oregon, you have 30 days after your birthday each year to switch to another Medigap plan with equal or lesser benefits, while in California you have 60 days after your birthday every year to do so. A few states also let you switch plans near your birthday or the anniversary of the date you purchased your policy.
You can find out more about each state’s rules from theState Health Insurance Assistance Program(SHIP). Moststate insurance departmentsshould have information about Medigap rules, and often lists of premiums by company, in your state.
What happens if I want Medigap outside open enrollment?
If you apply for a Medigap policy when you don’t have a guaranteed issue right, you’ll probably have to answer questions about your health. Insurers may reject you or charge you more if you’ve had medical conditions such as cancer, chronic kidney disease, congestive heart failure and rheumatoid arthritis. Though they may not reject you, they could charge you a higher rate if you have diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
The specifics vary from company to company. Some will insure you if a certain period has passed since your illness or hospitalization.
You can find policies available in your area and the contact information for the insurers by using Medicare’sMedigap Plan Finder.
