[Blankenship]

Is there a medicare supplement or medigap policy in Georgia for Male age 59 just
Received medicare for disability.

[nikosmom]

Several healthcare companies offer medigap policies. Some of your large insurance companies that also service home and auto insurance also offer Medicare supplement/ health policies. Call and check it out. Are you also receiving Medicare Part B?

[Fr_Chuck]

I am a licensed agent in GA, and there are many companies that provide products.
What companies have you checked with so far

[Blankenship]

Several healthcare companies offer medigap policies. Some of your large insurance companies that also service home and auto insurance also offer Medicare supplement/ health policies. Call and check it out. Are you also receiving Medicare Part B?

Yes---receive Part A & B. Some reps has told me Medigap Plan A is the only plan available in Georgia if you are under 65. That plan covers very little & I cannot find
A co that provides it. All Med supp co's I called is only for age 65 & up.

[katmomdu]

Hi,

Just went through this he-- of a process, and finally found that - Georgia has opted to be one of the states that does NOT make a lot of insurance companies cover Medigap for people under 65(i.e. people like you and me who are disabled). I also just got my medicare card recently, and after many phone calls, sleepless nights and the realization that on my fixed income of SSDI, I will likely have little to nothing left after paying my insurance premiums, copays for my medical care, plus the copays for the many prescriptions I am on.

So - here is the good news - there is ONE company that will give Medigap coverage to Georgia Medicare recipients under age 65: http://www.unitedamerican.com/ - United American insurance. After speaking to the number on the website, they directed me to call the Georgia office - and that goes by your location - the location that was closest for me is the Atlanta one - their number is:770-933-3897. By the way, I did call, and they said they were busy helping other customers, did not give me an option to hold on, or even tell me what their office hours are, they only gave me the option to leave my name and number for someone to call me back. I hope they do early enough tomorrow for me to get the call(if they call back).

The bad news is - you have two Medigap coverages to choose from with United American - the first one has more coverage, BUT the premium is 259 per month, and that was simply unaffordable for me. The second one is 159 per month, but has has a high deductible of 2000 dollars, and since I will be joining now, there will be another 2000 deductible next year, which means I will only get 6 months for my 2000 deductible this year(I guess you will also). This is the cheapest Medigap coverage available.

Also, if anyone(and they will) tries to talk you into Medicare Advantage instead - beware - this is MUCH worse for people like us(unless you have very very few prescriptions) if you opt for Medicare Advantage, it will cover you're a, B(you will present the Medicare Advantage card instead of your Medicare card) - the 'Gap' coverage, AND your prescription coverage - I didn't even bother to see what the Medical coverage was on this, because once I got into the prescription coverage, I found out that for ONE of my prescriptions alone, my copay for that one would be almost 600 per month, and with part D from AARP(one example) prescription coverage - that copay will be around 50 dollars. My total prescription copays with prescription coverage using Medicare, Medigap and prescription coverage will still be around 450 per month, but it is still better than Medicare Advantage. Also, with Medicare Advantage you CANNOT purchase a separate prescription coverage, you are not allowed to.

Sorry to give you this somewhat bad news, although better than nothing, it is not a good option. I am planning to move to NC in the next year, and they DO participate in the program that gives a much wider range of Medicare supplemental(or Medigap) carriers for people under 65. I don't know why or how this works, but I can only assume the government of each state chooses to participate in this or not by paying something either to the carriers or to the Federal Government that forces a lot of other insurance companies to provide this coverage.

I am hoping that one of the others available in NC has a better, cheaper Medigap choice.

I hope this helps you in some way.

[Fr_Chuck]

I would shop around, check with some of the major companies.

I can't ( or won't" advertise for any company here but I can think of a few companies I would pick over UA.

[macali_2003]

United is not writing in Georgia, I was told this by a rep. they might again later this year. The only one I have found is BC/BS. I wish anyone luck when they start their search for coverage.

[macali_2003]

United is not writing in Georgia, I was told this by a rep. they might again later this year. The only one I have found is BC/BS. I wish anyone luck when they start their search for coverage.

[sybarite77]

Georgia passed a law and the govenor signed the bill (SB 316) on May 24, 2010 that would require medgap coverage to individuals that are under 65 and with medicare. I hear it is to start taking effect in Mar. 2011. If anybody knows different please post.

[chgodrmr]

Georgia passed a law and the govenor signed the bill (SB 316) on May 24, 2010 that would require medgap coverage to individuals that are under 65 and with medicare. I hear it is to start taking effect in Mar. 2011. If anybody knows different please post.

According to this link the bill will go into effect 11/01/2010. This is at least a 3 month lesser wait time. I am looking also. I do know that there are some available right now per my Ins agent, but did not know enough to get more info when briefly inquiring about the subject.

I use Georgia Farm Bureau.

[friartuc32]

From the Georgia General Assembly website re: bill (SB 316)

"SECTION 2.This Act shall become effective on November 1, 2010."

[friartuc32]

From GA Gen assem web site:

Bill (SB 316) "SECTION 2.This Act shall become effective on November 1, 2010.