Here's my sorry tale: Years ago, when I lived in the Philadelphia area, I bought Medigap Plan J from Bankers Life. I. bought it because it had good coverage for traveling abroad. However some time after, the government abandoned Plan J because, they said, its many features were at last being duplicated by other plans. I could stay in Plan J, but obviously, in an aging population, its numbers would be decreasing and so I would be facing higher premiums. Sounds like I should get into another plan, right? But I was not informed about this development, and when later I went to investigate what happened, I found out the broker who sold the plan to me had died. Was that how I was overlooked? And also then I moved to Texas. I became aware of what a pickle I was in when Banker's Life agents started calling me to get me to switch to another plan. But by this time, I was 70-something years old and tricky health problems were showing up. So I could not pass the underwriting to get into a more reasonable plan. The premiums increased though these years to over $500 a month!
Of course I started to investigate: 1) Banker's Life agents were no help; 2) my local state representative also no help, but 3) the Texas Insurance Commisioners office activated a conversation with a Banker's Life guy who at least went back to the drawing board to document that I have paid more in premiums than have been paid out even with the various medical interventions necessary for me. At least there was a conversation, as opposed to what happens when I speak with most people, who don't understand how Medigap works and don't understand that Plan J is an actual plan takes no new people to cover. The Texas state insurance commission folks have said that they have done what they can, and now I have to speak with the Pennsylvania insurance folks, because that's where I first bought my plan. One outcome: Banker's Life has stopped increasing my premium every year, and I hope that holds. Thankfully, Plan J works still as far as getting good coverage with all the docs I see, and I don't pay deductibles, etc. But today at 82 years old, relatively healthy and swmming laps every day, I'd love to get into a bigger "community."
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Here's my sorry tale: Years ago, when I lived in the Philadelphia area, I bought Medigap Plan J from Bankers Life. I. bought it because it had good coverage for traveling abroad. However some time after, the government abandoned Plan J because, they said, its many features were at last being duplicated by other plans. I could stay in Plan J, but obviously, in an aging population, its numbers would be decreasing and so I would be facing higher premiums. Sounds like I should get into another plan, right? But I was not informed about this development, and when later I went to investigate what happened, I found out the broker who sold the plan to me had died. Was that how I was overlooked? And also then I moved to Texas. I became aware of what a pickle I was in when Banker's Life agents started calling me to get me to switch to another plan. But by this time, I was 70-something years old and tricky health problems were showing up. So I could not pass the underwriting to get into a more reasonable plan. The premiums increased though these years to over $500 a month! Of course I started to investigate: 1) Banker's Life agents were no help; 2) my local state representative also no help, but 3) the Texas Insurance Commisioners office activated a conversation with a Banker's Life guy who at least went back to the drawing board to document that I have paid more in premiums than have been paid out even with the various medical interventions necessary for me. At least there was a conversation, as opposed to what happens when I speak with most people, who don't understand how Medigap works and don't understand that Plan J is an actual plan takes no new people to cover. The Texas state insurance commission folks have said that they have done what they can, and now I have to speak with the Pennsylvania insurance folks, because that's where I first bought my plan. One outcome: Banker's Life has stopped increasing my premium every year, and I hope that holds. Thankfully, Plan J works still as far as getting good coverage with all the docs I see, and I don't pay deductibles, etc. But today at 82 years old, relatively healthy and swmming laps every day, I'd love to get into a bigger "community."
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Link to comment from August 6, 2025