Medicare Supplemental Insurance Under More Scrutiny

If you are a senior on Medicare, no doubt you have recently heard more than your share of information about Supplemental Insurance, and with open enrollment period you have either bought or considered buying a supplemental plan.

The good news is that there are many plans available. The bad news is that with so many plans available, there is a lot of confusion about what each plan covers and which plans are best for you. The worse news is that open enrollment period brings all the sales people out in the open, bringing you more annoying phone calls and more confusion.

The information is very important and it is essential that you do as much research as possible. Once you start researching the supplemental plans, if you call the individual companies or organizations who sell these plans, you will often find double-talk and a great deal of pressure to coerce you into buying particular policies. This practice has become so common that state officials in a number of states have pressured congress to grant them more power to regulate the marketing of these plans, and congress has done so.

Many states feel that not only have seniors received pressure, they have also been pushed into unsuitable plans that will not cover them in ways that these individuals will need. New federal regulations protect consumers from marketing and sales abuses. Consumers are no longer left on their own with no support or assistance in dealing with these issues.

It is a positive thing that the states have successfully pushed to reign in the sale of supplemental policies. It is important to keep your eyes on this issue and for you to take your time to research supplemental policies, feel comfortable with the information and the policy, and don’t allow yourself to be pushed or coerced into buying any coverage that you need.