Medicare supplement insurance, also known as Medigap, helps cover out-of-pocket costs from Medicare and is a critical resource for older adults and other people on Medicare.
 
Unfortunately, in Pennsylvania, if you miss the narrow six-month window to sign up for open enrollment when you first qualify for Medicare, you may be excluded from enrolling in a plan due to your health status or a pre-existing condition.
 
We plan to introduce legislation expanding the period for open enrollment for Medigap insurance. This legislation would create year-round open enrollment for Medigap policies. Under this rule, which has already been adopted in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, insurers would not be allowed to discriminate against enrollees for a Medicare supplement plan based on a person’s pre-existing condition.
 
More people need access to affordable Medigap plans, and this change would ensure that people are not limited because they were unfamiliar with Medigap when they first qualified for Medicare or because they have a pre-existing condition. Other states have created similar open enrollment periods, including New York and Connecticut because it allows more residents to access insurance policies that make treatment affordable.
 
Please join us in co-sponsoring this legislation to protect residents from being excluded from Medicare supplement insurance programs due to preexisting conditions.
 

Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 3453: P.L.1291, No.292