Under current law, seniors who wish to change their Medicare Supplement Plan, also known as a “Medigap Plan”, outside of the initial six-month enrollment window will face unnecessary barriers to access through underwriting, higher premiums, or even denial based on pre-existing conditions. This ties the hands of seniors who have purchased a plan but later decide that they would like to make an adjustment. 

 

We will be introducing legislation to create a “birthday rule” for seniors to change their Medigap policy within a 90-day window each year that begins on their birthday. This change would eliminate the barriers described above that seniors currently face when they decide that they want to change plans. 

 

Fourteen states across the U.S. currently have implemented a “birthday rule” to allow seniors to freely switch Medigap plans each year around their birthday. This change in law will protect seniors from gaps in insurance coverage while keeping premiums at a reasonable cost as well as creating predictability each year for beneficiaries. 

 

Please join us in supporting Pennsylvania’s seniors by supporting this legislation.