Aetna Medicare Supplement Insurance

We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY users should call 1 (877) 486-2048) 24 hours a day/7 days a week to get information on all of your options.

Aetna Medicare Supplement Insurance Review

Although it’s the standard insurance for seniors, Medicare has limitations. Aetna Medicare Supplement insurance pays deductibles and other costs not covered by Medicare. Aetna currently carries five Medicare Supplement plans, also called Medigap insurance, to cover hospital costs, skilled nursing care and other medical expenses. Three of the plans extend coverage outside the U.S. In addition to Medigap insurance, Aetna provides Medicaid, medical, pharmacy, behavioral health, dental insurance policies and employee benefit packages.

In November 2018, leading healthcare company CVS Health acquired Aetna. The insurance company will continue to operate on its own while working with CVS to take a community approach to better health care with lower costs. Aetna and CVS plan to build healthier communities with preventative services across the country that are local, easy to access, less expensive and available to anyone regardless of the insurance company they use.

Pros

• Medicare supplement policies can never be canceled, regardless of your medical conditions
• Five plans give you a range of options and prices without an overwhelming number of choices
• See any medical care provider who accepts Medicare

Cons

• If you want to cancel your policy, you must write a letter to Aetna
• No online enrollment available

Aetna Medicare Supplement Plans

Aetna currently provides five different supplemental Medicare plans, outlined in the chart below. While other Medigap insurance providers offer more plans (there are now 11), choosing among them can be confusing. State regulations determine whether you will find a specific plan in your area, so you may not have access to all five plans Aetna sells. To see which Aetna Medicare Supplement plans are available in your state, select the Medicare Supplement option on the website and choose your state from a drop-down list.

Aetna Medicare Supplement Plans F and C

Starting in 2020, Medicare Supplement Plan F will be phased out due to the 2015 MACRA law prohibiting Medigap plans covering the Medicare Part B deductible. However, if you are currently enrolled in Plan F, the most popular Medicare Supplement plan, you can keep your insurance. Plan G replaces Plan F coverage for a lower premium, freeing up your cash to pay the Medicare Part B deductible, which is $185 in 2019.

In addition to the coverage in the chart above, Aetna offers Plan C in New Jersey. Plan C is similar to Plan F but doesn’t cover the Medicare Part B excess charge, and Plan C enrollment will cease in 2020 because it pays the Part B deductible.

Aetna Medicare Supplement Insurance Costs

Aetna lists Medicare supplement policy rates on their website, although they are a little tricky to find. Once you are on Aetna’s Medicare supplement plan state search page, select your state to see if they offer a plan in your area. If they do you’ll click the state, scroll down and select the state again for a PDF document outlining pricing in your area. After browsing a few states’ PDF documents, we discovered Aetna’s rates are slightly lower than the national median.

You can take a look at high, low and median Medicare Supplement insurance rates by state compiled by the independent bank and insurance rating organization, Weiss Medigap Ratings. The cost for plans varies across the country depending on whether you bundle benefits like medical and vision discount plans with a Medigap policy. Your age, location and health status affect the cost as well. The median annual cost for Plan G is $1,547 with a high rate of $5,487 and a low of $858. The price of Medicare Plan A is as low as $479 in some states, ramps up to nearly $14,500 in others, with a middle ground of $1,412.

How To Apply for an Aetna Medicare Supplement Plan

While you can view the Medicare Supplement insurance plans offered in your state on Aetna’s website, the site doesn’t allow you to enroll online. You have to call a local agent or call the number on the website to apply for a Medicare Supplement Plan. As is the case with enrolling in all supplement plans, you must be signed up for Medicare Part A and Part B, and be age 65 or older before you can buy a supplemental plan.

Aetna Medicare Supplement Insurance Complaints

Aetna insurance company rates an “A+” with the Better Business Bureau, where they have 178 complaints closed in the last 12 months. Most of the dissatisfaction resulted from policyholders not understand their benefits, although some errors occurred due to Aetna’s internal systems. We saw no customer issues with Aetna Medicare Supplement insurance. ConsumersAdvocate.org gives Aetna a rating of 9 on a scale of 10. TopTenReviews awards the company 8.8 out of 10, and the cumulative score from WalletHub readers is 3.7 out of 5 stars.

AM Best, Moody’s and other credit rating agencies give Aetna very strong financial strength rating. Aetna Insurance Company received many awards over the years, including the Innovation in Reducing Health Care Disparities Award three times from the nonprofit National Business Group on Health.

Aetna Medicare Supplement Insurance FAQ

• Can Aetna Medicare Supplement insurance provide medical benefits outside the United States?
  Yes. If you travel quite a bit, consider Aetna Medigap plans G, F, or N. You will have coverage for medical emergencies but not routine medical care outside of the country.

• Does Aetna restrict the doctors I can see with their Medicare Supplement coverage?
  As long as the medical provider accepts Medicare, you can use your Aetna Medicare Supplement insurance benefits.

• Can I use Medicare benefits to pay for the cost of Aetna’s supplemental insurance?
  No. You have to pay for Medicare Supplement insurance yourself. Medicare only pays for health care services and Medicare Supplement plans enhance that coverage.

• Is there anything Aetna Medicare Supplemental insurance doesn’t cover?
  Medigap insurance doesn’t cover long-term care like some nursing home stays or assisted living facilities, vision care or glasses, dental care, hearing aids or private nursing.

• Are there any circumstances that would cause Aetna to cancel my Medicare Supplement plan?
  Regardless of any medical condition, no insurance company can cancel your supplemental Medicare insurance, as long as you continue paying premiums on time.

Conclusion

If you are one of the millions of retirees who work with a doctor to manage a chronic medical condition or are worried about unexpected medical bills wiping out your retirement savings, Aetna Medicare supplement insurance is worth considering. While Aetna offers only a few plans, you will likely find the right balance of coverage and affordability. With Aetna’s partnership with CVS, the company is financially strong, so you know your claims will be paid into the future.

To get a quote, call (877) 394-2161 or start a quote online.