If you had to buy a new car, what would be most important to you? The brand or the actual quality of the car? Let’s say you really admire Lexus as a luxury brand (this is my personal preference). But what about the Toyota? It has the same characteristics, quality, stability; the only difference is the brand. What would you do? What car would you choose?
Now, I know that buying a car is not the same as buying a Medicare Supplement, but bear with my analogy for now.
There are 10 Medicare Supplement plans, along with a high-deductible version of Plan F. However, the original Plan F has become the official champion of the Medicare Supplement world, leaving all other plans behind.
Plan F has been marketed as the best of the best, the luxury car of the Medicare Supplement line. However, many consumers are never officially introduced to Plan G. There are a few reasons why this seemingly identical plan has been dismissed during sales presentations.
1. It costs less, so agents will get a lower commission…meaning Plan G is not as lucrative as selling expensive Plan F
2. Agents market this plan as a “problem” compared to Plan F; which means that consumers are afraid to think that Plan G will require more effort on their part.
Let’s talk about the first reason. The average difference in price between Plan F and Plan G is approximately $20-$30 (not the actual average, but my own personal evaluation). This equates to approximately $300/year in savings, or as an agent would see it, $60 less than what a Plan F would earn in commissions. This may not seem like it’s worth an agent’s schedule, but if he’s selling 100 policies every 6 months, that’s about $6,000 down the drain. Is it worth it now?
However, if the agent is really finding the best policy for your situation, they won’t steer you away from a Plan G. I always tell my potential clients about Plan G, which brings me to my second reason:
You, the consumer.
It’s hard to change your mind about Plan F. Many of you feel that Plan F is the only plan worth your money. The only difference between Plans F and G is a little thing called the Part B Deductible. This deductible costs $147/year and must be used in full before Medicare or your provider will cover anything. Let’s do a little more math. If switching to Plan G could save you $25 a month, you’d still save $153 a year even if you paid the Part B deductible of $147 a year.
It’s a conundrum, but some people forego paying that $147 a year out of pocket (it’s a deductible, you don’t have to send a bill anywhere) to spend an extra $20 to $30 a month on Medicare’s Lexus. supplements
Sure, all your friends can have the shiny new Plan F, but you can get the same coverage for less and become the Medicare supplement guru of the bunch. If my prospects feel comfortable, I try to steer them toward Plan G. I’m not always successful, but I hope Plan G will be more popular in the future.
If I had to choose between a Lexus and a Toyota, I would probably choose the Toyota. Not because Lexus isn’t reliable, but because I know you’d be just as happy with a Toyota in general as you would be with a Lexus, and they’re a lot cheaper.