How to cancel medicare supplement insurance

If you’re 65 or older, you might have Medicare, a Medicare Supplement, and Social Security. After death, what happens? Do your loved ones need to call and cancel your Medicare coverage? What about your monthly Medicare Supplement premium?

Índice Show

How do I cancel Social Security after death?
How do I cancel Medicare Part D drug coverage after death?
How do I cancel Medicare Advantage (Part C) after death?
How do I cancel my Medicare Supplement after death?
How do I report a death to life insurance or annuity companies after death?
Tip: Get a Confirmation Number
Conclusion
See the situations below on switching Medigap policies.
How to switch Medigap policies
Medigap free-look period

It’s not a fun subject to cover, but as Patty in our office says – it’s the circle of life! It’s best to be prepared and ensure your family understands their role when you pass.

Medicare and Social Security are separate programs, but they work together in a lot of ways, including in death. The Social Security Administration processes death reports for both Social Security and Medicare recipients.

In most cases, the funeral home will report a person’s death to Social Security, and Social Security relays that information to Medicare.

If, for some reason, a funeral home is not involved or they don’t do this service, reporting a death to Medicare only requires a phone call and the person’s Social Security Number.

Simply call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY: 1-800-325-0778).

You cannot report a death to Social Security (and therefore, Medicare) online.

In almost all circumstances, the funeral home will handle reporting a death to Social Security.

If a funeral home isn’t involved or there’s a unique circumstance, you can report a death to Social Security by calling (you will need the person’s Social Security Number).

How do I cancel Medicare Part D drug coverage after death?

Once again, when the funeral home reports a death to Social Security, Medicare is informed. When Medicare is informed, all Medicare coverage will be cancelled, including Medicare Part D (prescription drug coverage).

How do I cancel Medicare Advantage (Part C) after death?

You guessed it – Social Security informs the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of your death, and your Medicare Advantage (MA) plan is also informed in that process.

CMS actually disenrolls that member from an MA organization upon their death and then informs the MA organization of the death.

The disenrollment is effective the first day of the calendar month following the death.

So, as long as the funeral home informs Social Security of a person’s death, their Medicare Advantage plan will be cancelled as well.

How do I cancel my Medicare Supplement after death?

Here at Sams/Hockaday, our office staff checks the obituary every day. If we see a client has passed, we immediately call that client’s Medicare Supplement (Medigap) company and notify them of the death. We do not need a death certificate to cancel Medicare Supplement insurance.

After our call, the Medicare Supplement company generates a letter and a refund check for unearned premium, which goes directly to the client’s house.

For anyone who isn’t our client, a family member should call and notify the Medicare Supplement company of the death.

How do I report a death to life insurance or annuity companies after death?

Reporting a death to a life insurance or annuity company does require a death certificate. A signature is also needed from each beneficiary.

If you have your life insurance or annuity policy with us at Sams/Hockaday, we will guide you and your family through this process.

Your loved ones will not go through any of this alone, so while you should definitely ensure they know who your agent is, you can rest assured our office will handle it.

Tip: Get a Confirmation Number

Always get a confirmation number if you can when you make any phone call with an insurance company. You want to ensure there’s a record of that conversation.

Whether it’s a phone call reporting a death or something else, we always recommend keeping a paper trail and having records of all phone calls with insurers.

Conclusion

Death is (ironically) a part of life, and the last thing your loved ones should be concerned with is making phone calls to your insurance companies.

Rest assured the funeral home will handle notifying Social Security, which also covers Medicare, Medicare Part D drug plans, and Medicare Advantage plans.
Our office will call the Medicare Supplement company, and they will send a letter and a refund check for any unearned premium.
Finally, our office will work with the family to send a death certificate to any life insurance or annuity companies.

If you have any additional questions about dealing with health insurance cancellation after a death, don’t hesitate to call our office at (217) 423-8000.

You're paying for benefits you don't need.
You need more benefits.
You want to change your insurance company.
You want a policy that costs less.

In most cases, you won't have a right under federal law to switch Medigap policies, unless one of these applies:

You're eligible under a specific circumstance or guaranteed issue rights
You're within your 6-month Medigap open enrollment period

You don't have to wait a certain length of time after buying your first Medigap policy before you can switch to a different Medigap policy.

See the situations below on switching Medigap policies.

I have an older Medigap policy.

If you have an older Medigap policy, you don't have to switch.

If you buy a new Medigap policy, you have to give up your old policy (except for your 30-day "free look period"). Once you cancel the policy, you can't get it back, and it can no longer be sold because it isn't a standardized policy.

If you bought your policy before 2010, it may offer coverage that isn't available in a newer policy. If you bought your policy before 1992, your policy:

Might not be a guaranteed renewable policy
May have a bigger premium increase than newer, standardized Medigap policies currently being sold

I've had my old Medigap policy for less than 6 months & have a pre-existing condition.

The Medigap insurance company may be able to make you wait up to 6 months for coverage of pre-existing conditions. The number of months you've had your current Medigap policy must be subtracted from the time you must wait before your new Medigap policy covers your pre-existing condition.

I've had my old Medigap policy for 6 months or more and it had the same benefits as my new policy.

The new insurance company can't exclude your

pre-existing condition

If you've had your Medigap policy less than 6 months:

The number of months you've had your current Medigap policy must be subtracted from the time you must wait before your new Medigap policy covers your pre-existing condition.

If the insurance company agrees to issue the new policy, they can't write pre-existing conditions, waiting periods, elimination periods, or probationary periods into the replacement policy.

The new Medigap policy has a different benefit that isn't in my current Medigap policy.

You may still have to wait up to 6 months before that benefit will be covered, no matter how long you've had your current Medigap policy.

I'm moving out of state.

You can keep your current Medigap policy no matter where you live as long as you still have

Original Medicare

. If you want to switch to a different Medigap policy, you'll have to check with your current or new insurance company to see if they'll offer you a different policy.

If you decide to switch, you may have to pay more for your new Medigap policy. You may also have to answer some medical questions if you're buying a Medigap policy outside of your Medigap open enrollment period.

I have a Medicare SELECT policy & I'm moving out of the policy's area.

You have the following choices:

Buy a standardized Medigap policy from your current Medigap policy insurance company that offers the same or fewer benefits than your current Medicare Select policy. If you've had your Medicare SELECT policy for more than 6 months, you won't have to answer any medical questions.
Use your guaranteed issue right to buy any Medigap Plan A, B, C, F, K, or L that's sold in most states by any insurance company.

I'm joining a Medicare Advantage Plan

Get more information about how Medigap works with Medicare Advantage Plans.

How to switch Medigap policies

Call the new insurance company and arrange to apply for your new Medigap policy. If your application is accepted, call your current insurance company, and ask for your coverage to end. The insurance company can tell you how to submit a request to end your coverage.

Medigap free-look period

You have 30 days to decide if you want to keep the new Medigap policy. This is called your "free look period." The 30-day free look period starts when you get your new Medigap policy. You'll need to pay both premiums for one month.

Don't cancel your first Medigap policy until you've decided to keep the second Medigap policy. On the application for the new Medigap policy, you'll have to promise that you'll cancel your first policy.