They make short work of this bs we have to go through.

I went with Blue Cross MN supplement. Not for profit and a huge network. I went with the pricier option so I'd have fewer out of pockets. For Part D I went with a cheap plan I found on the Medicare website. But I only have a couple prescriptions & won't meet the deductible with them.

You could try calling the Minnesota Senior Linkage line. I used an insurance agent a friend recomended.

You can go to any doctor.

My plan was not being offered in 2026 so I was able to switch so I contacted the company recommended about 3/4 of the way through this video and they were amazing. Was on the phone with a guy who explained all the options and arranged a callback a few days later to make sure everything worked out.

The company is called Chapter.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/132280784

P. S. My doctor even mentioned the company when I told her I had to change insurers and I told her they were the people who'd helped me choose my new plan.

The Part D was done week before last. As far as MediGap, I was assured by my company that, as long as it didn't involve Part D (alone or Advantage), the deadline was the end of December and that I could do the MediGap online without meeting with an agent.

So I finally got around to trying to get MediGap last night -- and couldn't find the application screen to save my life. It wasn't where the employee said it would be. All the available info from my chosen company was for Medicare Advantage, which of course said I had to get it done by today (since the 7th is Sunday and the companies are closed Saturday and Sunday. I hate Advantage and am not doing that. No info on MediGap. And now I didn't trust anything he told me, including the due date. This kept me awake all night. We can't afford to not have a supplement.

I called in sick today to get it sorted out. (I never call in sick. The last time I did, years ago, the rumor went around that I was dying.) I was prepared to stay on the phone all day. However, while I was preparing, I found a paper with the appropriate application site for my already chosen plan. Took me most of the morning for both of us, and then we went to get the applications faxed so they would have today's date for 'received'. It's the same company as the old discontinued policy, so they apparently can't deny us.

So that's settled. Maybe I can sleep tonight.

Next year, we get to do this all over again.

I got our applications in for the new policies. And waited. And waited.

I finally called for confirmation that they were in the works. I was told that they'd decide not to offer it and they were doing their best to contact people, but "It was just really chaotic around here right now". Incidentally, I still haven't heard from them. If I were a trusting soul and not a proactive noodge, we'd be totally screwed at this moment.

So back into the breach, with a week and a half to go, half of which was taken up by either weekends or the holiday. I found an agent who recommended a plan. And then my personal email account decided not to accept any further communication from her. I don't understand this, as she's not blocked, not in my spam folder, and is actually in the 'Preferred Contact' category at the moment. Also, she was responding to my (several) emails trying to get this thing processed in time, so that shouldn't have been blocked in any case.

She finally called me and we switched to my work email, which behaved itself for once. The whole thing is solved again as of yesterday, with only one day left over before the deadline.

So if DH has another heart attack (Gods forbid) or if anything else happens, we won't have to lose the house and be moved from underpass to underpass until we die of starvation or exposure. Even if we got lucky and had no medical events for a year, this was the only year nobody could decline our application. We'd be SOL getting this done next year.

Is America great yet?