I tried to go through underwriting to get back in a Plan N but the insurer rejected it without explanation. All medical questions on the application were answered "no". I'll have to go with a Plan G, with the same insurer.
>The Issue
>Montana is under threat from AI Data Centers. As a Montanan that was raised on a farm in Eastern Montana, I believe stewardship of the land is the best way to conserve our natural resources, and care for our future generations by maintaining and improving a healthful environment.
>As Montanans, our constitution was written to protect us from unreasonable depletion of our natural resources to ensure the environment remains clean and healthful.
>Montana Constitution
>Article 9. Section 1.
> Protection and improvement.
>(1) The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.
>(2) The legislature shall provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty.
>(3) The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources.
>Reclamation Section 2.
>(1) All lands disturbed by the taking of natural resources shall be reclaimed. The legislature shall provide effective requirements and standards for the reclamation of lands disturbed.
>(2) The legislature shall provide for a fund, to be known as the resource indemnity trust of the state of Montana, to be funded by such taxes on the extraction of natural resources as the legislature may from time to time impose for that purpose.
>(3) The principal of the resource indemnity trust shall forever remain inviolate in an amount of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000), guaranteed by the state against loss or diversion.
>AI Data Centers are in opposition to our constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment. I’ll give an example, although there are 100 proposed AI Data centers coming for Montana and each proposal, while different, have the same detrimental effects.
>Quantica is proposing a 5,000 acre AI Data Center in Broadview, MT within Yellowstone County that will use upwards of 7,235MW of power. This will be the highest power user in the state. Billings, MT which is located in Yellowstone County is the largest city in Montana. The main industry in Billings is the refinery which uses 50MW of power. Montanans are already facing rate hikes from Northwestern Energy, and with the development of Quantica’s AI Data Center, rates are only going to get higher. The water usage will be enormous too. 5 million gallons of water will be used daily to cool the AI Data Center, water that our farmers, wildlife, and citizens need, especially in a drought ridden landscape.
>Montanans deserve to live in a state that puts its citizens first, and its citizens don’t want AI Data Centers. Let’s ban them from the state of Montana because they oppose our constitutional rights.
>Mary Kate Teske, Petition Starter
Since there were conflicting answers I had to do some digging. On the Medicare site under "Get ready to buy" there's an option at the bottom for "Change your policy", then at the bottom of the next page there's an option for "Switch or drop your Medigap policy" to answer questions to "find out if you have a right under federal law to switch or drop Medigap policies." After going there, the questions I answered were: "I'm having a problem with the company I get my Medigap policy from" >> "The company that sells my policy went bankrupt/out of business" (since it's going out of business in my state, this is the closest that applies) >>
>Your answer:
>You have the right to buy Medigap Plan A, B, C, D, F, G, K, or L that's sold by an insurance company in your state.
>You have 63 days after your current Medigap coverage ends to buy a new Medigap policy.
>Keep any letters, notices, emails or claim denials from your Medigap policy in case you need to prove your coverage ended. You may need to include copies of these documents with your new Medigap application to prove you have the right to buy a new policy.
N is not listed.
I had been first informed that the insurer was going to pull out of the state by my agent who called me to see if I had received the letter yet. Even he and the existing insurer's office thought that since it was no fault of my own that I would be able to just step over into another N.
I relayed the above info to him and he did some follow-up with the old insurer and the one I am looking at switching into. Initially, they all said said that I could just select another N without underwriting under this circumstance. They later called him back to say that they were wrong, I did have to go through underwriting.
I asked him about the underwriting process and he gave me a few of the big questions they would ask such as if I had a history of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and what medications I take. Since my answers were all no and my meds are eye drops and HRT, we're going to start off with underwriting. If I get denied, I can still do a G.
I just received a letter from my Plan N provider. They said they will be leaving the state and I will no longer be covered as of Sept 1. The letter says I have guaranteed issue with no underwriting. Does that mean I have to go with a Plan G or can I transfer over to another Plan N? I turned 65 last November and I'm now outside my initial enrollment window that provided guaranteed issue without underwriting to join any plan. Is it also the case when the insurer leaves the state?
Thanks in advance!