State RegulationsMA specificDifficulty 2/5
A producer preparing for the Massachusetts market assumes that Medicare supplement benefits there are organized under the federal lettered plan categories. What is correct under Massachusetts law?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why C is correct
211 CMR 71.08 provides Massachusetts' standardized Medicare supplement benefit packages, Core and Supplement 1 (with Supplement 1A). Massachusetts is a waiver state that does not implement the federal lettered plan grid, so a producer working in the Commonwealth must learn the state's own standardized benefit descriptions rather than the lettered categories. The Massachusetts Division of Insurance enforces this state-specific standardization scheme.
Why the other options are wrong
- A) Massachusetts does not supplement the federal lettered grid; it replaces it with the state's own standardized packages under 211 CMR 71.08.
- B) Benefit design is standardized, not left to each insurer's discretion; 211 CMR 71.08 fixes the benefit packages carriers may market.
- D) Standardization applies to the individual Medicare supplement market that 211 CMR 71.08 governs; the rule is not limited to group business.
Memory hook
Waiver state, no letters allowed: Core and Supplement 1 only.