@fortunateoldguy Actually, if @bluegill is signing up for Medicare for the first time and looking at Traditional Medicare the insurance companies that sell supplements are no longer allowed to turn him down due to cancer or any other pre-existing condition. That used to be the case but it was changed some time ago. I looked at this very carefully when I first signed up for Medicare. If he chooses to go with Medicare Advantage and later on wants to switch back to Traditional Medicare and wants a supplemental plan then the insurance companies could very well turn him down at that point in time.

@hbp also writes about Medicare and what he learned. He landed into an exception that worked for him.