topic Re: Insurance letter, sigh in Among Friends

Insurance letter, sigh

Mom2Dogs — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 22:29:17 GMT

My Medical Mutual insurance went up $85.00 PER WEEK for 2017, today my husband got a letter from Medical Mutual/supplement policy, his went up aprox $15.00 per month.....while $15.00 a month is not a lot, coming up with an extra $85.00 a week is difficult to say the least. Our 'fun money' is gone...and we will have to dip into retirement savings to help out...

I would like DH to call and find out if he can get a different policy but since he had an illness 2 years ago he is concerned about anything happening in the future and won't have adequate insurance to cover it....it's a gamble on which policy to buy.

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

Krimpette — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 22:36:25 GMT

Have you called the insurance company? Surely that must be an error. That's an outrageous increase.

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

bonnielu — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 22:37:52 GMT

No easy answer for any of this. Have a daughter with a plan that keeps changing and the records keep disappearing and one week she has insurance and the next week they never heard of her. Such are the times. Perhaps it will get better.......

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

3suwm5 — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 22:38:14 GMT

@Mom2Dogs I'm sorry to hear about the increases for both of you. I'm not familiar with supplemental insurance, does it generally increase each year also? Who are the underwriters?

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

Tinkrbl44 — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 22:40:23 GMT

@Krimpette @Mom2Dogs

@Krimpette wrote:
Have you called the insurance company? Surely that must be an error. That's an outrageous increase.

I was thinking the same thing .... could very well be a mistake.

While you have them on the phone, if it turns out to be correct, ask them for suggestions on how you can shave off at least a few dollars from the premium .... they often have good ideas to consider.

(I hope it's a mistake @Mom2Dogs)

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

Mom2Dogs — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 22:55:26 GMT

Oh how I wish it was wrong...and yes I did call can complain/inquire, it was like talking to a wall.......it is a very nice policy and when I checked with a different company the price was close to the same but a much higher deductible.......I hope this insurance issue gets 'fixed'.

Our budget is already tight, we don't vacation or spend money on 'extras' anymore. The one thing we did was my DH purchased a new car and we never would have done that if we knew the 2017 premimum was going up in price as much as it did....we figured there would be a slight increase but we were stunned when we got the notice.

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

3suwm5 — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 23:13:50 GMT

@Mom2Dogs wrote:
@Tinkrbl44
@3suwm5
@bonnielu
@Krimpette
Oh how I wish it was wrong...and yes I did call can complain/inquire, it was like talking to a wall.......it is a very nice policy and when I checked with a different company the price was close to the same but a much higher deductible.......I hope this insurance issue gets 'fixed'.

Our budget is already tight, we don't vacation or spend money on 'extras' anymore. The one thing we did was my DH purchased a new car and we never would have done that if we knew the 2017 premimum was going up in price as much as it did....we figured there would be a slight increase but we were stunned when we got the notice.

@Mom2Dogs I feel for you, it is so frustrating when there is a big jump and you couldn't really plan for it. Many hope these things get fixed, it will take some time, if it happens at all.

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

151949 — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 00:03:42 GMT

I'm confused - are you retired? on medicare? Is this a supplement insurance ? or is this just a private insurance ? You need to find an insurance agent that can guide you to more reasonable coverage. Wouldn't it be better to get insurance that covers less or has some deductibles or copays than to be robbed like this?

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

Mom2Dogs — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 00:09:15 GMT

@151949 wrote:
I'm confused - are you retired? on medicare? Is this a supplement insurance ? or is this just a private insurance ? You need to find an insurance agent that can guide you to more reasonable coverage. Wouldn't it be better to get insurance that covers less or has some deductibles or copays than to be robbed like this?

@151949...my husband is retired, I am not. I did go to a different agent to compare policies, the only other policy that I could enroll in, in my area was just $100.00 lower with a higher deductible....

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

KathyPet — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 00:23:30 GMT

THere is no requirement that a married couple both have supplemental Medicare policies from the same insurance company. he can keep his and you can search for a new one. I strongly urge that you visit the Medicare.gov site and go through the process of getting quotes from several different carriers on line. DOn't check with just one. All you need to know is what coverage you want designated by the letter code of the policy type you currently have and you can get multiple quotes for that same policy coverage from different companies.

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

Mom2Dogs — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 02:05:03 GMT

@KathyPet....My dh is retired with the supplement, I am not retired and have a medical mutual plan (we both had Medical Mutual but 2 different policies).....it is the only one in my area that I can get.....I have checked with another agent, I am stuck with what I have.

I did call my congressman....of course his office was sorry to hear about my situation, yada, yada, yada......

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

chrystaltree — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 03:10:45 GMT

$ 85 a week? I've never heard of an insurance with premiums that assessed on a weekly basis.

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

Mom2Dogs — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 03:45:32 GMT

@chrystaltree...it is a monthly premium but the premium from 2016 to 2017 went up $85.00 per week (if you divide the new monthly premium by 4 weeks, compared to the 2016 premium....huge jump!

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

chrystaltree — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 03:58:10 GMT

@Mom2Dogs wrote:
@chrystaltree...it is a monthly premium but the premium from 2016 to 2017 went up $85.00 per week (if you divide the new monthly premium by 4 weeks, compared to the 2016 premium....huge jump!

It's a $340 jump and that is indeed huge but that's what so many people have been complaining about, the huge jumps in insurance premiums. Perhaps you can find something more affordable that gives you the same coverage. But it won't be much cheaper and the important thing is that you don't want to lose coverage, you don't want a cheaper premium but end up with higher co-pays and deductibles.

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

MarieIG — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 04:24:38 GMT

Does that mean you can't get insurance through your job? (My office has available insurance, but the deductible is so large many of my co-workers avoid going to the doctor barring emergencies.) My DH's insurance - at least up to now - has been better.

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Nuttmeg — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 06:04:41 GMT

@Mom2Dogs wrote:
@KathyPet....My dh is retired with the supplement, I am not retired and have a medical mutual plan (we both had Medical Mutual but 2 different policies).....it is the only one in my area that I can get.....I have checked with another agent, I am stuck with what I have.

I did call my congressman....of course his office was sorry to hear about my situation, yada, yada, yada......

This is a general information site about health care http://kff.org/

The info here is very up to date.

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

151949 — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 13:30:52 GMT

It seems from what the OP has written here that she is buying her insurance thru the ACA since her DH retired. Is that correct, OP? I am 100% positive that she could get a less expensive insurance but it seems she wants a plan that covers everything 100% and, honestly, those plans are very expensive. A more realistic plan with some deductibles and co pays would be much more affordable - even though she would have the deductible & co pays they would be unlikely to add up to what her premiums are on this policy. It certainly is each person's choice but if you choose the very expensive policy then don't be complaining about having to pay for it. You don't get a Cadillac for the price of a Chevrolet after all.

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

Mom2Dogs — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 14:52:30 GMT

@151949....Yes, dh is retired....my policy is a traitional policy....I did check into the ACA....the only policy available for me was $100.00 less expensive and the deductible was very high.

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

DiAnne — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 15:42:08 GMT

Have you had this policy a long time? My insurance goes up a little every year and this year is the highest at $25 a month. I am sure there are lower premium insurances you could buy that would give you adequate coverage. You could save a lot for the deductible at $85 a week.

Re: Insurance letter, sigh

CelticCrafter — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 16:33:42 GMT

@Mom2Dogs wrote:
..it is a monthly premium but the premium from 2016 to 2017 went up $85.00 per week (if you divide the new monthly premium by 4 weeks, compared to the 2016 premium....huge jump!

That is a big increase but you aren't really figuring it correctly.

Monthly premium times 12 divided by 52 would be more accurate.