Community Chat

[Still Raining]

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@monicakm wrote:

@Still Raining 

Would you mind explaining your comment that health plans are available from the plans themselves please?

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For example, go to UnitedHealthcare site and search for supplemental plans, put in your zip.  They will be happy to take your money.  

Look around for others in your state and zip too.  You can filter for G.

[judianne]

My daughter worked for an insurance company for many years . She said the agent will push you to the plan that pays them the most money for getting you signed up . I have been on an Advantage plan for over 7 years . I have had 4 surgeries and a number of hospital stays and ER visits and one ambulance ride . Haven't had any problems getting the services l needed and getting it paid for . I was in 3 different hospitals . Don't get it why people don't want the advantage plans . Agents talk against them because they don't make much money selling them .

[Kachina624]

@Carmie.  No, it was a Medicare supplement.  Doctors and a hospital surely did refuse to see me as long as I had Humana Insurance.  I'm  guessing I would have been acceptable with cash.

[Still Raining]

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@monicakm wrote:

@Still Raining 

Would you mind explaining your comment that health plans are available from the plans themselves please?

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 This from the AARP site:

UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP. AARP and its affiliates are not insurers. AARP does not employ or endorse agents, brokers or producers.

AARP encourages you to consider your needs when selecting products and does not make product recommendations for individuals.

Please note that each insurer has sole financial responsibility for its products.

AARP Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans

AARP endorses the AARP Medicare Supplement Plans, insured by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company. UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP. AARP and its affiliates are not insurers. AARP does not employ or endorse agents, brokers or producers.

[geezerette]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@Carmie.  No, it was a Medicare supplement.  Doctors and a hospital surely did refuse to see me as long as I had Humana Insurance.  I'm  guessing I would have been acceptable with cash.

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@Kachina624 

My doctor recently posted signs that he is no longer accepting United Healthcare insurance of any kind.

And in the last year we have had two separate hospitals refuse United also for several months at a time until they were able to negotiate better contracts.  The hospitals contended that United wasn't reimbursing them enough for their costs.

[Boehm Collector]

@monicakm .. my DH and I also went with United Healthcare and AARP.  We  didn't want a Medicare Advantage Plan.  

[Carmie]

@Kachina624   It's illegal to do that.  The federal government does not allow that.

Their fines would be mind blowing.

[CelticCrafter]

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@Carmie wrote:

@Kachina624   It's illegal to do that.  The federal government does not allow that.

Their fines would be mind blowing.

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@Carmie JMO, I think people get confused calling an Advantage Plan a Supplement.

[Josmad]

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@monicakm wrote:

Today I spent 2  hours and 40 minutes at an Ins broker's office.  It wasn't as complicated as I thought it would be.  Came away with (and I'm sure I'll get my fair share of "ew, that's a horrible choice") United Healthcare.  I can change it.  I went with Plan G and AARP too.  She couldn't figure our prescription plan until I emailed her a list of our medications.  There was no health checkup.  No questioning of pre-existing medical problems because of when we signed up.  We did not do the Advantage plan.  She told me the difference.  

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You will need to go through underwriting to change your supplemental plan unless you live in a state that has special rules that allows you to change without underwriting and then you can usually only change it at a certain time during the year. 

[Carmie]

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@judianne wrote:

My daughter worked for an insurance company for many years . She said the agent will push you to the plan that pays them the most money for getting you signed up . I have been on an Advantage plan for over 7 years . I have had 4 surgeries and a number of hospital stays and ER visits and one ambulance ride . Haven't had any problems getting the services l needed and getting it paid for . I was in 3 different hospitals . Don't get it why people don't want the advantage plans . Agents talk against them because they don't make much money selling them .

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Some Adavantage plans are great, others are awful.  They are very different depending on where you live.

Insurance companies do 100% push people into choosing Advantage Plans.  Insurance companies make more money servicing Advantage plans....way more than they do with suppplemental plans.

The government pays insurance companies a fee for each person each month no matter if they use the insurance or not.  They can and do make big money with this deal.

Advantage plans also need to approve certain procedures before you are allowed to receive services....such as elective surgeries, expensive diagnostic tests like MRI's and physical therapy. 

There is no one size fits all.  It depends on where you live and what insurance is available to you.