Community Chat

[Spurt]

---

@PamfromCT wrote:

The cost of prescription drugs is wild.  AARP is running an ad in our area - and maybe yours, too - highlighting a man who had to leave his job due to Parkinson’s Disease.  He is having a hard time opening his prescription bottle and saying a drug prescribed for him is $3,000 a month.  The message is that the drug will work, if you can afford it.

A other ad I saw on TV for a specific form of arthriitis has the cost in little print.  Cost is about $3,000 a month.

A bit off-topic, but not really.  

---

@PamfromCT 

AARP is the biggest hypocrit....

They publish articles about robo calls and telemarketing and how to stop it, while AARP is one of the biggest offenders, they and their affiliate indundates your phone lines and mailbox with junk mail.....They get kickbacks....errrr..."rebates" from United Health Care and all their other affilates too...

And they are one of the most powerful lobby groups in the country....makes you wonder--are they concerned about health care and seniors or their own pockets and the rebates....   They are requiring silly what they call "wellness procedures" that arent really necessary for all people, and it drives up health care costs...which is good for their rebates.  Its funny they publish articles about rising health care costs, then direct you to another of their affiliates, their car insurance company, Hartford, to help save you money (and their affiliate isnt always the lowest)....They've also been sued too...for requiring a membership fee to get their affiliates health insurance, yet considered themselves as a non-profit to avoid taxes...playing both sides of the street, the ruling....they are in court, and have been told not to make it mandatory to charge their membership fee in order to be eligible to get United Health Care insurance...

Wealthy AARP: One Country’s Most Powerful Lobbies Once known as the American Association of Retired Persons, AARP is one of the most powerful political lobbies in Washington

The AARP receives millions per year from the federal government in subsidies for its work to provide education to seniors on issues related to health care, financial planning and retirement.  If you LOVE the Affordable Care Act send a thank you note to AARP for their support....(sarcasm)

They remind me of the pharmacuetical industry in so many ways ....I wouldnt trust them as far as you can spit....as the old saying goes.  Google complaints regarding their company and on United Health Care....

Here's what AARP admitted to in a Better Business Bureau Complaint and theres more of that on bbb.org....

This proves my point about the hypocripsy regarding their article on junk mail and telemarketing and them being one of the biggest offenders:

Direct mail bearing the AARP name and logo include both our mailings and those of our member benefit providers:

Our providers typically are on a three month mail schedule.  AARP also distributes “generic” promotional pieces. These pieces are neither addressed to nor targeted to a particular person or household.  They are inserted either1 in shared mail programs (bundled with other offers from other retailers or marketers) in the regular US Mail, or inserted inside a subscription newspaper or catalog.  Since these are mass inserts, we do not actually know if the person receiving them is already an AARP member or if they live in a 50+ household.  Although the language on some of these generic pieces has in the past included an offer to “Renew your membership,” we have since revised that to explicitly state “Join or renew.”

Here's another one...

I have contacted AARP to cease and desist communication with me in any way shape or form several times a week I get letters, and phone calls to my cell. This needs to stop Immediately!!!! I have reached out to AARP in writing (US Mail return receipt request) Email and each time AARP calls I record the conversation and inform the AARP caller to sop any and all communication. This is now border line harassment. After AARP received my cease and desist order I informed them any further communication and I reserve the right to sue for $1500.00 per occurrence. The calls and letters (US mail ) still continue. I informed AARP if the communication continued I would file a complaint with the BBB and then a LAWSUIT!!! If I need anything from AARP I will reach out. Till then STOP any and all communications with me.

[CelticCrafter]

---

@Spurt wrote:

---

@PamfromCT wrote:

The cost of prescription drugs is wild.  AARP is running an ad in our area - and maybe yours, too - highlighting a man who had to leave his job due to Parkinson’s Disease.  He is having a hard time opening his prescription bottle and saying a drug prescribed for him is $3,000 a month.  The message is that the drug will work, if you can afford it.

A other ad I saw on TV for a specific form of arthriitis has the cost in little print.  Cost is about $3,000 a month.

A bit off-topic, but not really.  

---

@PamfromCT 

AARP is the biggest hypocrit....

They publish articles about robo calls and telemarketing and how to stop it, while AARP is one of the biggest offenders, they and their affiliate indundates your phone lines and mailbox with junk mail.....They get kickbacks....errrr..."rebates" from United Health Care and all their other affilates too...

And they are one of the most powerful lobby groups in the country....makes you wonder--are they concerned about health care and seniors or their own pockets and the rebates....   They are requiring silly what they call "wellness procedures" that arent really necessary for all people, and it drives up health care costs...which is good for their rebates.  Its funny they publish articles about rising health care costs, then direct you to another of their affiliates, their car insurance company, Hartford, to help save you money (and their affiliate isnt always the lowest)....They've also been sued too...for requiring a membership fee to get their affiliates health insurance, yet considered themselves as a non-profit to avoid taxes...playing both sides of the street, the ruling....they were told not to charge membership fee in order for people to get United Health Care insurance...

Wealthy AARP: One Country’s Most Powerful Lobbies Once known as the American Association of Retired Persons, AARP is one of the most powerful political lobbies in Washington

The AARP receives millions per year from the federal government in subsidies for its work to provide education to seniors on issues related to health care, financial planning and retirement.  If you LOVE the Affordable Care Act send a thank you note to AARP for their support....(sarcasm)

They remind me of the pharmacuetical industry in so many ways ....I wouldnt trust them as far as you can spit....as the old saying goes.  Google complaints regarding their company and on United Health Care....

Here's what AARP admitted to in a Better Business Bureau Complaint and theres more of that on bbb.org....

This proves my point about the hypocripsy regarding their article on junk mail and telemarketing and them being one of the biggest offenders:

Direct mail bearing the AARP name and logo include both our mailings and those of our member benefit providers:

Our providers typically are on a three month mail schedule.  AARP also distributes “generic” promotional pieces. These pieces are neither addressed to nor targeted to a particular person or household.  They are inserted either1 in shared mail programs (bundled with other offers from other retailers or marketers) in the regular US Mail, or inserted inside a subscription newspaper or catalog.  Since these are mass inserts, we do not actually know if the person receiving them is already an AARP member or if they live in a 50+ household.  Although the language on some of these generic pieces has in the past included an offer to “Renew your membership,” we have since revised that to explicitly state “Join or renew.”

Here's another one...

I have contacted AARP to cease and desist communication with me in any way shape or form several times a week I get letters, and phone calls to my cell. This needs to stop Immediately!!!! I have reached out to AARP in writing (US Mail return receipt request) Email and each time AARP calls I record the conversation and inform the AARP caller to sop any and all communication. This is now border line harassment. After AARP received my cease and desist order I informed them any further communication and I reserve the right to sue for $1500.00 per occurrence. The calls and letters (US mail ) still continue. I informed AARP if the communication continued I would file a complaint with the BBB and then a LAWSUIT!!! If I need anything from AARP I will reach out. Till then STOP any and all communications with me.

---

@Spurt I'm not sure when they were told that - when we were doing our research for a supplement Part D plan we couldn't get quotes from UHC unless we were members.  This was the early part of this year.

I despise AARP - my main reason is the amount of krap mail we get from them on a weekly basis and like you they pay no mind to telling them to stop it.

[Spurt]

---

@CelticCrafter wrote:

---

---

@Spurt I'm not sure when they were told that - when we were doing our research for a supplement Part D plan we couldn't get quotes from UHC unless we were members.  This was the early part of this year.

I despise AARP - my main reason is the amount of krap mail we get from them on a weekly basis and like you they pay no mind to telling them to stop it.

---

@CelticCrafter 

As you can tell I'm NOT a fan!!!

Yep, the better business bureau and other consumer organizations are filled with complaints over their marketing practices.... 

Here's the info on membership, you need to contact a United Health Care agent directly to obtain their insurance without going through AARP.....But maybe the agents are pushing it and recommending it to get the lowest price, that I do NOT know....BUT they are NOT supposed to make it mandatory from what I read....And  there are lawsuits still ongoing

Dec 18, 2017 · You do not need to be an AARP member to enroll.  Plans are insured through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or one of its affiliated companies, a Medicare-approved Part D sponsor.Oct 1, 2017

Dec 02, 2009 · You do not have to be a member of AARP to purchase insurance through United Health Care for Medicare Part D or any of their other products. Go to United Health Care's website (www.uhc.com) to obtain contact information for an United Health Care insurance agent.

There's various lawsuits against AARP going on by different States and even by individual plantiffs.....many of them still in the hands of the court process....

The AARP is defending multiple federal class action lawsuits filed in 2018 in Pennsylvania, Florida and Connecticut that accuse AARP and UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurer in the country, of fleecing some 4.3 million seniors and disabled through a Medigap insurance “rebate” scheme (which AARP refers to as royalties).....Oh and California filed one, selling insurance without a license....

The arrangement with UnitedHealth clearly has been advantageous for the AARP but not so much for the seniors and disabled who buy AARP-branded insurance products. The lawsuits claim the AARP is overcharging “unsuspecting” seniors and the disabled.

According to the Pennsylvania lawsuit, the 4.9 percent payment by UnitedHealth to AARP is “secretly” charged on top of the premium paid by customers for the actual health insurance, resulting in “artificially inflated insurance charges … similar Medigap policies offered without the ‘AARP brand’ offer identical benefits often at a lower cost in part because those insurers do not secretly charge unlawful insurance agent commissions to consumers.”

The Connecticut lawsuit alleges AARP pockets more than  $400 million in “tax free cash” through the  “patently unlawful” rebate scheme. The $400 million figure is estimated to be 25 percent of AARP’s annual revenue. The lawsuit compares the arrangement to a large employer “offering group health insurance to its employees, and then taking 5% off the top of their employees’ contributions for insurance coverage, with the consent of the insurance company.”

According to the Pennsylvania lawsuit, the AARP in 1999 created a taxable “for-profit” division; AARP Services, Inc. (ASI), to handle negotiate, oversee, and manage lucrative contracts with AARP’s insurance partners. The AARP  created a second entity, AARP Insurance Plan (“AARP Trust”), as a grantor trust to collect, invest and remit premium payments for AARP Medigap policies and to collect its “unlawful” 4.95 percent commission.

In addition to the rebate allegations, the Connecticut class action lawsuit charges the AARP secretly invests enrollees’ monthly premium payments in securities to earn money during a 31-day grace period before it pays the premiums to UnitedHealth. It states the AARP earned almost $45.77 million in 2016 from that investment vehicle.

The Pennsylvania lawsuit is Stephen Christoph and Glenn Hill v. AARP, Inc., AARP Services Inc., AARP Insurance Plan, UnitedHealth Group, Inc. and UnitedHealthCare Insurance Company, 2:18-cv-03453-NIQA, U.S. District Court Eastern Pennsylvania, (8/15/18), The lawsuit charges the defendants with unfair trade practices, conversion, unjust enrichment, fraudulent concealment, fraud,

The Florida lawsuit is William Sacco v. AARP, Inc., AARP Services Inc., AARP Insurance Plan, UnitedHealth Group, Inc. and UnitedHealthCare Insurance Company, 2:18-cv-14041-JEM (2/08/2018). It charges the defendants with conversion, unjust enrichment and fraudulent concealment.

The Connecticut lawsuit is Mark Dane v. UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, UnitedHealth Group, Inc., AARP, Inc., AARP Services, Inc., AARP Insurance plan, 3:18-cv-00792-SRU, (5/10/2018). It charges the defendants with unfair insurance practices, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and disgorgement (ill-gotten gains that result from illegal actions),

[deeva]

DH got his booklet last week, I’m still waiting for mine. 

[PamfromCT]

Hi @Spurt, I hope my post didn’t give the impression that I am a big fan of AARP.  In this instance, however, I am glad they are running this ad to help educate some people how crazy drug prices can be.

None of our insurance in any form is associated with AARP.

But thanks for publishing this valuable info.

[Spurt]

---

@PamfromCT wrote:

Hi @Spurt, I hope my post didn’t give the impression that I am a big fan of AARP.  In this instance, however, I am glad they are running this ad to help educate some people how crazy drug prices can be.

None of our insurance in any form is associated with AARP.

But thanks for publishing this valuable info.

---

@PamfromCT 

I totally understood what you are saying.... the prices that  some of my friends and family pay for their much needed and required prescriptions is just unbelievable!!!   I know many of us locally have submitted our input to the appropriate channels on this very problem....I think its more the Pharmaceutical companies that need the reality check on what their greed is doing to peoples lives....It seems that other countries find ways to make their drugs more affordable...

But I just thought that the ads coming from of all places AARP, one of the many perpetrators of higher health costs, was another case of them being so hypocritical ......They try to present themselves on being on the side of seniors....but in reality....its the opposite....

[kitty60]

When I looked at plans for 2019 the cost of the plan G that required you to pay the deductible and Plan F that had no deductible for 2019 was $25 per month difference totaling $300 per year less for for plan G.  That more than covered the cost of the deductible.  Not sure what it will be for 2020.

[Carmie]

Just for clarification, AARP requires you to be a member to enroll in their sponsored United Healrhcare insurance.  

You do not have to renew your AARP enrollment each year  to keep the insurance, but if you want to make any changes, you must enroll again.

This information is on their webpage and it has been this way forever.

You can also contact United Heathcare as a non member with AARP and get insurance if they offer it in your area.

[PamfromCT]

---

@KailaS wrote:

My drug costs overall according to Plan D’s new booklet are jumping again. The premiums and co-pays along with the tiers some drugs are on have changed. I lost most of my pancreas to cancer, so I do not produce insulin or use injected insulin well. As a result I take mega- doses of two insulins and two diabetic drugs too.  My monthly costs this year for each insulin (out of pocket) have been $1200-$1500 per month. Then there are the drugs. I go into and get out of the donut hole ( as long as that lasts) pretty quickly, but the meds are killing me. My supplemental plan is expensive, but it still seems to be in place in my state unless I missed something. 

---

@KailaS, That cost is absolutely outrageous.  None of my business, however...have you ever considered our neighbor to the north?  The cost is dramatically different for identical drugs.

To do this to people for the sake of greed.....can’t say it here.

Best wishes to you!

[Spurt]

---

@Carmie wrote:

Just for clarification, AARP requires you to be a member to enroll in their sponsored United Healrhcare insurance.  

You do not have to renew your AARP enrollment each year  to keep the insurance, but if you want to make any changes, you must enroll again.

This information is on their webpage and it has been this way forever.

You can also contact United Heathcare as a non member with AARP and get insurance if they offer it in your area.

---

@Carmie 

Thank you for the clarification you said it much better than I did....Court cases are still in progress regarding their membership fee, rebates, and connection with affiliates....which could change the way AARP does business.......