@151949 wrote:
@Carmie wrote:
@Spurt wrote:
@151949 wrote:
@Spurt - when I read something like this "report" my first thought is - what is this person writing this agenda? No one starts a web page without an agenda - it is done to make money. Just because you read it on the internet does not make it true.
@151949
No one knows that better than me, but this is an impartial consumer blog that reports on many consumer issues, and the reviews are what was interesting...written by customers who signed up and have used the insurance and have been verified. And I'm sure the customers did not have to pay anything to make their opinions known....
It was also mentioned that AARP also almost lost their non-profit status for charging 5% higher for the supplement and making people pay for a membership/magazine subscription before customers could purchase their insurance....
My older sister had a Medicare supplement with United Health Care through AARP. She purchased Plan F. Because she lives in the state of PA, that plan,is not needed. Plan C, a lower Plan would be better.
i called the number on the back of her card to try to downgrade her coverage. I pressed the buttons at the prompts and told the rep what I wanted to do. She said that in order to change coverage, my sister would have to activate her AARP membership which was lapsed. So, I paid for it over the phone with my cc. The rep reminded me several times during the call that the AARP membership was not refundable.
Then she transferred me to another rep to do the downgrade who told me that Plan C Would now cost more than Plan H because the price is higher because of the time lapse from her Medicare Part B eligibility.....even though the benefits were less comprehensive.
So, we didn't change the coverage. It was too expensive to downgrade. I paid the fee for her AARP for nothing. I figured out why the rep at AARP kept telling me the fee was not refundable.
The rep at AARP should have told me the the poop before I ponied up the money.
I really don't understand what you were trying to do - if you were changing her policy during the sign up period in the fall, there is no charge to do that. Anyone can change to any policy they want during that period. However, for the remainder of the year you can't just change your policy at any old time you want to. That is part of the medicare law - not AARP. And AARP does not require you to be a member to buy their insurance.
Our insurance agent that we buy our AARP advantage plan thru reps every insurance that is availablle in our county except BC/BS . He knows them all and he gets paid no matter which you buy -but he & his wife have UHC advantage plans and he most highly recommends them to his clients.
No one said there was an extra charge to change a policy. We were trying to downgrade during the open enrollment period. The problem is two fold, the downgraded policy costs more because the cost is higher for new enrollees who did not pick up the policy within six months of their Medicare Part B eligibility. The second problem is, AARP, not United Health Care, AARP got me to pay for my sister's AARP for a new year for nothing. They kept telling me there were no refunds on her AARP dues. The rep knew that we would not pay more for a less comprehensive policy. She also knew we would not downgrade or change anything because of the cost.
I know that you are aware of the costs being higher when you change policies anytime after your Medicare Part B eligibility date during the open enrollment period. You found that out when you looked into Traditional Medicare and a supplemental policy. The cost for you to change is cost prohibited.
AND we went though this before. AARP DOES REQUIRE YOU TO BE A MEMBER TO PICK UP INSURANCE THROUGH THEM. The information is right there on their website and not a secret.
If you do not not renew your AARP membership, you can still stay on the insurance. If you want to purchase a different or new policy through them, you must pay their dues before you can.
A good thing to remember is,You have six months after you enroll in Medicare Part B to choose a Medicare Plan. If you try to change your policy after that six months, you will pay a lot more. The longer you wait to change, the higher the cost.
in addition, when I called the number on the back of the card, there were promps... press 1 for benefits, press .2 for claims, press 3 for enrollment information. The promp I chose took me to AARP and not UHC.
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