46% Increase for 2024 AARP UHC Part D in North Carolina

But look at all the NEW stuff that is being added as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act passed back in 2022 -

Key prescription drug affordability highlights include:

• 2023 — Insulin will be limited to $35 for a month’s supply. This takes effect January 1 for insulin covered under Part D and July 1 for insulin covered as durable medical equipment under Part B.
• 2024 — Low-income assistance will be expanded to people with income at or below 150% of the federal poverty level.
• 2025 — Part D enrollees will have their out-of-pocket drug costs capped at $2,000. They will also have the option to pay these costs in monthly amounts rather than all at once.

Then there is the  IRA’s Part D structural changes:

• 2024 — People who reach the Part D catastrophic phase will no longer have to pay cost-sharing.
• 2025 — The Manufacturer Discount Program in Medicare Part D will replace the Medicare coverage gap discount program. In general, it will require drug manufacturers to pay a 10% discount on certain drugs in the initial coverage phase and a 20% discount in the catastrophic phase. Government reinsurance in the catastrophic phase will decrease from 80% to 20% for most brand-name drugs and from 80% to 40% for generics.

Then there is the part of the IRA that stabilizes Part D premiums beginning in 2025 to no more than a 6% increase.

Look at all you are getting for a few dollars more - did you think that the government was gonna pick up the cost of these changes and benefits?

AARP.org - 10/09/2023 - How New Medicare Law Affects Your Health

KFF.org 10/17/2023 - An Overview of the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit

Medicare Rights.org - Inflation Reduction Act Fact Sheet Outlines Important Changes for 2023 and Beyond

AND you have the option to change plans during this annual enrollment period - just like every year - to the one that is best for you.

Money grab.

In 2025 medicare D plans will have a cap on the premium price increase they can charge. As a result AARP United Health Care (and a number of others, but certainly not all) decided to jack the prices up now (mine more than doubled. Bye bye AARP for that) so that when they are limited by the percent increase they are starting from a higher premium thus dollar wise the increase is more.

The other problem with United Health Care (I am bout 75 hours into fighting this right now) is that in my state starting June 1, 2023 (they are rolling it in) they now have supplements without the "no extra cost to us benefits". In my state at my age that G is $69.99 cheaper than the no extra cost to us version of G we had. Which tells me earlier it was no extra cost because they had already included the cost. They claim (which Medicare disagrees with) that my plan hasn't ended because they still offer the benefits. Um yeah but clearly not at no extra cost to me. It is now essentially $70 more. Their current claim since they offered the new versions without the "benefits" under a different legal entity that means all of us trapped in the more expensive G can't change without passing medical underwriting (well unless we live in one of the states that has the birthday rule and you can change once a year then without having to deal with medical underwriting). I don't pass medical underwriting so I am trapped.  

Frankly United Health Care seems to collect class action suits which speaks to their ethics - or lack there of more appropriately  (and they lose them as far as I can tell). This is a class action suit waiting to happen as the no extra cost to us was fraud and the plan was effectively ended as these extras are not at no extra cost to us. They say but we still have a plan with extras. I said but it is at an pretty big extra cost to us. G without them is cheaper so that tells us exactly what the cost is. 

Locally the dental discount extra is useless as no board licensed dentist locally accepts it. The vision discount is only at a place that doesn't sell the higher end lenses for classes. I found out the hard way there is a huge difference in the width of clear vision with progressive lenses between the cheap lenses and the expensive ones. When they dumped silver sneakers and went to renew a number of fitness centers including those with pools mostly didn't sign back up. I sure can't afford a gallon and a third of gas every time I'd go to the fitness center with the pool to use the pool. It would be cheaper to pay to join the one right down the street that I can walk to.

I need to temporarily move just to be able to take advantage of the birthday rule with respect to changing out of G with extras into the one without.

The other thing that cracked me up was I was told the new G was to atract more healthy seniors. Now how will that happen when you can sign up for whatever one you want with you first sign up. They can't screen you out then. G with extras has a 2 year look back for failing medical underwriting G without has a 5 year. So yes that will prevent more people from changing. And certainly as you age you are less likely to use fitness centers, etc. so that is a profit line. That is the problem with for profit medicine in the USA. 

I'd guess over time United Health Care will offer more versions of each alphabet letter supplement so they can lure people in with lower premiums and then trap them. As a result the "older" supplements will likely have much higher premiums over time. Just look at what happened with F. That was only 4 years ago you no longer could sign up for it if you were 65 then. Now those premiums are more than the premiums for G + the deductible because no younger people in them. I went with community rated as that keeps premiums lower when you are older. But not if UHC is going to pull these stunts and we are trapped due to failure to pass medical underwriting.

Just saw AARP received 9 BILLION dollars from United Health.   Something stinks!