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

[javmd]

Have just received the Annual Notice from UHC.  What is the justification except a UHC money grab?  I've been with AARP B and D for many years with minimal usage for D.  This is the largest %age increase I've seen and the well-known competition now is far lower.  Who at AARP is responsible for selecting UHC - is this what's called  "fighting for health care"?

[CarolynBI]

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.

[CarolynBI]

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.

[JimCossitt]

That is consistent with what I have read in other sources.   Regardless, the willingness of AARP to endorse the UHC outfit without some kind of an explanation or justification is very problematic.

[GailL1]

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@JimCossitt wrote:

That is consistent with what I have read in other sources.   Regardless, the willingness of AARP to endorse the UHC outfit without some kind of an explanation or justification is very problematic.

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Because UHC is THE BIGGEST MA insurer in the country and is available nationwide.

KFF.org 08/09/2023- Medicare Advantage in 2023: Enrollment Update and Key Trends

Same thing with MediGAP - AARP/UHC Medigap is one of the biggest in the country - if not THE biggest and is highly rated in financial stability - which is paramount for any insurance company and for those who make royalties off of their endorsement of such a product.

Investopedia.org- 11/27/2023 - Best Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Companies

[CliffL424699]

Money grab.

[GailL1]

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 Bey...

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.

[javmd]

NONE of this NEW stuff applies to me.  It's still 46% increase that AARP did not fight for me.

[JohnP933815]

Agree.  none of this applies to me either.  My premium will increase 82% in Michigan.  Nothing in the news about this!!!!

[steve960]

Not sure it's only a few dollars more, but I otherwise agree with the explanations suggested based upon my own research including the link below. Compared to my projected increase for 2024 AARP UHC Part D in MI of 82% you're ahead. As suggested by others I am changing to a cheaper (only slightly) alternative. The increases appear to be across the board.

Part D Premium Increases, Market Disruption Expected in 2024

[GailL1]

Wonder why it is affecting stand-alone plans a LOT more than those within a MAPD?  Do those insurers just manage their MA + PDP benefits better than they do for the stand-alone variety.

[steve960]

Since their birth in 2003, MA plans have evolved into cash cows for insurers, commonly their most profitable product. The MA juggernauts with their unmatched lobbies now cost Uncle Sam more than trad Medicare. Through a combination of aggressive aggregate risk scoring, narrow networks, more prior authorization/first pass denials and lower hospital negotiated rates (helping push some critical access hospitals under), MA’s indeed “better manage their benefits” but not on behalf of their member IMO. As previously suggested, some of the extra cash can be used to “buy down Part D premiums leading to oppositional premium trends in 2024.”

[javmd]

Interesting article from Avalere

[GailL1]

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@javmd wrote:

NONE of this NEW stuff applies to me.  It's still 46% increase that AARP did not fight for me.

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But it is insurance so the benefits apply across the board regardless of whether these new changes actually affect you 

You have the option of changing plans that fits your needs better - including pocketbook and you can do this every year if you want or your needs change.

[javmd]

So today I changed D plans for my wife and myself.  Cost savings for premiums alone will be $1400 next year.  Drug costs have similar savings compared to AARP United. As a physcian, I was able to interpret going through the entire formularies for both AARP United and Siverscript, and there did not appear significant differences in availability for most common prescribed meds for different medical conditions.  Appears United is getting its bucks prior to 2025 cap, and Aetna is going for market share to potentially capture Advantage prospects, as a number of plans did 8 years ago when I first joined AARP plans.  Shame on AARP for continuing to promote United.  Appears to be self-serving rather than serving the best interests of AARP members.  I think this should be an issue for periodic review, rather than blindly continuing a longterm relationship purely for the endorsement revenues.

[CarolynBI]

javmd - Thanks for going through the formularies. I had Silverscript before but had to change as I got financially wiped out with 3 cancers close together and live in hud. Silverscript mostly ignores requests for proof of premium payments in a timely manner. Now that it is being administered by another company they bought or whom bought them - no idea which way it went - that may have changed. I'll have to see. Fighting that once I ended up about 3 or 4 levels and they admitted to me that over half of the people with D never use it. Big money maker that must be for companies. 

[sktn77a]

Don't feel locked into the AARP UHC part D.  Go to the Medicare website and choose the part D provider that is the cheapest for your meds.  AARP/UHCs Part B and D supplements are pretty expensive.  You might be able to justify the Part B supplement being a community rated policy (as opposed to issue age-rated/attained age-rated policies) but I've seen no advantage to this based upon historic annual premium increases.  Their part D policy may be advantageous one year and (as you have found out) really poor in other years.

AARP gets a commission for associating its name with UHC - nothing more, nothing less.

[javmd]

So I've reviewed all the D plans available in my zipcode for NC.  With minimal medications I've never met the deductible.  I priced total premium+drug costs and one well-known plan from a large insurance company has monthly premium 1/12 of AARP-UHC, and the total premium-drug annual cost is 1/6 of AARP-UHC.  Pharmacist said that with capping of premium rules due to go into effect 2025, many plans have a money grab for 2024.  Also of interest, plans have a contracted price in effect prior to the deductible, and pharmacies can give you an even lower "retail" price than the contracted price, so a med cost can actually go UP during the year prior to reaching deductible.  One specialty drug priced separately would be $1000 cheaper than AARP, but throwing in GoodRx for that will save me $1000s during 2024 alone.  It pays to do your homework.

[CarolynBI]

Javmd - also, while not advertised anywhere you can find easily, if you turn proof of payment (eg when you use GoodRx, another coupon or otherwise pay cash for a covered drug not using your D) into your D they are supposed to count it against your deductible. 

Also the formularies can change during our D "year". They are only required to keep them unchanged for one month. I'd suspect they likely will "get" a few people taking expensive meds that way. 

[GailL1]

Wonder if more beneficiaries will pay attention this year (2024 benefit year) than they normally do?

[JohnM222300]

 I was shocked at the increase in cost (CA). My premium was going to TRIPLE and my drug cost was going to DOUBLE and they call that a simple rollover. "If you're happy with your current plan, do nothing and it will roll over." It's downright dishonest, and it feels wrong to me that AARP is putting its name on this. There are other plans out there that cost the same as my current one, and only 1/3 of the cost of AARP. Do your homework and pick a cheaper plan for next year, don't just go with the "rollover"!