AARP/UHC Renew Active change for 2025

[js22]

I was told by The Exercise Coach this morning that AARP/UHC has removed them as a gym for Renew Active for 2025.

I have looked online at Medicare.gov  as well as the AARP/UHC Plan G for 2025 but not seeing anything that specifies that there will be changes for 2025, other than premium.

I called AARP/UHC customer service and was assured that The Exercise Coach  was still an available gym for me for 2025.

I found a YouTube video that talks about 2025 changes to renew active. He read a letter that UHC sent to a renew active member over 2 weeks ago. What it stated was that gyms listed as premium locations will no longer be part of Renew Active. The YouTube video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gEIIHEES70 about the 3:39 time mark. He did do a follow up video that indicated that removal of premium gyms was location based.

I have not received any communication from AARP/UHC about this. I emailed them to ask if it is true that premium gyms are being dropped and how do we know what locations are keeping premium gyms for Renew Active.

[GailL1]

@js22 If it is like other gym connected exercise programs built in as an extra benefit to an Insurance plans - you have to look at the programs (gym) sponsors website and then find the respective program name and which gym location has the program and then which location. 

It seems more like that the gym location would be dropping the insurer since itis the insurer that says what they will pay them and then the gym would say yea or nay via a contract agreement.  

[js6246]

It is the insurer that made that decision. The owner of our Exercise Coach was informed by Optum that there would be no reimbursements from UHC for Renew Active as of January 1,2025

[js6246]

No. It is the greedy insurance company. The franchise owners will be hurt by this - as Club Pilates & Exercise Coach are small facilities and have small classes. There are never more than 2 people in EC with 1:1 ratio coach/client. Our club has 25 people using EC. This will hurt that business. The ratio for Club Pilates is 1:12. Many seniors will not be able to afford to continue.

[jk7140]

Would it do any good for all of us to campaign to UHC to continue with these memberships?  Basically, I think they'd rather we spend our money on medications (Which have increased in price) than help us stay healthy by using these facilities.

[KarenG670834]

 I'm not holding my breath. But, also, I couldn't let this go without letting them know how misguided the decision is. And I'm appalled that AARP isn't pushing back on this policy which uses their name/marketing.

My Pilates reformer and barre classes, each 4x/month, in addition to a lot of other in-person exercise classes have improved my health tremendously, so no medication or P/T is needed. Or doctor's visits.

[JillR908616]

 I put in a grievance to both UHC and Calpers ( which is where I get my medical care from.) I just received a call about an hour ago, responding to my Calpers grievance. She asked for the details and was sympathetic but didn’t know anything. I asked her to look into why the clubs were cancelled and she said she would and get back to me. She understood that many people wanted them reinstated and said sometimes

contracts do get renegotiated. We shall see. I told her about this blog and suggested they look at it to see how unhappy people are about this decision. Again, call , write submit a grievance. I really don’t want to lose this amazing benefit. 

[js22]

wow, that would be great if UHC would renegotiate with the gyms not in renew active for 2025. 

[js22]

i went to the Exercise Coach today and once again we talked about UHC Renew Active dropping the Exercise Coach. I told her that people  are thinking it was actually The Exercise Coach that dropped UHC Renew Active, but that is not true. UHC contacted the Exercise Coach corporate to tell them they were being dropped.

[js22]

Hard to know. Having insurance pay less for their people to visit a gym helps up the gym’s membership & gives them some additional money.

[LisaT742060]

My exercise coach said they heard a rumor corporate was looking at Blue Cross Blue Shield program. Have you heard that?  Maybe they will be joining Silver sneakers instead

[js22]

I haven’t heard that. But I went thru underwriting once and my monthly premium is higher due to that; I wouldn’t think of trying to switch again just to have the Exercise Coach paid for.  Who knows if I could make it thru underwriting again.

[sg65301371]

Most states have a window of time you can switch from one supplement plan to another one with no underwriting.  In Oregon it is your birthday month.

[CBtoo]

Actually only about 10ish states allow you to switch your supplement (with advantage plans there is no medical underwriting requirement so this reply is addressing supplements) outside of your guaranteed underwriting period. For the rest of them to switch, or at least switch at an affordable price requires passing medical underwriting. 

[sg65301371]

I did not know that    I thought that was pretty wide spread.  Glad I live in one of those 12 frankly

There are 12 states that provide guaranteed issue protections at least once per year to switch to Medigap or change Medigap plans: California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington.

[TRL1111]

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@sg65301371 wrote:

There are 12 states that provide guaranteed issue protections at least once per year to switch to Medigap or change Medigap plans: California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington.

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Nine of these are "birthday rule" states, and in a majority of those (including your state of Oregon), a person can switch only to a Medigap plan with equal or lesser benefits than the current plan.  You can't, for example, start out with a high-deductible Plan G or a Plan N and switch to a regular Plan G when you start racking up medical bills because Plan G has more coverage than Plan N or high-deductible Plan G.

In only one state with a birthday rule can you change to any other Medigap plan you want (Idaho); all the other birthday rule states have some sort of limitation on what the new plan can be.  

[LisaT742060]

I get it, this is my first time going on Medicare