Is AARP United Healthcare Medicare supplimental insurance as bad as the customer reviews say??

[Hassiman]

Hi,
AARP's Medicare Supplemental Medicare Insurance sounds great... but I decided that before I purchase it I should read the reviews.

I was astounded!

Consumer affairs reviews were the worst I have EVER seen for any product or service from any company. People were talking about outright misrepresentation of services, copays, non-existent customer service. Representatives simply hanging up on customers, drug formularies not covering many common medications. Increasing co-pays. A litany of misrepresentation and worse.

Now I understand the Internet. You will always find people more willing to badmouth a product or service than to praise it... but I looked for positive reviews and found none...

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/insurance/aarp_medicare.html

Is it really this bad? If so why does AARP tolerate this if they are, as they claim, an organization that exists to promote the best interests of senior citizens?

Have I simply been looking for reviews of AARP United Healthcare supplemental insurance in the wrong places?

Can anyone here describe their own experience with this insurance? I live in California... but will be moving to Arizona...

If not AARP/UHC insurance, can anyone here recommend a company for Medicare supplemental insurance with which they have had a positive experience?

Thanks

[drawpoker]

Am really loving this AARP new software 

Apparently if you write the official USPS abbreviation for the state of Arizona it becomes   -

** B L E E P **

S T U P I D ,     S T U P I D,     S T U P I D   

[byrondennis]

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@Hassiman wrote:

Thanks.... It is totally confusing which is why I decided posting a question on the AARP forum might get me some clarity. Given your reply how exactly would you define the plans AARP/United Health Care offer:

https://www.aarpmedicaresupplement.com/medicare-insurance/find-a-plan-download.html

It is a supplement by their definition... they say that they allow you to choose your own physician if the accept medicare.  Do I need to subscribe to medicare Part B as well as this medicare supplement? I believe that "Medicare Advantage" plans are far more limiting... and may not be portable should one move to another state.  Is that not correct?

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The plans at the link you provided are private Medigap plans as described by Gail in her response to you in the second comment on this thread.

Medicare Advantage plans are both more limited and less limited. They are mostly HMOs and PPOs so the providers are limited to whomever is in the HMO or PPO. (This has nothing to do with Medicare; that's the way HMOs and PPOs work. Over 100,000,000 people in the U.S. not on Medicare are in HMOs and PPOs.) And you are right they are limited in a way to given counties in the U.S. (but almost every county has some to choose from) just as Medigap plans are limited in a way by state (although some Medigap plans let you take them with you if you legally change your residence). Public Part C Medicare Advantage plans are less limited in that they typically cover more services than and cost less (even though they have co-pays) than the combination of Original Medicare and a Medigap plan and all have an annual out of pocket spend limit (most Medigap plans do not)