Medicare

[Winter2024]

Links for Social Security and Medicare are provided by @cat0w 👍

See SOLUTION.

[Winter2024]

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[GailL1]

@Winter2024 

It appears that people are posting their journey (and problems) to this board by their own post headings.

Just a suggestion, but If you want to know more about what people think of AETNA or SilverScripts in their Medicare plan choices, why not make a heading for that and hopefully some folks might have something to add to that specific query.

[Winter2024]

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[BarbaraJ821457]

Why are you interested enough to post often, that you want to know what people are experiencing with Medicare?

Before my mom passed, I was managing her Medicare claims. It was hard to believe she didn't receive responses to claims for 6 months. By that time, it was hard to remember what the claim was for. The system is incredibly frustrating and difficult for a clear minded person to make sense of. It almost seems cruel that it is so difficult for older people to navigate the paperwork for Medicare. 

[GailL1]

@BarbaraJ821457 You can register for a Medicare account and it ALL shows up online on your account - you can see your plan choices, the insurer, sometimes premiums if you pick that route.  You can see your Part B premiums and how they are paid.  You can see the claims that have been paid.  You can see your Medigap plan and the claims that have been forwarded onto them after Medicare has finished with their part of the processing.  You can even assign a person other than yourself to discuss your Medicare benefit with them.  (Otherwise, direct authority has to be given by the beneficiary per any event).

Medicare.gov - CREATE AN ACCOUNT

This info is available to you pretty much real time, as compared to getting info via snail mail (USPS) which Medicare only sends out in hard format every three months.   

[Winter2024]

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[GailL1]

@Winter2024 wrote:

. . . . It is sad this site SIGNS us up when we comment on any topic on the site. It should be OUR choice.

=================================

A person can opt-out of everything - by going to “SETTINGS >SUBSCRIPTIONS & NOTIFICATIONS and removing themselves from everything.

[Winter2024]

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[BarbaraJ821457]

Nicole, Just curious are you an AARP or UHC employee? Do you know who at AARP is in charge of the UHC alliance? I'd like to contact that person.

Thanks

[BarbaraJ821457]

I am so very disappointed in AARP/ UnitedHealth Care supplemental insurance. I applied on 12/30/22. I received an email confirmation letter of my application for the supplemental insurance. Relieved that I had made the decision after several days of research, I went on with my life, not giving the insurance a second thought until my Dr sent me a notice, I was due for some routine exams.

At that point I realized I didn't recall receiving any ID cards from UHC. I went back through my 76,000+ saved emails and was only able to find confirmation of my application for the supplemental insurance with UnitedHealth Care.

I started making phone calls... You know how that goes. First call to UnitedHealthcare number on the confirmation of my application. The man was very difficult to understand because of his strong accent. Ultimately, he told me my application was "pushed". I have no idea what that means so I asked him. He was never able to tell me what that meant. I asked him why I had never received any emails or USPS mail response for my application. He asked if I "ever" received any email from UHC since my application. I said yes, I had; more invitations to join UHC, the generic mail that gets sent out to everyone once they reach 65 yrs old. He couldn't seem to understand that the only mail I had received was the constant junk mail the UHC sends everyone at the bulk rate postage. He said well then, you have received mail from us. UGH!

Our conversation got pretty heated. I asked to speak to his supervisor, he told me they will tell me the same thing. I said, "OK. I still want to speak to the supervisor". He REFUSED to let me speak to anyone else. I literally asked him 5 times and in fact since automated announcement when you dial in for help says the phone call will be recorded, I said, "this is the 5th time I am asking you to connect me with your supervisor on this call, please connect me with your supervisor. I am having trouble understanding you and you are not understanding what I'm telling you." He still refused to let me speak to anyone else!

So, what options did I have but to hang up and call again. Which I did. I reached another male in the customer service center in the Philippines, I am honestly not sure if it was the same man who just told me his name was different or not. This person also verified they received my application for the supplemental insurance through the AARP / UnitedHealth Care portal. He could not explain why I had never received any further communication regarding my application.

He told me I could try to apply again. I asked why would I apply again when UHC never responded to my first application? I knew at this point, if I reapplied, I was no longer withing the time frame of the 3 months after you turn 65 so they could, 1. charge me higher rates and 2. not cover any pre-existing health conditions. This option was not acceptable to me. I had met the proper timeline and I refuse to be bullied into paying higher rates and potentially not having exclusions to my coverage. 

Next, I decided to call AARP to ask for advice. I was given a different number to call UHC, stating I should have better luck finding out what the issue is by calling that number.

Calling the alternative phone number, I was told my coverage was denied, however my file was blank, which she said was odd. I asked if there was any notation that a notification of denial was sent to me in any format. She said no, that is odd too. Once again, I was told I could submit another application. And I explained the reasons why I felt they are using the system against me- to charge more and limit coverage.

I spent over 4 hours on the phone with 5 different people. Bottom line, one person I spoke to said they received my application on 12/23/22 and it was denied on 01/03/23. 

I have subsequently never received any notification in any form that explains what happened to my application, why it was denied, why they think it would be approved if I applied again.

I'll skip over the additional details of this most frustrating experience. I expected much better service because of AARP endorsing UHC's medical insurance. Neither business has been able to send me any documents stating why I was denied coverage, despite I applied 9 months ago!  4 of the 5 people I spoke during my 4 hours on the phone, said they would send me an email or regular mail response to my application. I have received nothing from either company.

***QUESTION: Have you also received difficulty trying to sign up for AARP's/ UnitedHealthcare supplemental Medicare insurance? I want to know if this is a major scam where UHC delays responding to applications so they can pick and choose which people they want to insure.

#AARP #UHC #Unitedhealthcare #medicarescam 

[GailL1]

@BarbaraJ821457 

Your real concern should be why your application wasn’t accepted or received because if you are your IEP (Initial Enrollment Period) or anytime where you have specific guaranteed issue rights , there really isn’t any qualification for acceptance if you meet the general overall requirements - 

• You have Medicare Parts A & B; Part B charges a monthly premium so that has to be paid too for Part B to continue in force.
• In most cases, you are 65 years old
• You have your Medicare number indicating Part A & Part B start date
• You are a member of AARP (you have to be a member to get a AARP/UHC Medigap policy)
• You pay the monthly premium for the Medigap plan that you choose.

Sign up for a Medicare.gov account of your very own and once you do this it is all shown online the Parts of Medicare that you have and the Medigap insurer and Plan choice.

Yes, you should also receive the Medigap policy from the insurer for the type plan that you picked and are paying for - 

[BarbaraJ821457]

Gail, I did meet the requirements you mentioned.

My mistake was I failed to follow up after I applied for the AARP/UnitedHealth Care supplemental insurance. Once I received the email that they had received my application, I was so relieved to have finished my research and submitting my application, I never thought about the insurance again until I was sent a reminder note from my Dr it was time for a mammogram. 

I should have realized something was wrong because I never received a bill from UHC. But honestly, I didn't even think about it again until I received the note from my Dr.

Had I received any notice from UHC - email or letter, I could have looked into the issue at that time. So far, I have talked to 6 different people at HUC and AARP, spent 5 hours on the phone and none of them can explain why I never received any notices regarding my application from 9 months ago. Four of the people stated they would send me a written update on the status of my application but none have.

My purpose in writing a post about my experience on here is twofold.

I want to know if others who have applied for AARP/UHC supplemental, had their applications ignored as mine was and if this is UHC's way of screening who they choose to insure. 

No one I have spoken to yet offered any sort of apology for them never informing me or responding to my application.

All have told me I can reapply now.  As you and I both know, since the original open enrollment time has past since I turned 65,  they are not required to accept my application. They can choose to charge me a higher rate and refuse to cover any pre existing conditions. Had they ever sent me a response to my application, I might have been able to avoid being in this situation.

I find it hard to believe I would be the only applicant that this has happened to.

Thanks for responding.

[GailL1]

BTW, a preventive care mammogram is covered at 100% by Medicare (Part B) - so with that particular care, you don’t need a MediGAP plan to cover any out of pocket cost - just make sure your provider accepts Medicare assignment.

[GailL1]

Take your problem to a local agent - in the case of AARP-UHC, they are captive agents.  They should be able to get the info from what you have available.   Like the email that validated receipt of your application.  Other Medicare Insurance Brokers might not be captive and can write for many different companies - those that service your area with MediGAP plans.  

Most people send their 1st premium with their application - or make arrangements to have it deducted from their bank account- sounds like that is not your case.

AARP is not going to be able to help you here - they really only just get royalties from UHC for the use of their name.

https://www.aarp.org/membership/benefits/insurance/uhc-medicare-supplement/ 

Perhaps just set up an appointment with a UHC Medigap agent - per the website:

https://www.aarpmedicaresupplement.com/?WT.mc_id=VS2 

If you have questions about the different plan options, are curious about plan benefits or just don’t know where to start, that’s OK. UnitedHealthcare is here and ready to help.

Call UnitedHealthcare today.
1-888-344-2340 (TTY 711)

Our licensed insurance agents/producers are standing by to answer your questions or to help you set up an in-person appointment.

BTW - what state are you in because some of the rules for Medigap coverage is state specific.

[BarbaraJ821457]

Thanks Gail, that is a good information and a good idea. I'll have to see if I can get in front of an actual person, rather than continue to try and resolve this by phone. I do have the email that verified receipt of my application and a confirmation number. I'm in WA

Thanks for the info!

[GailL1]

@BarbaraJ821457 

Here is some current info from Washington state Dept of Ins. on Medigap plans - state specific and with some other helpful phone numbers and contacts 

Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner • Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors...
July – September 2023 Approved Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plans

Good Luck

[cat0w · Accepted solution]

Here are links for Social Security and Medicare.

The United States Social Security Administration | SSA

Welcome to Medicare | Medicare

I didn't have any problems getting my Medicare. Since I was already drawing Social Security, I was sent my Medicare cards and information when I reached the age to use it. For additional insurance I signed up for a Senior Care advantage plan.

[Winter2024]

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[AlexS795094]

pain in the butt to go thru the ss portal. i have been locked out for years because the computer generated psw ALWAYS had upper and lower case that i and several friends could not get thru. was two weeks out from the end of the window. got a psw that made sense and went right thru. signed up for med a/b got a reciept needed letter. ended up driving 20 miles to a town that was not mine to sign for it. then the actual card came as regular mail. then had to repeat the process 3 weeks later for a letter to tell me me i was eligible for reduced medicare prices based on my income. asked the woman the cost of the certified letters.''about 7 dollars each...' this is why we can't have nice things.

[Winter2024]

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[GailL1]

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@Winter2024 wrote:

(9/2/23) Lol Alex @AlexS795094 , you are CORRECT!!!

I asked IF my stuff could be ONLINE as I am so tired of ALL the pieces of mail from Social Security and Medicare.

Also VERY CONCERNED about "dishonest" postal workers or my mail lost, stolen or delivered to someone else.

Was told NO.

In fact today I finally organized all mail by date as yes, WRONG data - then correction SEVERAL TIMES. 🙄

Nicole 🙃

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You do have your Social Security and Medicare accounts set up - right?  Via your account under each of these, you have access to everything going on with these benefits.  You can retrieve important info and actually stop most pieces of info from being mailed -  

[Winter2024]

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[GailL1]

@Winter2024 wrote

“No-one told me my Retirement Social Security bank deposit would change*** 😱

So I get this "notification" via mail from them telling me that my OLD 3rd WEDNESDAY of each month date would NOW be "around" the 3rd of each month.

That my NEXT deposit which was THIS month, would be the 1st (yesterday). Got it! 💃

***Now to see when OCTOBER deposit hits my bank as the word AROUND THE 3RD OF EACH MONTH can mean BEFORE OR AFTER THE 3RD***

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Here is the 2023 Social Security Calendar of Benefits -  

Social Security Calendar - Schedule of Social Security Benefit Payments 2023

Now there is some leeway for the banks to directed deposit it to your account - due to their work schedule, it could be a little earlier.

These dates are important because it also tells you what type of SS benefit you are getting or that has been coded in the system. It can also tell you that some other benefits maybe offered to you depending upon your age, your total income and your assets.

You filed for your SS benefits early (62) and that benefit came to you on the 3rd Wednesday of the month - that’s a regular SS retirement benefit and in your case reduced because of your early filing for the benefit (62).

Now at 65 your benefit has been somewhat redone because of Medicare eligibility and the date of the 3rd of each month for deposit signals that you are getting a blending of Social Security Retirement benefits AND Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. (See the note at the bottom of the calendar).  You are getting the SSI based on age (65 or older), income and assets.

If this is correct, the SSI benefit may open up some Medicare Help for you in the form of 

1.  A Medicare Savings Program which can pay your Part B (and sometimes Part A) Medicare premiums / deductibles and copays 

2.  You could be a candidate for Medicare / Medicaid 

3.  You could get Extra Help paying for your RX by getting a Low Income Subsidy (LIS) (application)

I hope whomever helped you with all of this at the SS office got you squared away properly and that you have been signed up for all the help that is available - state and Federal level.  

Might be worth reviewing for completeness if you already know how your Medicare premiums and cost are gonna be covered cause if you don’t have these or at least some of them, you will have out of pocket cost for your medical and RX cost.