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bellyqueen
Contributor ⭐
February 24, 2026

Requesting refund for UHC Plan G/G+ overcharge

  • February 24, 2026
  • 10 replies
  • 2918 views

I enrolled in UHC's Plan G here in North Carolina in January 2021; monthly premiums began at $154. In October 2025 I went to the UHC website and discovered that my Plan G — with monthly premiums now $249 — had morphed into Plan G+ and included wellness perks I'd never use.

Speaking to a UHC agent for another round of medical underwriting, I downgraded my plan from Plan G+ back to Plan G, monthly premiums decreasing by $75. The agent casually mentioned that Plan G+ had been offered for about a year.

I never received any notice from UHC that my Plan G had morphed to G+, never received the option to forego those extra wellness perks, never consented to the higher monthly premiums funding those extra perks.

 

The insurance coverage and benefits for my 2021 Plan G — which later morphed without my knowledge or consent into Plan G+ — are exactly the same as the insurance coverage and benefits for my 2025 Plan G. In 2021, the Plan G wellness perks were called "Wellness Extras" and now in 2026, the Plan G perks are called "Member Discounts." These two sets of perks are exactly the same — "access to an exclusive collection of discounts on hundreds of products and services."

The current Plan G+ perks are called "Wellness Extras" and include gym membership and discounts on vision, hearing, and dental services plus the 24/7 nurse line.

 

On February 18 I spoke with CJ at UnitedHealthcare customer service. I asked why UHC did not notify me that Plan G had morphed to Plan G+ and that a less expensive version of Plan G was available. He said that, because this downgraded version was offered only in a limited number of states, they couldn’t make a global announcement.

Really? As if UnitedHealthcare, one of about 2700 subsidiaries of UnitedHealth Group, the world's seventh largest corporation by revenue, couldn’t afford the software to sort their customers' addresses by state.

Given that my Plan G likely morphed into Plan G+ in the summer (say August) of 2023, and given the difference in monthly premiums between then and late 2025 when I reclaimed Plan G status, UHC overcharged me by more than $1000.

 

When I asked for a refund, CJ said many customers have been asking for the same, but “we don’t do refunds.”

 

Yes, I'd really like a refund. Any tips on how to get one?

10 replies

C
CBtoo
Conversationalist ⭐⭐
March 14, 2026

Likely the only way to get a refund is if someone starts and wins a class action suit (or an individual lawsuit).

 

Originally ALL G plans had the gym, etc. "alleged free extras". Then they introduced the "stripped down version" and changed the name. They did this to compete better with the lower cost plans other companies offered that had no (alleged) "free extras" (which clearly aren't free as the version that doesn't have them is, as you note, significantly cheaper). The two versions of the plans are offered by different subsidiaries so that you are forced to undergo medical underwriting in the states that don't have a birthday rule or equivalent (where you can change plans without doing medical underwriting) to switch.

The other thing they did was switch the discount people get from 10 years to 15 years (all that does is drive the costs for the base rate that they figure the discount from).

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    EileenW680950
    Contributor ⭐
    March 25, 2026

    This happened to my brother with Plan N.  He has been a AARP UHC member since 2019.  He signed up for Plan N in 2019.  There were no options given to him regarding a 'Plan N with Wellness' vs a 'plain' Plan N.  Since 2019, his member ID cards showed Plan N...not Plan N with Wellness.  When his monthly premium grew to $240/mo in 2025, he researched other insurance companies.  To his surprise, he stumbled upon an AARP UHC Plan N for $166/mo !!  After a lengthy phone call with UHC, he was told his existing Plan N was the 'Plan N with Wellness' plan.  He was shocked.  He never heard of this specific plan.  Were there two Plan N options back in 2019 when he first enrolled?  If so, why didn't the UHC representative give him an option for a Plan N with or without Wellness?  Or, did 'Plan N with Wellness' become an official plan after 2019?  If 'Plan N with Wellness' is a newly named plan after 2019, then basically UHC moved existing Plan N members into a new contracted plan without notifying them..the least of which was the name change.  And, the Member ID cards should have identified this specific plan name.  At the very least, the members should have been notified of this action via a letter identifying the new plan name.   This should be considered for a class action suit.  UHC failed to communicate via a letter, via the Member ID card and via other Insurance coverage documents on the actual Plan N that the member is covered under. 

    GailL1
    GailL1
    Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐
    March 25, 2026

    The way I am understanding it is that (1) the Wellness plans were not offered everywhere.  (2)  the plans contract documents should have shown the Wellness benefits if they were included (3) if the Medigap plan had the special dental/vision - it was the Wellness type plan because those benefits are not offered in a regular Medigap plan.

    I believe that is how it worked in 2019 - I do not know if the actual card for the Wellness version showed dental/vision on it. But that would have been a positive indication if it did.

     

    Edited to add:  then and now, there is a disclosure stipulating that the since the Wellness coverage is not actually part of the plan, rather they are, Extra - that these benefits can be terminated at any time.

     

     

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