Totally OT, but does anybody here has experience with AARP Medicare Supplement.

[Mass]

Probably it would be by your parents. My MIL has been hooked by them (she has had another supplement for years, but she recently took Medicare D with them, and wants to get everything together). However, it is managed by UnitedHealthCare and I have heard mixed things about them and, at 89, she does not need to have problems with her insurance. Does anybody have an experience with their Medicare supplement?

[cadmium]

1. A couple small sample size experiences.

I have several patients at work with various Medicare part D plans. There are small formulary differences but not very much significant in terms of coverage. One of the biggest differences is how likely they are to answer the phone and field requests. At work I have had a couple decent experiences with AARP on that score. Humana is complex and in he end you get down to a screener who is reading of a list of conditions they barely seem to understand. By far my most onerous experences have been with Silverscripts (managed by CVS). They will literally keep you on hold for hours and there is some kind of misunderstanding you have to call them back and may have to start from scratch. I will be callig AARP over a med with my mother this week --not optimistic about the result but will be looking to see how timeconsuming and complex the whole call in process is.
C

[jillan]

2. Yes - my dad had United as a supplement.

And it was a good thing.

They pick up a majority of the costs that medicare doesn't, so his medical bills were practically nothing.


What amazed me when I started having to look after him, was how many doctors do not take medicare! When I would ask why, they would always say the same thing - they didn't want to deal with the red tape, and the slow payment.

Going back to your question, I was really happy my dad had it.

[ladym55]

3. My mom had it

It was fine, and they were easy to work with. She actually had TWO supplemental policies, the AARP she paid for and the one she got as a retired teacher (she was always afraid the retired teacher coverage would be pulled, so she got the AARP). The United Health Care policy was the one she relied on for her actual care. It covered almost everything, so her bills were next to nothing. That was impressive given the extent of her medical problems during the last two years of her life. However, she used her OTHER policy for her medications. It was much better than Medicare Part D.

[sandnsea]

4. My husband sold them

a long time ago. United was always a favorite of people and they seemed satisfied with the coverage and service. You do want to check about pre-existing conditions because that does matter, or at least it used to.