Granny's gone and done it again

[microchick]

They should have informed you. We have a really good insurance gal who goes over all our options at the beginning of the time you can change.

Yeah that is only thing that keeps me on the plan I am on. I don’t want to have to train another Dr. so far they have always given me referrals for everything I ask for. Even my PT. I DID HAVE TO PAY 150 a day for the hospital but really I am sure that was just a drop in the bucket for what the charged for my operation.

I think we've paid under 5,000 out of pocket for my shoulder surgery. I know the grand total before insurance was jaw dropping so I was pleased with it. That is what has kept me away from advantage plans. A few years ago I think I talked to somebody at Humana about one and none of the doctors in the family practice I use were in their listings. I told them thank you but no thank you. My doctor was well trained by me and keeping me out of a wheel chair so I wasn't going to change for an advantage plan.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

That's what you get for falling asleep at the wheel.

I don't think you can blame yourself if they raise their rates without warning. Medicare is a mess, every year I suffer terrible anxiety wondering if I have to keep or change my insurance carrier. Fortunately I trust my "guy" but it's still stressful for someone who viscerally hates change or even the threat of it. Makes me sick.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

I think we've paid under 5,000 out of pocket for my shoulder surgery. I know the grand total before insurance was jaw dropping so I was pleased with it. That is what has kept me away from advantage plans. A few years ago I think I talked to somebody at Humana about one and none of the doctors in the family practice I use were in their listings. I told them thank you but no thank you. My doctor was well trained by me and keeping me out of a wheel chair so I wasn't going to change for an advantage plan.

You know, them Not telling you about the increase might be reason enough to allow you to change plans mid year.

 

[microchick]

I don't think you can blame yourself if they raise their rates without warning. Medicare is a mess, every year I suffer terrible anxiety wondering if I have to keep or change my insurance carrier. Fortunately I trust my "guy" but it's still stressful for someone who viscerally hates change or even the threat of it. Makes me sick.

Ditto. Plus I have to admit that I got spoiled by the local pharmacy we were using. Every November the pharmacist would call me and tell me that he was reviewing my plan and thinking that I needed to stay put where I was....such is small town pharmacies but he closed all but one of his businesses and ours was one of them. So I've just been coasting along in blissville till reality rose up and hit me between the eyes with a 2X4.

DH gets all his drugs from the VA. Easy Peasy, we just fill out an income and expense statement every year and they calculate how much he pays per RX. But even those have gone up in recent years in spite of our expenses and income staying the same.

Great world we live in, isn't it?

 

[microchick]

You know, them Not telling you about the increase might be reason enough to allow you to change plans mid year.

I don't think they will let me change till next November.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You know, them Not telling you about the increase might be reason enough to allow you to change plans mid year.

This irks me. I feel like, you sign up with them during that Open Enrollment window, October to December, that's a commitment on your part. In my eyes, that's like a contract. It IS a contract! They shouldn't be able to change the terms of the contract, willy-nilly, with no notice, arbitrarily like that! In fact that sounds like breach of contract to me! Sue the biscuits! Call the authorities! Shake your fist and go down fighting!

Oh dear. I'm being a rebel-rouser. Gasp, I can't breathe, lol! But it does make me mad.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Learn about changing plans with a Special Enrollment Period.

 

[lovesfarms]

Learn about changing plans with a Special Enrollment Period.

I sure wish Medicare would stop calling me to change my plan. Maybe I should give them your#?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

How you doing today, Granny?

 

[microchick]

This irks me. I feel like, you sign up with them during that Open Enrollment window, October to December, that's a commitment on your part. In my eyes, that's like a contract. It IS a contract! They shouldn't be able to change the terms of the contract, willy-nilly, with no notice, arbitrarily like that! In fact that sounds like breach of contract to me! Sue the biscuits! Call the authorities! Shake your fist and go down fighting!

Oh dear. I'm being a rebel-rouser. Gasp, I can't breathe, lol! But it does make me mad.

Oh, I did that wit BCBS of Missouri back in the ObamaCare era. I can't remember all the details any more but basically they lied about the copay on the plan I had. It said a total copay out of pocket of X amount. I reached that amount and noticed I wasn't paying any less for my prescription services. Then I learned that the out of pocket copay was separate for medical and prescription. I got on the phone with them and asked them what was going on. Their policy description said I wouldn't pay more than X amount out of pocket. It said nothing about having an out of pocket copay on the prescription part of the policy. The woman actually laughed and told me I was right. The description on the site was wrong, our bad.....man talk about fuming.

It wasn't long after that I was at work and needed to call BCBS about a patient's policy. I must have spent an hour or more on hold as a provider. Hung up, got my own membership card and called customer care. When I immediately got a human voice I told them that if they treated their members the way they treat their providers I was going to be reconsidering my own membership. Got a lot of apologies and immediate help.

People wonder why I say I hate insurance companies, round them all up and run em off a cliff.