Why enroll with UnitedHealth?

[question everything]

Unless the employer signs with them why would anyone, especially on Medicare sign up?

It, and others for profit are traded on the exchange. Their fiduciary duty is to the shareholders, not the subscribers. And they improve the bottom line by cutting costs, meaning benefits.

Someone once posted here that their premiums were zero for which the old saying “you get what you pay for” holds.

Why, then?

[Dennis Donovan]

1. Medicaid in NYS is managed by UHC n/t

[question everything]

13. Perhaps this can be changed. Ask representatives to dig deeper

I think that it was a NY attorney that sued them and won.

[Happy Hoosier]

2. Most people have to take what their employer offers...

My company did UHC for three years. They dropped them when lots of emplyees complained. We are now BC/BS.

[Omnipresent]

3. My employer used to carry Cigna for almost two decades..

Within the last two years it became too expensive. Then, that’s when UHC came into the picture.
I haven’t needed extensive care just yet, but deductibles and copay’s sure did increase.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. You ask like there's a legitimate choice.

[Voltaire2]

5. Your employer may not give you any choice. Also the Medicare Advantage scam is a huge profit center for UHC.

Retirees get deluged with advertising every year targeted at persuading them to enroll in MA plans. UHC is one of the major players in this grift.

[Arazi]

6. On the ACA marketplace they're usually one of the cheapest options

It’s all you can afford.

So you gamble that you’re not going to have any health crisis for the next year.

And it’s all a gamble with insurance companies anyway right? There’s also enough horror stories of denied claims by BCBS, Ambetter etc that choosing the plan you can afford (despite the higher risk of claims denial), seems like a plausible option.

Did I mention it’s all you can afford?

[Coventina]

7. The vast majority of the workforce is forced by their employers.

This is not new.

[Henry203]

8. AARP and UHC

Are together for medicare advantage.

[Ms. Toad]

22. That's not the only AARP plan.

They also offer the cheapest Medigap Plans, with none of the game-playing that comes with MA plans.

[milestogo]

41. That's the plan I have.

I've heard they were cancelling in some areas, but they didn't cancel mine. I've had the plan for 3 years and the coverage has been excellent.

[Freddie]

9. They administer the Medicare supplement and Part D plans offered by AARP

Glad I have them for the supplement and did not choose a Medicare Advantage plan (thru them or anyone). That was strongly advised by my daughter who is an RN Case Manager.

[Mossfern]

24. That's what I have

and have no complaints.

[Lulu KC]

28. I've had that Plan D this year

and it's been fine. Only one prior auth that didn't go through but the doctor had a coupon for me so the med is still relatively cheap. But we don't have any conditions that require ridiculously expensive drugs--YET! Knocking on wood.

[Freddie]

34. Yes I've had no problems with it

We have a number of prescriptions between us but they’re all cheap generics. I use the Optum home delivery and it’s working fine (so far!)

[Lulu KC]

39. Same but--

I finally did the plan comparison for 2025 and Cigna came out cheaper. I expect no service improvement but $ is $.

[sarisataka]

10. "you get what you pay for"

Corollary:

"You buy what you can afford"

[question everything]

17. Yes, you are right. I suppose I take it for granted that here, in the Twin Cities, we have access to

several not for profit providers. Yes, they are MA but have been paying for everything.

[sarisataka]

20. I go through MNSure and have had UHC in the past

didn't have any issues, thankfully, but I am happy to be with BCBS right now.

[MissB]

11. My mom signed up for them

I believe that she was swayed by their in person presentations at some senior community center gathering. About 15 years ago, I started noticing that her mental acuity was declining slightly. Nothing major - things like not being able to calculate percentages all of a sudden. She used to be quite a savvy shopper, able to calculate prices on the fly (obviously using percent off calculations).

She now gets some free stuff each month from UnitedHealth, like a voucher of some sort that she can only use at RiteAid or Walgreens or some such. I'm not surprised that she was easily swayed into picking UnitedHealth as her Medicare Advantage provider. I doubt she was given any information on the downside of picking them (or any other Medicare Advantage plan).

A few years back, she'd fallen in her bathroom and spent the week on the floor before being discovered. ER discovered she had covid and pneumonia. She wasn't exactly oriented to time or place at that point, but mostly she was suddenly in poor physical condition because of that week on the floor. UnitedHealth forced her release from the hospital before she could even really move. It wasn't what I had in mind for that particular day, but I had a few hours notice that I (or someone) had to go pick her up else she'd incur some ridiculous daily rate that UnitedHealth wouldn't cover. My siblings and I all live about 3 hours away. When I picked her up from the hospital, she couldn't even walk a few paces to the car.

[question everything]

16. I am so sorry. This is a horrible story. I hope that there are other plans in the community

[Emile]

12. UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans.

[uponit7771]

23. 🤨🤨🤨 That's crazy, ... just wow. MAGA expects Trump to lower HCI cost too ?! Nope, its going to go higher

[sinkingfeeling]

14. I'm retired and my ex-employer mandated we go to UnitedHealth's Medicare Advantage 2 years ago. They

pay for all retirees' Medicare as substitution for the "health care for life" promise made decades ago. So far, I've had no problems with United/Optum except the charges by their in-network providers are excessive.

[bucolic_frolic]

15. The whole program is a game, do you pay now, pay as you go along, or pay later?

It's a charade. There is no free choice. You lose if your choice doesn't result in something getting covered. The choices you make can be worthless medically or financially to you if you drop dead.

[yorkster]

18. We have regular medicare, a supplemental,

and United Health prescription plan. It was the least expensive. It went up by 10.00 for 2025. ( Our supplemental went up by 50.00.)
If they have a large increase next year, we'll probably shop around.
I hate using UH, but finances dictate. They do consistently push their own Med. Advantage plan which we do not want at all.

[Freddie]

35. Yes our part D went up quite a bit for next year

But I have 4 prescriptions and only paid $146 out of pocket this year. Don’t want any surprises with a different plan.

[yorkster]

38. They like to keep us on tenterhooks...

BTW like your avatar. Get a bit sad thinking about what we're all missing out on without Kamala and Tim, and of course about what lies ahead. Gulp/sigh.

[patricia92243]

19. Humana is ten times worse.

[Ms. Toad]

21. My Medigap provider is UnitedHealth,

As is my spouses and my fathers. It was the cheapest plan, by a significant amount, over my anticipated lifetime.

The issue isn't the company, per se. It is Medicare Advantage. MA is permitted to play games with people lives. United Health simply plays the game better than other companies.

They are not permitted to do that with Medigap plans - they simply pay what Medicare tells them to pay. In our collective experience of 36 years, not a single claim has been denied or delayed. When one provider failed to get pre-approval for one of the very few things Medicare requires pre-approval for, the provider was informed, in no uncertain terms, that it was their mistake and they were not to bill us for it.

[DFW]

25. My employer used them up until 20 or 25 years ago

We ditched them altogether, since they denied everything

[LeftInTX]

26. Employer. It's a Medicare PPO

I thought of Medigap, but what I would pay for my meds with separate part D was crazy. I would also lose any future option to join back with the employers plan.

It's good insurance for us so far. One person, we know had trouble with rehab. The quality often depends on the contract with the company, not necessarily the company. My hubby drove himself to a small hospital after having some chest pains. They performed and failed at a cardiac cath. The next week, we went to a university hospital, and they successfully perform the cardiac cath. We didn't have any denial or anything. Although he stayed in two hospitals for five days.

[Erda]

27. I have UHC Advantage through my employer

I used them for the first time this year for eye surgery.

I have no complaints.

[WarGamer]

29. California uses it for employees and CALPERS invests in it.

Apparently it's popular. I don't know why.

[crimycarny]

30. I bet those who have a choice won't chose UHC now

When my son turned 26 he fell off my insurance so we had to go out and see what options were available on ACA. UHC was only one of the choices, there was also Kaiser, Anthem, Cigna, and one other that I can't remember off the top of my head. UHC tended to be the cheapest but we chose Kaiser. Looking back I'm relieved we did.

Not everyone has a choice, but I'm betting those who do will not choose UHC now that this story has put UHC on the front pages, and not in a good way. I'm wondering (hoping) some companies drop UHC as well. I want those chickens to come home to roost.

[mucifer]

31. There aren't any good plans anywhere anymore.

[crimycarny]

32. Very true

But I guess, for now, there is "less bad"? Which isn't saying much of course.

My husband and I have been looking to leave the US for another country for a couple of years now (for our retirement). One big reason was healthcare, and now I can add Trump being re-elected to the list.

[question everything]

36. I think that Kaiser is good. But operates only in CA,no?

[crimycarny]

40. Expanded to a few more states

Used to be CA only (we're in CA), but the Kaiser website now shows they have doctors/locations in:

Colorado
Georgia
Hawaii
Maryland
Oregon
Washington

[yardwork]

33. Most people are covered by employer plans.

If your employer health coverage is UHC, that's what you get. If you get retiree health coverage and yiur employer's contract is with UHC, that's what you get.

Not that many people face a choice. And, frankly, most of the other private insurance options aren't great either.

[question everything]

37. I am grateful that we have a choice. And perhaps only in the Twin Cities.

Both companies are not for profit and, yes, ours are MA but they have been great. Pay everything. And as long as we stay in the network, like everyone else, no problems.

[mcar]

42. I have UHC for my Medicare supplemental

Tell me what option is better.