peppermintpatty
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1345
Posts: 3,990 
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Post by peppermintpatty on Oct 29, 2024 17:26:49 GMT
My only advice is to try to get a PPO rather than a HMO, if possible. Over here, many big medical groups are not taking Medicare Advantage HMO plans anymore. Lot of people were/are scrambling to find new health providers. I am not under Medicare, but earlier this year I had to almost look for a new doctor when my insurance company and the medical group could not reach an agreement. There was already a set date for when my insurance would no longer be accepted, which was 2 weeks before my appointment! I seriously debated keeping the appointment and paying out of pocket. Luckily, an agreement was finally reached. This made me decide that at the next open enrollment, I am picking a PPO. It may be more expensive, but it gives me more options. My mom has United Healthcare PPO as her supplemental insurance. She has had no issues with it, and she can see a lot of doctors with no referral. Sorry for the long post! Good luck! I understand this is a complex decision to make. This doesn't just happen with HMO's. Every single year I have at least one doctor who claims they can't come to an agreement with this ins. co or that ins. co. I honestly ignore them because they always come to an agreement. I have always had PPO's. |
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Post by katlady on Oct 29, 2024 17:36:42 GMT
My only advice is to try to get a PPO rather than a HMO, if possible. Over here, many big medical groups are not taking Medicare Advantage HMO plans anymore. Lot of people were/are scrambling to find new health providers. I am not under Medicare, but earlier this year I had to almost look for a new doctor when my insurance company and the medical group could not reach an agreement. There was already a set date for when my insurance would no longer be accepted, which was 2 weeks before my appointment! I seriously debated keeping the appointment and paying out of pocket. Luckily, an agreement was finally reached. This made me decide that at the next open enrollment, I am picking a PPO. It may be more expensive, but it gives me more options. My mom has United Healthcare PPO as her supplemental insurance. She has had no issues with it, and she can see a lot of doctors with no referral. Sorry for the long post! Good luck! I understand this is a complex decision to make. This doesn't just happen with HMO's. Every single year I have at least one doctor who claims they can't come to an agreement with this ins. co or that ins. co. I honestly ignore them because they always come to an agreement. I have always had PPO's. In this case, it was Anthem Blue Cross vs. UCSD Health. I hear that Anthem is in another negotiation fight this year with Scripps Medical Group, another large provided in the San Diego area. I picked an HMO plan because I don't have a lot of medical issues, but if Anthem is going to do this every couple of years, I rather have a PPO now to avoid being kicked out from the top rated medical group in the area. |
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Post by judyc on Nov 4, 2024 16:43:52 GMT
Since plan options vary from state to state, I suggest asking your friends and family members that are Medicare eligible what plan they are on and how they like it. You can also ask your existing providers, including dentists and vision providers, which Medicare Advantage plans they find easy to deal with. I did both of those things and so far the only issue I've had is with doctors offices charging for things that insurance doesn't cover, for example, I went to a doctor I hadn't been to in a couple of years and they charged me a new patient setup charge, which they referred to as a co-pay, but technically it isn't.
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