Does your health insurance company want to make house calls?

Butterfly said:
I just find it insulting when people, including health care providers, assume I'm incapable of managing my own life just because I am older, and that's what this home health car nurse thing feels like to me. If and when I need help, I will ask for it.
Click to expand...

So do I especially after I've told them I have my own doctor and I'm not interested in theirs. It makes me feel like they think I'm senile and don't know how to care for myself.
 

Humana offers it but I told them I have a pcp who I see when I need to. My daughter is a pharmacist so she monitors my meds. No more calls from them about it. I can see where it would be helpful in certain cases.
 

Typically, they only send Practitioner's to people's homes who have more underlying health conditions. They usually work for your insurance company. It is not a scam, but an attempt to help you better manage chronic health conditions which if might lead to spiraling cost if not closely managed. It is an attempt to help you reduce your cost at the same time reducing the Insurance companies cost. Unfortunately, with so many people having so many Doctors, often the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. By having a central knowledge base practitioner, they can confer with you and your many physicians to make sure there is not an overlap in care or something falling through the cracks. Hope this helps.
 
yes i have had calls where they wanted to come to my house- i told them no i dont let strangers come to my house-- they said i could meet you somewhere--i said no way
 
mrmarkg said:
Typically, they only send Practitioner's to people's homes who have more underlying health conditions. They usually work for your insurance company. It is not a scam, but an attempt to help you better manage chronic health conditions which if might lead to spiraling cost if not closely managed. It is an attempt to help you reduce your cost at the same time reducing the Insurance companies cost. Unfortunately, with so many people having so many Doctors, often the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. By having a central knowledge base practitioner, they can confer with you and your many physicians to make sure there is not an overlap in care or something falling through the cracks. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

I consider my PCP to be the "central knowledge base practitioner." I resent the insurance company's implication that I am unable to manage my own life and thus need some person who doesn't even know me and is not a physician to come to my house and make judgments about how I am doing. My insurance company was quite pushy about the whole thing and talked to me as though I were an incompetent silly old woman. I am not, and I will not allow third parties into my home to make judgments about my medical care or state of being. I consider that to be a violation of my privacy.
 
The insurance company I am talking about got quite a vocal public backlash about their bright idea to send these people into all their senior insured's homes, and I understand they have stopped it except upon a doctor's recommendation, which is as it should be.
 
If you really want to see what motivates these "home visits" read the Center for Public Integrity.....it is a HUGE money maker for the Med. Adv. companies. If ,after an hour it is decided your "risk" is higher than what they have in your records.......Eureka.....they have just scored more money for the insurer. Is this insane?
That is the truth, NOT that it is a preventative service.

I have no chronic conditions and am in very good health. Why MY algorithm directed them to come to my house, I do not know. It was kind of humiliating...especially one of the Neuro exercises.....drawing hands on a clock for a specified time. Lord. I have no dementia.

Why I agreed to this visit? I am not sure....but it will never happen again.
 
They are still trying to reach me. Just this week I noticed a number was blocked from my insurance company's nurse. Each week another number is blocked from my insurance company. They should give up because I see my doctor regularly and I don't want some stranger in my house especially from an insurance company.
 
i always turn them down --i told them i dont want any strangers in my house--they said we could meet somewhere else(right) where every one finds out your business(no thanks)
 
Rick and I got those calls when he was still working, and we were covered by MVP. He wanted to consider it, but I was not comfortable. I figured, neither of us was permanently housebound. We could both get out to go to appointments. I saw no reason to get it.
On the other hand, I have no issues with Home Health aides, Or home care people, which I feel is a different thing altogether. I had a disabled friend who had daily home care aides. A nurse would come quarterly, to check on her and to do a supervisory visit. That is different.
 
Seemed I started getting this a few years ago when I hit 50. I've had multiple autoimmune issues for years, but never was bother by the home visit solicitations until the magic age. Even after telling them I have a MS in nutrition/dietetics, my sister is a gerontological NP, and I have a great internist who captains my ship of specialists, they still pester me.
 
Update...a few months ago, I finally accepted the offer to let a nurse come by and we basically just talked about my conditions and medications. She did take my blood pressure though. I'm up on all my meds, how to take them and I see my doctor (PCP) about 3 times a year, plus visit specialists when necessary. When I got the assessment I was a little annoyed at first. It said I'm due for a colonoscopy and I'm not. A couple of other things were a bit off. The nurse was very nice but I decided that I will not accept to do another one.
 
The House Call Program is a voluntary program that we offer at no out-of-pocket cost to our Medicare Advantage members. It gives our members the opportunity to receive non-invasive health services and a health evaluation in the comfort of their own home from a licensed and credentialed clinician.

I have BC BS Medicare Advantage and have used this program twice. It was OK but did not learn anything that I did not already know because I have a annual physical.

FWIW...I also got $50 in gift certificate from BC BS at a store of my choice.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I agree with Gemma, I'd just call them and make sure they remove your name from their call list so you're not harassed with a service you have no interest in. I have Kaiser insurance, and I've never heard of them doing anything like that. Unless I was an invalid and couldn't get out on my own or via other means, I wouldn't want anyone coming into my house either. I don't trust anyone these days.
Click to expand...
This just happened to me and the representative told me I had to let someone come to my home and I told her she was out of line, I jusr got a letter today that said they heard I had declined the home visit and wanted to know why, I just cant believe this
 
Ashaki said:
This just happened to me and the representative told me I had to let someone come to my home and I told her she was out of line, I jusr got a letter today that said they heard I had declined the home visit and wanted to know why, I just cant believe this
Click to expand...
I would just tell them you choose not to. You shouldn't need to give any reasons or excuses, IMO.
 
We've had Anthem (BC/BS) insurance call us every day for weeks!! I finally answered it and told them that NO I do NOT want anyone coming to my house and they should remove my name from their list - click!

A couple of years ago I had a similar call, saying they were from Maine Health - in Home service and wanted to come check on us and see if we were okay. I said we were fine, did not want any help and hung up - THEN, I called Maine Health - In Home Service and the woman there said is WAS NOT THEM! They will only come if I request it. It was a scam call!

I do not want a stranger in my home, casing the joint! Too good an opportunity for theft. Yes, I am that suspicious.
 
WE have a volunteer group of neighbors that check on all of us 2 times a day if you don't answer you get a visit it works great for us many have even given the leader a key to their house, it saved one that had fell 2-3 years back, I have a very caring bunch of neighbors that look out for each other this was all agreed on at a group meeting, want out just say so your history, even small tasks of changing a light bulb are done. During the bad Covid times we even did grocery shopping for some. This works very well for most all of us.
 
Aetna contracts home wellness visits ( once a year). It is called Matrix. We do not participate, but I am sure there are many people who benefit from this service. We shouldn't take it personally.
 


Back
Top