Which Medicare Advantage Plan will you NOT be choosing for 2025 & Why?

Vanessa2U said:
Humana. Simply because their CenterWell mail order pharmacy doesn't know their right hand from their left.
The agents are very kind and try to be as helpful as they can. The company itself tried to make me pay for something I did not order.
If anyone wants to know the specifics I can send you the documents to read for yourself. Just send me a PM telling me what you wanting.
My doctor ordered me FreeStyle lite diabetes test strips because I had the meter to use with them. Humana didn't want me to have that brand so they denied it. I had to pay for a different test strip meter.
Humana kept sending me denials in emails and also sent me denials in snail mail.
It's been one problem after another.
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Before Devoted came to Alabama, we had Humana for a number of years, and I really liked the Humana Advantage plan that we had. They mailed out all of my heart meds right to my house, contacted my doctor when I needed renewals on my prescriptions, and I didn’t even have any problems with any meds that I was prescribed by my doctors.
They had a program called go365, and we earned points for exercising and walking steps each day, and those could be cashed in for gift cards to various stores and restaurants.
We also got points for any checkups we had, so over the period of the year, we earned a lot of gift cards.

The OTC program from Humana was great, too, and we ordered all of our vitamins, things like bandages, bath mats, and more from that program, and there was a good allowance for the OTC program.
We would not have changed except that Devoted became available last year, and had even better extra benefits.
 

Lawrence00 said:
The sales commissions must be big for so much mail in my mailbox, free meals with seminars etc.

Can someone recommend groups or individuals that will actually give unbiased advice on plan and provider choices?
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An attorney who specializes in social security and medicare laws, rights, and regulations. Legal Aid and Senior Legal Aid could help with free advice.

I got advice from my financial advisor. Agents from firms that assist seniors with investing might have sound advice, too.
 
I will never give up regular Medicare for a disadvantage plan. You should google or look at all the threads here about why MA plans are a bad idea. 60 minutes even did a segment on it because people are dying because of not getting the care they need in a timely manner.
 
Happyflowerlady said:
Before Devoted came to Alabama, we had Humana for a number of years, and I really liked the Humana Advantage plan that we had. They mailed out all of my heart meds right to my house, contacted my doctor when I needed renewals on my prescriptions, and I didn’t even have any problems with any meds that I was prescribed by my doctors.
They had a program called go365, and we earned points for exercising and walking steps each day, and those could be cashed in for gift cards to various stores and restaurants.
We also got points for any checkups we had, so over the period of the year, we earned a lot of gift cards.

The OTC program from Humana was great, too, and we ordered all of our vitamins, things like bandages, bath mats, and more from that program, and there was a good allowance for the OTC program.
We would not have changed except that Devoted became available last year, and had even better extra benefits.
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I looked into "Devoted" but it's not in Kansas yet. Thank you.
 
Aunt Bea said:
Just about all of them. 😉

I’ve had good results with Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield but they have their critics in this area.

Do your homework, read through the annual Medicare manual and the documentation from your Advantage Plan including the plan’s drug formulary.

I’ve found that the plan coverage, approved by Medicare, is pretty standard and that the main difference is the quality of customer service.

Good luck with your new choice!
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I heard Blue Cross is going away...at least in Kansas.
 
Brookswood said:
I will not choose any of them. I like plain vanilla Medicare with a Plan G supplement best. It costs more, but, I will give up something else if necessary to have the flexibility,
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I had to look up what Plan G is...LOL
What is the advantage of Plan G? I know next to little about it.
Do you, for instance, have to pay for doctor visits? Thanks!
 
Nathan said:
I'm staying with Kaiser Senior Advantage Plus, I see little to no benefit in bouncing around between service providers, healthcare or otherwise, if my present provider is offering what I need.
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I searched Kaiser SAP but they aren't in Kansas. Thanks.
 
Happyflowerlady said:
We also have a medicare insurance agent/broker, who can help with any plans from any company. I really recommend finding an agent that you trust and letting them help you find the best plan for your specific needs.
Our agent gets the information in early fall and has time to familiarize himself with the different new plans for the year, so when open enrollment happens, he can talk with his clients and help them find the best plan for their individual needs.

It is not so much that one company is not good, it might be that the worst company plan for me might be the very best one for someone else, and vice versa.
This is where having a broker than can sell any plan is especially helpful. It does not cost anything to have a medicare agent, or any more to have them find the best plan for you, and they have so much more knowledge about all the plans available.
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I'm now thinking you are right! I always did my homework online and stayed away from agents. BUT I ran into a Humana agent, told him how disgusted I was and he said, "I could have helped you."
So he is coming for a visit...😁
 
Trade said:
All of them. They are all private Insurance Company plans that care only about their bottom line. I will never give up my traditoional Medicare.
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Sorry I have to ask lots of questions here....What do you mean by traditional Medicare?
I mean, if I didn't have the advantage plan, I'd be paying out of pocket for most things- doctor visits, lab work, etc.
WHO pays for the doctor visits and lab work? Medicare or my advantage plan.
Sorry folks, but I'm at a loss here for knowledge.
 
Lawrence00 said:
The sales commissions must be big for so much mail in my mailbox, free meals with seminars etc.

Can someone recommend groups or individuals that will actually give unbiased advice on plan and provider choices?
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My understanding was the "brokers, agents, etc." are in this racket to make money so why would hey help me? BUT I'm finding more and more, that just isn't so.
 
Happyflowerlady said:
Here is my specific answer, but it might not mean a thing to your choice of Advantage plans.
I would definitely NOT choose United Health Care for any of its plans. We have had UHC before, and it was fine, but they are now having some kind of an issue that involves our local hospital, all of its facilities, as well as the doctors that are in the Huntsville Hospital System.
By January, none of them will be accepting any person who has UHC insurance.

So, even though this is a company I would not consider, the problem might be specific to this area, and not be something that affects their plans anywhere else.
Or, they might be having this same problem in other areas, I do not know.
In any case, all I can see from this is that telling you which company I would not use, might mean nothing to you , or to anyone else who does not live here where I live.
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The other day, the Humana man told me United Health Care is getting way too big to handle problems correctly.
 
Teacher Terry said:
I will never give up regular Medicare for a disadvantage plan. You should google or look at all the threads here about why MA plans are a bad idea. 60 minutes even did a segment on it because people are dying because of not getting the care they need in a timely manner.
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I just searched it and here's what I found-
"A Medicare Advantage plan limits your choice of providers and requires preauthorizations and specialist referrals for many types of care."
Those things don't bother me so I guess I can stay with a MA plan...
 
Vanessa2U said:
Sorry I have to ask lots of questions here....What do you mean by traditional Medicare?
I mean, if I didn't have the advantage plan, I'd be paying out of pocket for most things- doctor visits, lab work, etc.
WHO pays for the doctor visits and lab work? Medicare or my advantage plan.
Sorry folks, but I'm at a loss here for knowledge.
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After I pay my yearly 240 deductible I don’t pay another cent no matter how much health care I use between regular Medicare and my plan g supplement.
 
Vanessa2U said:
I just searched it and here's what I found-
"A Medicare Advantage plan limits your choice of providers and requires preauthorizations and specialist referrals for many types of care."
Those things don't bother me so I guess I can stay with a MA plan...
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As long as you don’t mind not getting the treatment you need in a timely manner to save your life should you get a rare or serious illness then MA is for you.
 
Every situation is different.

I pay for Medicare Part B of course, I have a $0 MA plan, $0 Part D (prescriptions), and I pay $0.54/month for vision and $4.91/month for dental.
 
Teacher Terry said:
As long as you don’t mind not getting the treatment you need in a timely manner to save your life should you get a rare or serious illness then MA is for you.
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I've never had any problems.

Maybe the overreaction comes from some coverage specific issue? Chiropractor, snake handler, witch doctor? 🤪
 
dilettante said:
I've never had any problems.

Maybe the overreaction comes from some coverage specific issue? Chiropractor, snake handler, witch doctor?
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No it actually comes from reading true stories about people being denied cancer treatment until it was too late for them to benefit. Or being allowed to use step therapy when you need a certain drug to treat your illness. By the time you get to the step you needed to start with it’s too late to work. 60 minutes even did a special on it.
 
Vanessa2U said:
I had to look up what Plan G is...LOL
What is the advantage of Plan G? I know next to little about it.
Do you, for instance, have to pay for doctor visits? Thanks!
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Plan G is the replacement for Plan F. Basically it’s the same thing, except a few hundred dollars of some costs are shifted around a bit. Plan F is no longer available. So far F has covered well over 90% of what Medicare doesn’t pay for my medical care. Plan G has the same coverage. Very nice.
 
Vanessa2U said:
I'm now thinking you are right! I always did my homework online and stayed away from agents. BUT I ran into a Humana agent, told him how disgusted I was and he said, "I could have helped you."
So he is coming for a visit...😁
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If he is a Humana agent, all he is going to tell you about is HUmana plans, because that is all he can provide people with. We have a licensed broker, who has information about every insurance company operating in this part of Alabama, so he can compare each company’s plans.
This is why we changed from Humana (which we were very happy with) to Devoted, because Jassen explained the benefits that Devoted had, and we liked that even better than our Humana plan.

That being said, @Vanessa2U , it is my opinion that Humana is the best company besides Devoted, so if you are going to talk with the Humana rep, you should be able to get a good plan, and he can help you avoid the problems you had last time.
 
Starting Medicare January 1st. It is wrong that they make this so difficult. We paid into this fund our whole life!

Leaning towards plan G and keeping things simple.
 
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