Enough with the Gifts and Shiny Objects — Lower My Medicare Premiums!
I have feedback for my Medicare Advantage insurer.
I have concerns and complaints. I have questions to pose which, hopefully, they will satisfactorily answer. However, at the moment, I have lost my composure over how they are spending my premium money.
But, maybe I’m an outlier. Maybe I am such a unique old coot (is coot multi-gender now?) that my objections are not shared by the majority of the subscribers.
So, my first goal is to express my thoughts. My second goal is to see if a significant number of other subscribers are similarly irked.
And let’s add that I’d like to possibly give voice to a possible shared dissatisfaction that my Medicare compatriots hold.
We’re up to three goals:
(1) Express my disapproval for certain aspects of my Medicare plan,
(2) Survey my fellow constituents for their agreement or disagreement, and
(3) Articulate the thoughts for any fellow insureds who are thinking, “Dang right! That’s been bugging me, too.”
Enjoying Joining the Medicare Ranks
I confess I looked forward to becoming eligible for Medicare. I viewed Medicare as providing benefits and health perks at a good cost. I still feel this way, but . . .
I joined in the spring of the year of COVID19. My highly competent insurance consultant guided me in choosing an “Advantage” plan. Although the monthly Medicare premium is about the same as what I was paying for private individual health insurance, the benefits are bigger and better.
Plus, the customer service representatives are so pleasant and patient. When I call, I can almost picture the representative leaning back in their chair to thoughtfully explain everything I want to know plus throw in extra information. It is very apparent that these employees are not slaves to software which punishes customer service call center folks for spending “too much time” on a call. Kudos for that management decision!
Extra Perk Number One
I receive an allowance of $75 per quarter to buy items in my insurer’s private Over-The-Counter (OTC) health store. The deal is use it or lose it. Note, this online store has a scattered and minimal selection of items. It has nowhere near the inventory of a national chain drug store. Furthermore, many offered products are marked out-of-stock.
In my first quarter of membership, I had fun stocking up on NSAIDs, bandages, first aid supplies and toothbrushes from this program.
In my second quarter, however, I starting feeling I’d need to buy things I really didn’t want to use up my $75. (I was raised by my Great Depression era parents to view not collecting my $75-worth of products as a sin.) That’s when the idea emerged to give my friends the toothbrushes I scored as silly Christmas presents. And maybe boxes of Band-aids ™, too. However, having my quarterly premium lowered by $75 would have been a lot more valuable to me.
By the third quarter, I was very annoyed. The selection of OTC items was spotty. And they instituted quantity limits (understandable in COVID hoarding times, but annoying.) I was prevented from buying $75 worth of Vitamin C candy drops which could have been nicer Christmas gifts. In the various categories, the items available resembled a holey Swiss cheese. Sometimes they did not have the brand I would prefer. More often, though, they just didn’t offer anything I use. I really would like to pay $75 less in Medicare premiums per quarter, guys. I’ll go buy my own OTC items if and when I need them at my local stores (with my mask over my mouth AND NOSE — I’m not an idiot.)
Extra Perk Number Two
In the summer — maybe it was July — my insurer mailed me a nice quality fabric face mask. It was the thought that counts, I guess.
We had been in shutdown since mid-March 2020, just saying. I realize that PPE was in scarce supply then, so I understand why my insurer could not order face masks for all its subscribers. However, in March I sewed a gaggle of masks for my friends and myself and all was taken care of. No blame, but also, no thanks to my insurer. Maybe their message was “we believe mask wearing is a healthy practice.” But, to me the company looks somewhat stupid by mailing a mask four months “too late.”
Extra Perk Number Three
Then, the mailings started in early autumn informing me about earning gift cards if I would perform certain health-promoting tasks. I could earn $25 if I participated in a telehealth exam with a nurse practitioner before December 31st. Additionally, I could earn a $50 gift card by having an annual well visit with my primary care physician before December 31st. Duplicative? I’d say, most likely, yes. And what about caring when my last annual physical had been? They didn’t even ask. (It was less than 12 months earlier.) But I needed the money, so I participated in both. I am waiting for my gift cards. I sure hope they are not for dine-in restaurants!
Extra Perk Number Four
The gratuitous, expensive, unwanted perk thrown at me last week is what finally broke my Bactrian back. A huge, substantial, and heavy box appeared unbidden at my door.
The contents included a stupid Bluetooth digital thermometer and a stupid electric toothbrush. A pulse oximeter, but I had already gotten myself a pulse oximeter when spending up the second quarter $75 for OTC items. Anti-bacterial sprays for surfaces and for your skin. Gel hand sanitizer. Cough drops. Band-aids. Lotion. A box of paper face masks. A first aid kit for your car, boat, or home. REALLY?
The single word which describes my reaction to this expensive box of toys is APPALLED.
Want to increase my appreciation of you?
Reduce my Medicare premium amount.
This bling is wasting my premium money. Obviously, I do not suffer shiny object syndrome. Am I the exception? Do the rest of the folks on Medicare like this?
The single word which describes my reaction to this expensive box of toys is APPALLED.
Devil’s Advocate Pipes Up
Stepping back — I realize that some of these perks are designed to either encourage good health maintenance behaviors or to catch health problems early when they are more easily and less expensively treated. I get that. I would love to see the statistical evidence.
What are the stats on number of claims made or total cost of claims made by OTC store users versus abstainers? Is there a statistically significant difference?
I would guess that there is proof that inducing plan members to have the telehealth visit and the in-person doctor annual exam saves money.
However, I am not convinced that the quarterly OTC allowance and some of the items in the box are justifiable, significant health improvers/expense reducers.
Extra Perk Number Five
It gets worse. Or better.
Perhaps the insurer was receiving my opinions telepathically?
A cover letter on card stock included in the big bling box informed me that “. . . as a reward for prioritizing your health and using your XYZ insurance in 2020, we’ll be mailing you a $100 gift card . . .”
I am very grateful. It came quickly and was, thankfully, a generic debit card — not a card with limited use. So, thank you, insurance company. You lowered my premiums by $100. It is much appreciated.
Action Plan
In an interesting twist, the cover letter had a scribbled signature which looked somewhat like Alvin A Mzshmqn. There was no typed name beneath the scribbles. Surprising. In my day, one included the name of a letter’s signatory typed beneath the scrawl.
It took a bit of research to learn who sent out this package. Even a customer representative spent half an hour trying to find out for me and came up with nothing. But, I finally unveiled the identity.
Obviously, I have strong feelings and thoughts about all I have described. I will eventually share them with the insurer. But first, I’d like to poll how others feel.
So far, my survey of one other Medicare person who coincidentally belongs to the very same plan likes the OTC program. She explained that the online store actually carries items she uses regularly, so it is a great benefit to her.
I need more data.
If you are covered by a Medicare Advantage plan or if you are the caregiver-decision-maker for someone who is on Medicare, would this program attract you?
Please comment on the social media platform that sent you here and let me know. I will accurately report all findings to you and eventually to the insurance company. If I am in the minority, I will accept that I am a wingnut and live with the program.
Maren E Morgan
Post script: The Christmas toothbrush gifts were merrily appreciated by all recipients.