Sunday, November 13, 2005

UHC pay ANYTHING in 2005 ?

Has United Health Care paid ANYTHING for Medicare Guild retirees for 2005 medical care? All my health care billings say that UHC will only pay what Medicare authorizes, so when Medicare pays 80% of what it authorizes, UHC sends me an Explanation of Benefits that shows that UHC pays nothing. So then I have to pay what Medicare doesn't (the 20%). UHC's (and KR's) only cost under the new system seems to be the cost of mailing me an Explanation of Benefits to tell me that UHC will pay nothing.

Am I alone? If UHC has paid for a service you had in 2005, please post it under Comment with the amount of the charge and the amount that UHC paid. We need to stack up some evidence to give to the national Guild to show that we are de facto losing medical coverage once we retire and hit Medicare age (65).

Of course, when KR is sold to some widget manufacturer even the pretense of medical coverage may disappear, and our pension with it!

Thanks.

3 comments:

Harry Liggett said...

In May, 2005 I had a $4.458.53 bill at Akron General. Medicare paid $3,576.95 and UHC paid $0.00, leaving me a bill of $912 to pay. In past years, I would have paid nothing. Somewhere along the line the UHC out of pocket deductible became $2,000 for an individual and $4,000 for a family. Nobody at UHC can really explain how "out of pocket" works. I just know that $912 came out of my pocket.

Anonymous said...

I added up my out-of-pocket costs in 2005, which are $390, spread over a half-dozen billings. Not nearly what Harry paid.

UHC paid: $0.

UHC "coverage" seems to be a farce. If Medicare doesn't pay, we pay. So much for giving up pay raises to get UHC/KR "coverage."

Anonymous said...

"I presume I am always out of network since I refuse to allow a PPO to dictate where I go or who I consult."

That, Dick, is one of the problems: Insurance companies telling people what medical care they can get if they don't want to pay through the nose. And, even at that, you, Harry & I have more than $6,000 in 2005 medical bills, and UHC/KR has paid $15.06. Basically, we're being dumped on Medicare and a government dominated by conservatives is more concerned with how many millions in tax breaks it can give millionaires.