Questions, Comments on health coverage

From Dave White:

How is it possible that the Beacon Journal can just ignore the retirement letters that were given to retirees guaranteeing their benefits for life??

And how can they force the retirees to use Aetna for their Medicare provider? I signed up for my Medicare without any help or advice from the Beacon Journal. What is this all about?

Dave White
Venice, FL

From Regina White:

When we sign up for this Aetna to be the Medicare provider, does that do away with our supplemental insurance? Now, we submit a claim to Medicare and then resubmit the balance due to United Healthcare? How is that going to work under this new plan????

Also, does this effect our life insurance?

Also from Regina:

I talked to Aaron Burr's assistant Lisa yesterday, and from what she said I don't believe there is going to be any supplemental insurance. The example I gave here was that if there was a $100,000 hospital bill, and Medicare paid $80,000 who would pay the other $20,000. And she didn't have an answer.

So, if you would, please ask in the meeting if there is any supplemental insurance? And even though, the BJ is paying the prescription cost, there is still the donut hole after $2500 where only generic drugs would be paid for. That is from Aaron Burr.

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I talked to Aaron Burr yesterday and he did confirm that there will be no supplemental insurance once this change takes place. I don't know about anyone else but I think this is a big deal! That means they are taking away Dave's $2 prescription card, forcing him into a different Medicare provider and also taking away the supplemental insurance.

I don't know what the answer is but surely there must be some recourse???????

From Ott Gangl:

Quoting from letter: "Second, the Beacon Journal's retiree medical plan is changing from the PPO plan administered by United Healthcare to the Medicare Advantage Plan administered by Aetna. This means that Aetna will administer your Medicare Part A and Part B plans instead of Medicare. Retirees must continue to pay their Medicare Part B premium. The new plan will be effective February 1, 2007. More details of this new plan is also enclosed. "

Now after I switched my Medicare A and B to the Aetna Medicare, what happens if Aetna closes up or something else happens, will the US government take me back into their Medicare?

Also from Gangl:

One reason, actually the main reason I decided in 1992 to retire at age 60, two years before I was eligible for Social Security and 5 years before Medicare was that I could retire WITHOUT any co-pay. I believe the following contract had 5% co-pay.

The life insurance was halved to $15,000 which is OK with me. I thought I read somewhere that there will be a difference in the new Aetna plan depending on when you retired, I may be wrong and all of us get the same deal.

From John Olesky:

The premiums listed $52 for prescription coverage and $11-something for medical coverage. I guess the $11-something will be a de facto secondary coverage.

I looked at the Aetna Medicare plan for the Akron Beacon Journal and I saw these things listed for "employee." I hope that includes "retirees":

$250 deductible per calendar year, which is a heckuva lot better than the $2,000 deductible under United Health Care.

Coinsurance of 15% on all medical expenses unless otherwise stated (there are things covered 100%).

Payment limit per calendar year, however, is $5,000. That would be about two days in the hospital, if that long.

Lifetime maximum is unlimited except where otherwise indicated.

Routine physical exams are covered 100%, which is an improvement over UHC.

100% also applies to gynecological care exams, routine mammograms, routine digital rectal exams and prostate specific antigen tests (PSAs), colorectal cancer screening for those 50 or older, bone density testing.

And 100% for routine eye exam (retirees lost vision and dental coverage when they retired) and routine hearing screening.
Up to $500 every 36 months for hearing air reimbursement.

But 15% co-pay for primary care physician visits, allergy testing treatments.

And a bunch of other stuff.

Including diabetic supplies covered 100%.

We really need someone to go to the meeting and ask questions and find out what's really happening. I would go, but I'll be in China when the meetings are held.

Until we find out what's what from the Canadian, it's hard to have a strategy.