tangomonster
Full time employment: Posting here.
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2006
- Messages
- 757
Right now I'm so angry that I want to cancel my AARP membership (it's not like I get a lot from it except for a magazine and a discount on my annual eye exam).
A recent newspaper article noted that the Aetna insurance for AARP members is now available in Georgia:
Aetna To Offer AARP-Branded ‘Premier’ Health Insurance Options To Baby Boomers And Their Families In Georgia
Supposedly Aetna is doing this in conjunction with AARP for "members in the 50 to 65 age group who lack employer coverage but have not reached the Medicare eligibility rate of 65, people who have a difficult time finding quality, affordable health care options."
So I called them up today, only to learn that:
1. Medical underwriting is still required.
Perhaps it will be a little less stringent than other underwriting, but there is still a probability that many people will be excluded.
2. After six months there can be a rate adjustment of 25 to 50% of the initial premium! (25 to 150% in Florida, from what I can gather).
So it's like they offer a low rate to begin with and then the sky's the limit after that.
Basically this seems to be a marketing/PR campaign. AARP and Aetna can pat themselves on the back and claim that they are helping to ensure the 50 to 65 age group. But with the underwriting still rearing its ugly head and the fine print notice that the premium rate can be adjusted after six months, I don't see this as being a help at all!
Am I looking at this the wrong way? And what's with AARP, anyway? If it's a nonprofit, where do all their profits go? And what do they really do, other than lobby?
A recent newspaper article noted that the Aetna insurance for AARP members is now available in Georgia:
Aetna To Offer AARP-Branded ‘Premier’ Health Insurance Options To Baby Boomers And Their Families In Georgia
Supposedly Aetna is doing this in conjunction with AARP for "members in the 50 to 65 age group who lack employer coverage but have not reached the Medicare eligibility rate of 65, people who have a difficult time finding quality, affordable health care options."
So I called them up today, only to learn that:
1. Medical underwriting is still required.
Perhaps it will be a little less stringent than other underwriting, but there is still a probability that many people will be excluded.
2. After six months there can be a rate adjustment of 25 to 50% of the initial premium! (25 to 150% in Florida, from what I can gather).
So it's like they offer a low rate to begin with and then the sky's the limit after that.
Basically this seems to be a marketing/PR campaign. AARP and Aetna can pat themselves on the back and claim that they are helping to ensure the 50 to 65 age group. But with the underwriting still rearing its ugly head and the fine print notice that the premium rate can be adjusted after six months, I don't see this as being a help at all!
Am I looking at this the wrong way? And what's with AARP, anyway? If it's a nonprofit, where do all their profits go? And what do they really do, other than lobby?