Via benefits (formerly One Exchange)

[CardsFan]

I know this company has been discussed within many Medicare threads, but I did not find one specifically about them.

We are a year away from signing up for medicare for DW. I'll be 6 months later. Megacorp will provide $1200/year (each) if we use Via. No subsidy without.

The comments I have read in other threads were less than complimentary, so I have my concerns. Unless something changes, we will most likely go with a Plan G Medigap policy.

I have done some cursory checking, and prices quoted on Via are not out of line with the open market, and with the subsidy we are looking at $60-$80 each for a plan.

So, I guess I am looking for experiences with using Via, and is the discount worth the hassle.

 

[calico1597]

I had been with One Exchange since retirement 2010, never had a problem with them. This summer my former employer switched to Via Benefits, so this will be a new company to learn about. I'm reimbursed $3K/year for medical costs by my employer, the $$ will now come thru Via. Sorry, I don't have any experience with them right now, ask me later! I did buy Humana and VSP vision insurance thru One Exchange, that has now transferred to Via.

 

[kaneohe]

I have been w/ Extend-Health which became One Exchange which became Via Benefits for some number of years. The price for the AARP Medigap policy was exactly the same as buying direct. Same for the Pt. D plan. Basically no issues. There was a time when the monthly reimbursement seemed to be
irregular and late. One call to my former employer who provides the funds
to One Exchange seems to have corrected that.

What kinds of issues did you hear about?

 

[txtig]

My old megacorp uses Via Benefits to reimburse retirees for their Medigap and Part D plans (up to about $2.2 K per year). They automatically send out reimbursement checks throughout the year. I had no issues or problems with them. I sign up for the plans through the Via Benefits website. Cost us the same as signing up directly with the insurer.

 

[CardsFan]

I have been w/ Extend-Health which became One Exchange which became Via Benefits for some number of years. The price for the AARP Medigap policy was exactly the same as buying direct. Same for the Pt. D plan. Basically no issues. There was a time when the monthly reimbursement seemed to be
irregular and late. One call to my former employer who provides the funds
to One Exchange seems to have corrected that.

What kinds of issues did you hear about?

In some other threads folks complained about Via/One exchange being non-responsive and difficult to work with. The comments here are giving me some hope that it will be OK.

 

[Likes_to_Lurk]

I will be going on Medicare next February and will receive a subsidy from my old Megacorp, administered by Via Benefits. I am not happy with my experience so far.

Here is what I have found:
- Limited selection of available plans. Like the OP, I will most likely select Plan G. Via benefits only offers 2 of 6 available plans in my zip code. The prices quoted are in agreement with both NY State's website and the carrier's websites. To be fair, the other 4 companies had MUCH higher premiums and I would not have signed up with them. I did consider Plan F high deductible. In this instance, Via Benefits offers only 1 of 4 plans, and it is the most expensive one.
- The drug plan finder tool can give incorrect results. In one instance, the mail order option did not renew some of my prescriptions. I spoke to a Via agent who said "Oh, it must be a glitch. Let's use Medicare.gov". Really
- I asked an agent if she could give me the AM Best rating on the 2 companies I was considering. She had to transfer me to someone else who said they do not have that information.
- You can't use any of the brokers that are highly recommended by the folks on this forum.

If you don't want to select a plan on Via Benefits, you might be able to still use your subsidy by submitting claims to Via. You can request reimbursement for the Part B premium or other medical expenses not covered by Medicare. This is more work, but you could send in, say, 6 months worth of Plan B premiums at one time. My plan allows unused funds to be carried over to the next year, so I have some flexibility.

I haven't gone through the sign up and reimbursement processes yet, so I can't comment on those.

 

[savory]

I used One Exchange for years and just this year Via. My experience with both is good. My medicare allowance is paid on-time from my company. When I have called OE and Via for advice and help signing up, I have found that I received good information. At least as far as I know.

 

[pjm-7]

I handle insurance matters for my 97 year old father. His retiree health insurance was switched to via benefits a couple of years ago. Initially, I found them a bit challenging to get everything set up but since then things proceeded rather smoothly. Yesterday, I had to call with a quick question about next year's coverage continuing. I found out the my authorization and brother's POA had expired. Huh? Didn't know that there was a time limit on such a thing. Since dad would not understand why I would call with the benefits person, we are sending in a new letter to re-establish our third party authorization.

 

[kaneohe]

...........................
If you don't want to select a plan on Via Benefits, you might be able to still use your subsidy by submitting claims to Via. You can request reimbursement for the Part B premium or other medical expenses not covered by Medicare. This is more work, but you could send in, say, 6 months worth of Plan B premiums at one time. ................................

Via has a form for a once/yr request for recurring Med B premiums. Submit the form once.....after you have the Medicare statement that just came out.....
and monthly reimbursements follow for that yr. Needs to be repeated annually.

If you buy a medical plan from Via and setup autopay in coordination with them, reimbursements are automatic forever, as long as you continue with that plan.

 

[Katsmeow]

I have dealt with them for a few years on the medical insurance side. Right now I am having an issue that is problematical and is causing a problem. DH's Megacorp gives us an HRA. We don't have to use ViaBenefits to place coverage but it is convenient. Last year they place a marketplace plan for my daughter which went OK. However, I had problems seeing plans on their website and had to shop at healthcare.gov as a result.

This year we moved. Our daughter is still in the area we used to live at. However, my son is now with us in a different area (same state). We need to sign him up for a plan. ViaBenefits supposedly offers both marketplace and off marketplace plans. However, I can't see any for our new location as it won't let me change our address online. It said I could call to do that. I called earlier this week and they said they couldn't fix it and it must be a technical problem. It is still not fixed. We want to place my son's coverage but all I can see are the on market plans at healthcare.gov (which is fine most likely but still annoying).

So far funding for reimbursement has worked out OK. I filed a form last year for DD and got automatic reimbursement after that.

When I go on Medicare in several months I will get an HRA that I have to use for plans at ViaBenefits. I can't get a medigap plan elsewhere and use the HRA. So that is annoying. However, if I plan a Part D plan with them (which wouldn't use up the HRA) I can use the HRA to pay Part B premiums. If I don't like their selection of Medigap plans that is what I will do. Get a cheap Part D plan (since I don't currently have expensive drug needs) then use the rest of the HRA to pay for the Part B premiums.