Catching the Seniors Off Guard!

Today I received a solicitation from AARP's United Healthcare Insurance Company for the AARP Medicare Supplement Insurance.

I thoroughly read through each and every page of the material I received, and not once did it mention what coverage I would receive! It did suggest they have a variety of plans giving me a choice of options. Yet not once did they tell me what each of those plans did, or did not cover. It did however tell me about there being a pre-existing condition exclusion and enough gobbledy-gook about that perhaps not applying, that it would take a Miami lawyer to tell you whether you were or were not qualified under pre-existing health care coverages or not. They use the term "other exclusions may apply" but don't tell you what those exclusions might be.

The insert sheet shows plans A through L yet doesn't fully explain what you do or do not get under each plan. The heading states "See Outlines of Coverage Section for details about ALL Plans". That would be nice except there was NO Outlines of coverage section included. I did receive a rate sheet however that would allow me to choose a rate starting from $$75.60 all the way to $145.60 for "Early Enrollment Discount rates" and from $108 to $208 in the future. A supplemental piece of paper included in the package states that the plan rates shown in this package are only good for 2009. Yet the solicitation and application are for coverage effective 1/1/2010! Thus if your Medicare rates increase, so will this. And then you have no idea what you will be paying!

Finally, reading the printed page, the kicker is this statement:" This material describes the plans available through the AARP Health Care Options program but is not considered a health insurance contract or insurance certificate.

Folks, you aren't getting health insurance or health coverage, but a plan of some sort that seems very undefined. After reading it again, I can't determine what I would be paying for. And, I have experience in the insurance and healthcare field, unlike most others who have to wade through the Medicare minefield all alone and uneducated about the pitfalls.

The cover letter says call them and I, frankly, won't do that. I have had dealings with AARP in the past and they seem to have the phones handled by sharks who simply want to sell you something. I once called about auto insurance and the woman hounded me on the phone to sign up, although the coverage she was hawking was hundreds more than the AAA coverage I already had, and the AARP program even had worse coverage to boot! Then I was subject to a barrage of unwanted mail and phone solicitations for months trying to sell me more insurance. Still receive tons of junk about some form of insurance from these people just about every week.

If you can't get a clear answer to what you're buying, don't buy it. Paying for something when you don't know what you're getting is what I call paying for "air biscuits." Sounds good but no substance.

Finally, on Page 31 of the December 2009 AARP Bulletin, they have a Scam Alert on buying worthless or less than value insurance policies. Maybe they should have named themselves in that article as Consumer Reports and others have in the past!

http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourmoney/scamalert/articles/when_health_insurance_is_phony_.html

AARP Backs Obamacare and Medicare Cuts!

Today, December 2, AARP supported $460 billion dollars in Medicare cuts to fund the Obamacare health care reform bill. As Republicans tried to have the cuts restored, the AARP stated the cuts by the Democrats were just ways of eliminating waste and inefficiency within the Medicare system.

This bill will increase seniors' Medicare premiums by over $60 Billion Dollars!

What they will do is destroy the Medicare Advantage program that provides additional services and coverages to Medicare recipients who sign up for the plans. And those plans offer the extra services at no extra cost to the senior citizen in most cases. Better coverage, less cost when you are ill and can least afford it, and no more money out of your pocket at the beginning. No wonder AARP opposes that. If you can get that. why would you want the often costly and sometimes questionable coverage of AARP "supplemental insurance" programs and "prescription drug" programs that can be covered by Medicare Advantage programs with the premiums you already pay as part of your Medicare monthly costs?

Screwed by the association that seniors trust, the AARP is like a dog that bites the hand that feeds it. How seniors can trust these people is beyond me. It nauseates me to think how they deceive their members and then push for a bill that will help fill their coffers. YES, fill the AARP coffers since they offer supplemental insurance plans! And how many recognize that the AARP makes more money on revenues from hawking insurance and other products than from membership, grants and contributions?

When your Medicare benefits are cut and you need extra coverage, the AARP is going to be hawking that coverage, just as they do now. Read my past posts on their coverages, and what Consumer Reports says about some of those coverages.

Even back in 1988, Money magazine laid open the devious practices of the AARP, which was originally funded by an insurance broker named Leonard Davis, who later founded Colonial Penn Insurance, which later replaced Continental Insurance as AARP's insurer! Even Consumers Union (Consumer Reports) found fault with them back then! Read the entire story here:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/1988/10/01/84702/index.htm

Think the executives who are not volunteers at AARP will be hurting on Medicare? Not a chance. According to the New York Times Business Section, December 3, 2009, "Horace B. Deets, Executive Director of the AARP earned $369,000 plus $141,806 in retirement benefits."

Barry Rand, the new CEO of AARP has an annual salary of $575,000 according to his bio published in USA Today on March 12, 2009. You can bet he won't be worrying about Medicare!

At the risk of being "politically incorrect, here's a link to what Capitol Hill is saying about the AARP back door dealings with the Democraps:

http://www.gop.gov/policy-news/09/10/20/democrats-cut-back-room-deals

Shame on AARP and their underhanded plan for screwing America's seniors!

SDGE San Diego Gouge and Extort

Some interesting facts you probably didn't think of about your residential electric bill:

If you are overcharged on your electric bill one month as a result of an incorrect meter reading, you think, and are probably told by SDG&E, they it will be lower next month and it will even out. Not so!

Facts are that any electricity you are billed for, whether you use it or not, over the "baseline allowance" of 326 kilowatt hours is charged at a higher tier rate. The rates are based at up to 100% of baseline, 101% to 130% of baseline, 131% to 200% of baseline and then another charge of 131% to 200% of baseline for some odd reason. I'm sure SDG&E can explain away the second charge that is higher for half the month than the earlier charge but that's beside the point here.

The next month, if your meter is read correctly, your bill will be lower. Lots lower, since you will be getting billed likely at the under 100% baseline usage, and thus, the lowest rate. But you already paid a premium rate the month before for electricity you never used, and SDG&E didn't give you credit on your bill for your overcharge, either, did they? You just got gouged by the utility that you have no choice but to use.

Your protection? Check the date your meter has been read in the past, learn to read your meter, and read it every month. Both gas and electric if you're wise. Because you can't trust the gas and electric company to be right every time, and when they're wrong you'll come up on the short end.

Smart Meters:

You probably heard SDG&E is spending 500 million dollars to install a million "Smart Meters in San Diego County. Their publicity and bill inserts and media would have you think this is all for your benefit, and how you'll be able to watch your meters on-line and be able to track your own energy use. Right? When the hell did the electric company do anything good for YOUR pocket that didn't line theirs?

Truth is that THEY will be able to watch your energy use, and in the future, you will see peak demand pricing just like the big energy users. If you use energy during peak hours you will pay a big price for it. It will be Big Brother Utility's way of keeping their thumb on you, to be sure you don't use more at any given time than they want you to, and if you do, they'll slam you with a big surcharge for using more than you should. In this manner they can avoid building more power plants, and make you pay for plugging in your coffee pot when you come home from work, for that extra cup of coffee. It won't be worth it! There's nothing in this for you, unless you want to spend your time at the computer watching your electric and gas meter. Incidentally, having the computer on just adds to the electric bill...should there be a credit for checking your own meter?

Oh, by the way, those "smart meters"? They're presently dumb! They have to be read by meter readers, and there are already reports of severe overcharging, as the meter readers apparently have not gotten used to reading them yet. Once again, learn to read them every month and don't depend on SDG&E to do so. If you see a mistake, call them on it immediately, or you'll end up paying the bill, and the credit you get next month will not be equal to what you paid this month.

Finally, expect BIG problems when the system goes fully computerized. Can you imagine what will happen when you put 1 million meters on line? Mistakes will likely be rampant, so read those meters, and try and keep SDG&E honest. Because if you don't tell them they made a mistake, they sure as hell won't tell you!

Swine Flu and Obamacare

This is simply a test question. There is only one question and one chance to get it right. Your life depends on the right answer. Ready? Do you trust a government that screams paranoia about the severity of the H1N1 "Swine Flu" and tells people the importance of being vaccinated if they are in a high risk group, then can't provide the vaccine in the amounts originally promised to the public?

YES or NO? Fast...you must make a decision. Because the next decision the government will likely make could be forcing Obamacare upon you and your family, like it or not. And, you need to make every effort to tell your senators your feelings about having that edict rammed down your throat, or up another orifice, before it happens and it's too late.

What happened to the original "every American being covered by health insurance"? That sure didn't last long. Those tall tale figures waned from perhaps a hundred million additional insured people to what, 36 million or so at last count? And the bill for covering one-third the number never dropped a dime, rather it seems to have remained the same or even increased?

And nobody will see the benefits of this 1.2 trillion dollar debacle (plus the billions spent by the current politicians playing with the bill to get this far) for about four years. All the while we'll be paying for it in the form of reduced Medicare benefits, reduced Medicare Advantage benefits, increased taxes and God knows what else they have cooked up to screw the taxpayer.

It comes down to a simple question. How can a government that can't get the swine flu vaccine out to the public, during a declared public health emergency, be counted on to handle a huge national health care reform en total? The simple answer is that they can't.

Does that surprise you?

Here it is the middle of November and the H1Ni vaccine is nowhere to be found, except in some public health clinics, and that's on a spotty basis. Healthcare workers are being told they must wait for vaccinations, as are senior citizens and others with cardiac and specific needs for immunization. Can you imagine having a true pandemic sweep a city or county, and all the healthcare workers who are supposed to aid the sick are instead ill themselves, too ill to care for those who need their skilled medical help? That could happen due to the manner in which the current vaccine shortage seems to be going. YOU could end up having to take care of yourself and not be able to seek medical aid. That's a scary thought.

Some figures:

• The Obama administration ordered 250 million doses of vaccine.
• They confidently predicted that 120 million doses woule be available by now (Nov 14).
• Only about 42 million doses have been received by the government as of Thursday and not all of those have been distributed.

According to Fox News "A study released Tuesday from Purdue University said it may be too late for the H1N1 vaccine to be of any benefit to Americans, as they may contract the virus before the vaccine takes effect. The study said most people would be infected during the month of October at a time when the vaccine is not available to most Americans."

Of course, the government won't admit this. "Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleeen Sebelius disagreed and said government health officials anticipate a spike in both seasonal and H1N1 cases going forward, not a drop off — meaning that the vaccine will not reach the majority of Americans too late. She added that even those infected with H1N1 in the spring should consider getting the vaccine once widespread availability is made."

Believe what you will. It's no different than fighting a war. If they sent you into battle with no defensive weapon or bullets, how good would you feel? The flu enemy is insidious and silent, but just as deadly to many. Yet the promises of a shield to stop the flu bullet just isn't coming in time for many.

AARP Endorses Obamacare

I knew it would happen. It was inevitable. The AARP jumped on the Obama bandwagon, screwed all 40 million of its members, and endorsed Obamacare, even if it means that Medicare will feel a huge hit in the future as a result of the proposed healthcare "reform" package.

In their latest "bulletin" dated November 2009, sent to members, AARP once again promises not to endorse any plan that will hurt Medicare recipients. On page 34 of that bulletin, Barry A Rand, CEO, states "We have made it clear to the president and congress that we will fight with the strength of our entire membership, nearly 40 million people, to protect your benefits. We will block any proposals that eliminate benefits, raise out-of-pocket costs, reduce access to care or lead to rationing." Yet the same day that bulletin arrives in my mail, AARP endorses just such a plan that will strip 500 billion dollars away from the Medicare Advantage plan payments so many of the nation's senior citizens depend upon for care. It is those Medicare Advantage plans, administered through private insurance companies, that make drugs affordable, doctor and hospital visits affordable, and keep the costs of simply living within the reach of many of America's aging population. Medicare is a crutch and these plans provide a walker if you look at it that way. Without them, many of us still could not afford the hight cost of medical care, even through medicare!

Even one of their own AARP members on Page 40 of the November 2009 bulletin asks "Does AARP believe that when Medicare cuts 14 percent from its payments to Medicare Advantage plans, the 25 percent of Medicare recipients enrolled in those plans will not lose benefits?" AARP didn't respond. No surprise there!

Yet, the AARP, an organization formed by and alleged to serve the senior population, sucks up to Obama's healthcare reform like a Hoover to dog dander. They have become as deceitful and politically charged and absolutely have an agenda that does not serve the greater good of the senior citizens. Millions have walked away from the AARP and joined other Senior Groups, simply due to disgust and the alliance the AARP has formed with the current administration.

I do wonder if there are back door deals, pockets being lined, or what promises are being made, to get the AARP in such lockstep with this healthcare reform bill? How can they publish statements that they won't support changes that will hurt the seniors, and on the same day align themselves with changes that will do just that?

Wake up Senior America. Time to boot these people out of your life and look for something better on the horizon. They are not doing you any favors and are selling you down the river while telling you otherwise. Look at who runs the AARP and you'll find it's not people on Medicare who really care about what happens to us. It's people making money from the organization who have it as a job just like any other. Think of AARP as a political action committee that uses it's hulk to get what they want, and not what YOU need!

Why Does AARP Support Any Healthcare Reform?

I read the AARP position papers in the newsletters, magazines and other media, and although they say attempt to say they are taking a neutral position to Obama's reform plan, AARP demands change in the healthcare system. While most of the members are significantly older than the 50 years old required to join, and should be covered by Medicare, the AARP then focuses on the prescription cost "donut hole" that impacts only a small percentage of overall Americans on Medicare, especially those who choose a decent Medicare Advantage HMO policy including prescription coverage!

The shame is that the senior citizens actually believe in AARP and the tripe they throw at their gullible audiences. Like the recent TV commercial showing the ambulance being blocked at every opportunity, by what supposedly were insurers and/or Republicans?

Sure, AARP wants to see health care reform pass, regardless how poorly the reform might be. They want to keep receiving a cut from those supplemental policies they keep hawking on TV, the media, and their own magazine and tabloid.

The fact is that Consumers Union looked at some of those policies and found them to be nearly useless in providing decent coverage–some people paid much more than the policy actually covered; some covered virtually nothing while collecting stiff premiums.

Many senior citizens don’t have a clue what they’re buying when insurance is involved. Sadly, they seem to be assured that if AARP says it’s good, it must be.

I talk to many who praise the coverage they purchased because they never had to use it. But when we review the policy, they are astounded to find they have little coverage at all.

No, I’m not an insurance counselor or agent, just someone who hates to see the older generation get ripped off when they can’t possibly understand what they’re getting.

To me it’s no different than a roofer selling you a new roof, and the first time it rains, the roof leaks and you find out there is a rain exclusion. Or the first several thousand dollars in water damage is excluded, and the policy only covers several thousand dollars.

Oh, I’m sure there are some good policies to be had, but try and differentiate between them unless you have some insurance background, and basic policy language understanding is difficult, if not impossible. Even with “plain language” policies, my spouse, who is a nurse, and I, often sit and pore over the contracts for a long time to ferret out what’s good and bad. And we don’t think we’re even close to the “average” consumer.

Maybe that is a case for reform, but you know what happens when the government gets involved. They never simplify anything. Look at your tax forms. Other than create one that says “send in all you made,” simple just is not in the government vocabulary.

The bottom line is that just because some organization says something is good, or bad, you need to make your own mind up. Like the life insurance policies that promise coverage for only so much per "unit" which in many cases is per $1000. When you multiply the monthly cost times the number of "units" you need for a decent burial and then multiply that times 12 for an annual payment, you can see that in about ten years you pay the entire cost of your funeral up front. Now if you expect to die sooner, maybe it's a good deal but read the fine print to be sure there are no exclusions that prohibit your passing on within the first several years. If there are, you could be throwing your money in a hole...and it won't even be your own grave!

Driving You to Insanity...Really

How long has it been since you took a road trip? No, a real road trip I mean, not just a few miles or even a hundred or so. I mean a thousand or more in a day or two, when you drove the vast interstate highway system, that concrete and asphalt ribbon that runs through the country like the veins and capillaries of a body, pouring life into every small city and burg along the way. And sucking the life out of so many drivers along with it!


Let's start out with some observations:

• Rest Areas: Why do some states have many rest areas and others have virtually none? And is it just a coincidence that those that have fewer rest areas have the most that are closed? California seems to lead the West in this area where you can travel long distances with no rest areas and just when you think you're lucky enough to come upon one, those dreaded orange cones announce that your bladder isn't getting any relief just yet, and your muscles tighten for another long ride.


• Drivers who live in the fast lane, regardless of their speed. Most states post signs and have laws stating that slower traffic is to keep right. It just doesn't matter. People will drive in the left lane and stay there, slowing down all the traffic behind them. That increases the potential for an accident as drivers perilously swerve around them on the right to gain distance and get back in the fast lane to pass other slower vehicles and trucks.


• Speaking of passing, many drivers will pull out to pass slower vehicles and then simply slow down to the speed of the vehicle they are passing or a tiny bit faster and then take eons to make the pass, if at all. You know the ones...the speed limit is 65, they come up on another vehicle moving at 66 and then slow down to 64 to pass. Takes about a half hour but they don't care. They seem to have no place to go and all day to get there.


• Highway construction: Why the hell don't they take down the signs that tell you the right or left lane is closed ahead when they are done for the day and nothing at all is closed? They could at least cover the sign or turn it sideways or something. You have all these drivers switching lanes, or speeding up, or slowing down anticipating something that never happens. And the DOT wonders why motorists have such a blatantly "don't give a rat's behind" attitude toward road construction? Because it seems the road construction is a 24 hour issue that never gets settled or done or even properly delineated in many cases.


• Pavement: Ever notice how the right hand truck lanes are all beat to crap from the heavy duty trucks and the ruts from the heavy loads? So the trucks don't want to drive in the mess they created and move to the middle lane when they can and leave the right lane empty, thus creating the same ruts in the middle lane. Wonder where they will go when the center lane is all screwed up too? I don't blame the truckers for not wanting to bounce like a jack-in-the-box down the highway, but they did create the problem with their trucks. Lets see them force some action by the DOT and Congress to come up with a plan to fix the roads so they don't have these problems. Incidentally, why in hell would any state use blacktop on their highways anyway, knowing full well it won't stand up to truck weights? Might want to ask the northwest states that question.


• Speaking of poor roads, driving in at least one state, you find the lanes are crowned to the point that you must constantly fight the wheel to remain straight down the road. It's not alignment or anything else, simply that the road tracks so badly you can't remain in the lane without working at it pretty intensely. I know they call the BMW the "ultimate driving machine" but really, who wants to wrestle with the wheel for hundreds of miles on what's supposed to be a decent highway system.


• Motels: Why would anyone build a motel that backs up to the interstate so close that trucks make the building shake like an earthquake? We stayed in a Best Western that was a nice place except that I was sure we were on an earthquake fault, until I realized it was the big rigs going past. The funny thing is that we had to drive a ways off the interstate to get there, but it circles back on the highway and in the dark, you couldn't tell. Actually, from the courtyard it was not nearly as noisy as in the room! Sometimes being dead tired is a blessing...


• More on motels...doesn't anyone think there are likely families traveling along the highway and that there should be some really nice hotels available. At least some that don't appear outside like a truckstop or a no-tell-motel? Many we encountered had so many semi's parked outside it was difficult to tel if they were motels or truckstops. I'm not ragging on truckers, but if the motels expect family clientele, they need to have some that are family oriented, where you don't need to run through a gamut of tankers and 40 foot boxes to reach the front door. Then again, I do understand that most clients of the motels are likely truckers moving goods up and down Interstate 5 so that's who they cater to.

• GPS downloads: Incidentally, if you download the programs for your GPS that tell you that your favorite hotel chain has a hotel at the next exit, don't expect that it will be a decent place anyway. Just because it's a national chain means nothing. And those "diamond" ratings? In some cases they should be replaced by small piles of you know what, or perhaps cockroaches. That would better signify what the hotels are like. Sometimes I wonder when the last time AAA has been to the hotel to give it a rating at all.


• One more on motels...don't shampoo the carpets if you're going to rent the room out. It makes the customers feet wet and really pisses them off when they take their shoes off! Plus, the shampooer doesn't get the carpet clean as evidenced by the filth on my white socks. Nice clean room otherwise, but hold the shampoo for warmer weather!


• Road signs: Some states post road signs well ahead so you can be prepared to make whatever moves are necessary and safe to exit or change lanes. Others seem to find it amusing to place the signs where you have to either guess, or make evasive maneuvers to exit in a hurry. Take lodging signs. Why not use English that says HOLIDAY INN or BEST WESTERN or similar. Why use a logo that you can't hardly see at night especially when the reflectivity is mostly worn off. Do they expect you to get off at every exit to see what the hell is really there? I sure guess so, since that's how we found all the creepy hotels that we wouldn't stay at! As you're cruising past the exit, you see the eatery or motel that you wish you had stopped at...after it's too late. Then you're doomed to the Roach Motel at the exit from hell.

Back to reality, road trips can be fun, yet exhausting. If you have lots of time and can take in the scenery, stop often, and have an enormous bladder, you're good to go. Otherwise, road trips put a lot of pressure on you to get where you're going and then you can relax. But there's always the trip home.