United Healthcare and AARP
So today’s video is going to be about United Healthcare Medicare or AARP, and whether or not this is the best Medicare supplement plan and Medicare Advantage plan. Now, if you don’t know who I am, my name is Brian Monahan. I’ve been working with people going on to Medicare and people on Medicare for the past 15 plus years. I’m licensed for insurance in 46 states, and I work with people around the entire country. So let’s dive into some of the numbers to show just what is AARP and United Healthcare, and why are they one of the biggest companies in the market?
So if we look here, United Healthcare … this is for Medicare Advantage. They account for 28%, and this is 2022, 28% of the market for Medicare Advantage plans. There’s two reasons for this. Number one, they’re one of the biggest marketers out there. And number two, as far as names are concerned, if you were to ask people on the street, name five companies that do Medicare supplement plans or advantage plans, usually AARP or United Healthcare would come into the picture.
But this is for Medicare Advantage plans. With Medicare Advantage plans, you have to really dig into the plans. It goes by zip code. United Healthcare might have five different plans in your area, as well as Aetna or Kaiser Permanente or Cigna, Humana, all these different companies. When you’re looking at Medicare Advantage, you really have to dig into the plans, see what the max out of pocket is, see what doctors and hospitals actually accept each plan. So it’s very intricate, and you most likely should use a broker for this just to double-check. It doesn’t cost you anything to use a broker. That would be my advice. But what about for Medicare supplement plans?
Does United Healthcare Offer Silver Sneakers
United Healthcare, one of the largest health insurance providers in the United States, offers a program called Silver Sneakers to eligible members. The program is designed to help older adults stay active and improve their overall health and wellness.
Silver Sneakers is a fitness program that provides members with access to a network of participating fitness centers and classes. The program is available to seniors who have Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare Supplement plans, and group retiree plans that include Silver Sneakers. The program is not available to those with original Medicare.
One of the main benefits of Silver Sneakers is that it allows members to participate in fitness classes and use fitness equipment at no additional cost. This can be especially beneficial for older adults who may not have the financial means to join a gym or pay for fitness classes. The program also includes access to online resources, such as workout videos and fitness tracking tools, to help members stay motivated and on track with their fitness goals.
The Silver Sneakers program also includes social and educational events, such as health fairs and seminars, which provide members with the opportunity to learn about health and wellness topics and connect with other older adults who share similar interests. Additionally, the program provides a certified fitness instructor to help members with their workout and provide guidance on how to safely use equipment.
Well, I did a little research on that. And when I pulled up, just on Google, it says, is AARP Medicare plan any good? Now, most of the time they talk about Medicare plans, they’re talking about both Medicare Advantage and Medicare supplement plans. But when it comes to supplement plans, most of you out there know if you’re looking at a Plan F or if you’re looking at a Medicare supplement plan G or Plan N, all of these benefits are going to be the same with each company. Meaning an AARP or United Healthcare Plan G is going to have the same benefits as an Aetna Plan G, or even a no name company plan G. So what could possibly be the difference?
Well, one of the differences is the price that goes along with the plan. So I looked at about five different zip codes throughout the entire country. Just a few, just to randomly pick the state, and then pick the zip code in the state. And this is one of the zip codes and it came up as for Plan G, that AARP or United Healthcare was number five, only about $5 more than the least expensive company. But then I wanted to dive in and look at some other zip codes, and we’ll just put another one in here and see what happens. Now, of course, this is for a 65 year-old. If you do this for a 75 year-old, it’s going to come up very differently.
So now with this zip code, I’m looking for AARP, and I’m seeing the least expensive G plan is 132. And I’m going all the way down to AARP where it’s $160, United Healthcare or AARP. 160 compared to 132. So it’s $30 more for an AARP Medicare supplement plan G in this particular zip code. So I guess the moral of the story is you really have to know the zip code, what plan you’re looking at, whether you’re a male or a female, and your age group because it changes. AARP might be the cheapest if you’re 65, but then it might be one of the most expensive when you’re 75.
But here’s the real kicker that I’ve seen with a lot of people. When I get phone calls from people and they say, “I want to look at United Healthcare, and I also want to look at a few other companies.” One of the things that is a measurement to whether or not they go with United Healthcare is the extras that it gives. Now, in certain zip codes … it definitely goes by zip code throughout the entire country. They’ll give Silver Sneakers, and then people can go to certain gyms like the YMCA, which might be 80 to $100 a month. And that is something that they want to do. And so even if the plan is $10 more than another plan, they’ll want the AARP plan.
But also, they might give some small dental, vision, and hearing attached to it. Or they could do, not Silver Sneakers, but they might do Active Fit or Silver and Fit or one of these things that is allowing people to go to gyms in their area. So this is where it comes in where you really have to dig in and search. And as a broker, this is what we do. Once again, I want to stress that brokers don’t put anything on top of the company. So if AARP’S plan is 160 here, if you were to call the company and say, “How much is it?” It would be 160, the same exact price. For us, what we do is we do the research and we’re able … we get a commission from the companies that we put you on.
So for me, I’m licensed in around 30 different companies and I’m licensed in 46 states. So really, I need the zip code, whether you’re male or female, your age group, and that sort of thing to look up and see what the best plan for you is. So to answer the question, “Is United Healthcare the best Medicare supplement plan?” There is no best Medicare supplement plan, it’s different in every zip code. But as far as customer service, there are better companies than others. AARP, in my opinion, is in the middle with customer service. But in certain zip codes, they do give out these Silver Sneakers or these gym membership things and some dental, vision, and hearing. And sometimes they’re on the least expensive end. Like in the state of Florida, they might be on the least expensive end.
But here’s what happens. I got off the phone with somebody that had a plan for 10 years. Didn’t realize him and his wife were on the same plan. That after 10 years, that plan shot up in price and he didn’t look … him or his wife didn’t look at other companies. They could have saved … I think I saved them around $140 a month between the two of them. $140 a month. I mean, we’re looking at thousands of dollars a year in savings.
So this is why I always tell people, you want to get together … a lot of people think, if I go directly to the company, I’m going to hear from the horse’s mouth. Well, if you get with a broker that actually is honest, they can show you, and look every year and tell you what the best plans are. Is United Healthcare a great company for Medicare supplement plans? Yes, but it depends on where you are, what’s your age, what state you live in, what gender you are at the time. Meaning sometimes females will be cheaper than males. So that’s something that you have to look at.
I hope this video helped. Please check out some of my other videos. I have a free book link in the description box below. The book is about 38 pages. It has a lot of pictures and graphs, so it’s actually about 20 pages. If you click on that link, you will get that book. It’s for free. It has a lot of information, it has videos you can click on. People have told me they learned a lot from the book. And so click on that. And if you want to check out some of my other videos, you’ll see in the corners here that I have some other videos you might want to look at. Thanks for watching the video. I’ll see you at the next one.
