Coventry Health Care anyone have it ?

[rfuerst911sc]

I have to make a health care decision because I am retiring as of 12/1/17 . My choices are staying with Aetna at 2000.00 a month to cover my wife and I but no dental or vision . Or I can go Cobra for 18 month at 1400.00 a month and then switch back to Aetna . Or I can shop aftermarket outside of my employer .

So yesterday I go online and hit one of the multi compare websites and my desk phone started ringing ! It was a rep from Coventry Health Care and he tells me they are under written by Liberty Health and are owned by Aetna . Anyway he tells me open enrollment right now and they can cover my wife and I with health , vision and dental for 420.00 a month...... for BOTH of us !!!! Said it is a no deductible PPO policy . How is that possible ?

I told him the price is too good to be true and what is the catch ? He stated the recent presidential mandate allowing cross state purchases has opened up the flood gates . He stated this same policy two weeks ago was 50 % more . So is this a scam ? Does anyone on here have Coventry ? All the reviews I see online are either horrible or wonderful there doesn't seem to be any middle ground . We called our doctor's office to see if they take Coventry and they said they do .

We are looking for coverage to cover us from age 60 to 65 then we'll go Medicare with a supplemental plan . If Coventry is no good what health care plan do you suggest ?

[javadog]

It seems like I had insurance from Coventry a few years ago. It's been long enough that I don't remember much about it. My premiums were under 500 a month but I don't think I had a zero deductible. I've never heard of an insurance policy with a zero deductible. They pulled out of Oklahoma under the Obama care mandates, so I had no choice but to go elsewhere. I don't recall having any problems with it before that point.

I find it difficult to believe that they can react that quickly to the announcement that Trump made yesterday. That, and the zero deductible, are red flags to me. I would reach out to another Coventry agent and see if they tell you the same thing.

I have a hard time believing that you're paying 2000 a month for your current coverage. That seems extraordinarily high to me.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I told him the price is too good to be true and what is the catch ? He stated the recent presidential mandate allowing cross state purchases has opened up the flood gates . He stated this same policy two weeks ago was 50 % more . So is this a scam ?

Maybe not a scam, but the guy is lying to you. Let's be charitable and assume he is just stupid.
There is no way an insurance company is going to speculate that Trump's executive order is going to stand and start cutting rates immediately. It is not clear how Trump intends to implement the EO. Sales across state lines isn't a federal matter, so it's not clear what an EO from the president can do to wipe out the regulations that states impose. States have gotten together and agreed to accept policies across state lines for years and it hasn't proven popular with insurers. The idea that the floodgates are now open and insurers are suddenly rushing in and cutting prices, when the gates have been open for years and no one was interested, is laughable. Even if Trump can instantly override state regulations, insurers don't have contracts with doctors or hospitals yet, and probably won't have for a year or more.

This is from a study done five years ago

"In 2012, Ms. Corlette and co-authors completed a study of a number of states that passed laws to allow out-of-state insurance sales. Not a single out-of-state insurer had taken them up on the offer. As Ms. Corlette’s paper highlighted, there is no federal impediment to across-state-lines arrangements. The main difficulty is that most states want to regulate local products themselves. The Affordable Care Act actually has a few provisions to encourage more regional and national sales of insurance, but they have not proved popular.

Insurers have been muted in their enthusiasm for G.O.P. across-state-lines plans. Neither America’s Health Insurance Plans, the lobbying group for most private insurers, nor the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association have endorsed such a plan when it has come before Congress."

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/01/upshot/the-problem-with-gop-plans-to-sell-health-insurance-across-state-lines.html

[stevej37]

I also am in that time span...filling in while retired until Medicare. My health ins policy covers health, vision and dental and totals $188/month for myself.
I was able to rejoin the health ins co that I had while working...at a discounted rate. It will end when I am eligible for Medicare.

[rfuerst911sc]

javadog that 2000.00 a month is right out of my retirement packet I received last week . To be exact 1999.47 per month to have the same LM Health Works plan I have now EXCEPT no dental/vision coverage . And that's with a 1500.00 deductible . The Cobra coverage is the exact same coverage but cheaper I guess either the company or Feds make up the difference .

This Coventry is sounding like a bad way to go , the more I dig the worse reviews I find . We are members of AARP may have to see what they have to offer . It is very difficult to get smart on coverage , way too much legal eaze for me !!

I have another option through work and that is LM Essentials but that has a 6000.00 deductible but is roughly 1200.00 a month . My wife and I appear to be healthy but that can change overnight ! As I found out a few years ago when diagnosed with prostate cancer . Caught it early all is good .

I am generally not a gambler I like cold hard facts to make decisions . Getting the facts on insurance is difficult to say the least .

[javadog]

That seems to be an insane amount for premiums. I'm not questioning you, I'm questioning how they can charge that much.

My memory is that my premium was something under 500 a month and the deductible or somewhere around 3000. Maybe that was the total out-of-pocket, I don't recall. I know that the premiums weren't more than 500 a month and I know that the deductible but wasn't super high and I also never had any problems with it.

At the end of the day, you have to look at the premiums, deductibles, the out-of-pocket and all the other factors and just see which one makes the most sense. I'm not a huge fan of high deductibles or high out-of-pocket expenses.

[rfuerst911sc]

java I'm not impressed with 2K a month either ! That's why I'm shopping around . Our financial advisor has budgeted 2K a month in our retirement plan but I don't like being at the max right out of the gate . The cost can only go up . If I can find something decent for 500.00 - 1000.00 a month I would be relatively happy . If I can't find anything over the next two weeks or so I will go the Cobra route to buy more time to search . I need to get my packet turned in by late Nov. to hit first pension check on 12/1 .

[javadog]

When I had coverage with Coventry, I had a local insurance agent/broker that I could sit down with and discuss the details. Basically, he handled all of my health insurance needs and moved me from company to company as the deals changed. Maybe there's someone like that in your area.

[wdfifteen]

Just a couple of data points. My wife still has coverage through our old company (still technically an employee). It costs the company $400 a month with a $5000 deductible. She looked into buying her own insurance and it was $1150/month with $5000 deductible.