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  #1  
Old 04-30-2013, 07:51 PM
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United Health Care?

Anyone here have it or have an opinion about it as a health insurance company?

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  #2  
Old 04-30-2013, 07:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kerry View Post
Anyone here have it or have an opinion about it as a health insurance company?
About ten years ago they came in with a very competitive price, only to go through the roof after that. Also they needed to be chased at that time for them to pay for services.
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  #3  
Old 04-30-2013, 09:26 PM
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it's a great company to work with as long as you stay healthy and don't have any claims.
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  #4  
Old 04-30-2013, 09:59 PM
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I spent 5-6 years working in a healthcare insurer as a competitor to them and now have UHC in my new unrelated job, that should tell you something. UHC is one of the best in the business (however messed up the business and system may be) they're consistently #1 or #2 in national healthcare networks and I haven't had a problem since switching over, IBX/BS would be a close second. If available in your area I would look into Kaiser Permanente (KP.org) which is a nonprofit (less overhead than commercial) which is also very good but generally only available in the southwest...if I recall you're close to there but not dead inside the network. I would not touch my former employer with a ten foot pole for long term security, along with a couple of their competitors--I am not going to divulge which company it is except it is NOT UHC but national competitors are lackluster in terms of medical loss ratio (MLR). There are a lot of problems with the industry, I got out when I consistently tried to fix some of the issues with my limited leverage and met a brick wall every time , although Obamacare will solve some of that love it or hate it.

BTW my new job, I pay less with UHC than I did with their direct competition WHILE WORKING FOR THEM and get better coverage....

edit: got my new job in 11/2012 so this is current. I was involved with a ton of high dollar ACA-related projects, not a total peon.
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  #5  
Old 04-30-2013, 10:05 PM
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The problem with Kaiser is that it is geographically limited. It can only be accessed where they have facilities. If a person moves about for long periods of time, it's an issue. I do have access to Anthem/BS but the prices are about double UHC.
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  #6  
Old 04-30-2013, 10:12 PM
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Originally Posted by kerry View Post
The problem with Kaiser is that it is geographically limited. It can only be accessed where they have facilities. If a person moves about for long periods of time, it's an issue. I do have access to Anthem/BS but the prices are about double UHC.
oof yeah, I wasn't sure if KP was available where you are, they're great if they are around. I would stick with UHC then, in most or all terms they're better than IBC/BS nationwide IMO, for that reason--more accessible and affordable while still getting similar MLRs and coverage (indicating much better corporate efficiency). In your specific area you might want to go to each one's "find a doctor" sort of thing and see if there is a big discrepancy with in-network providers for anything near you and make sure you don't have to drive a day to save a few bucks. I would doubt any big difference but its worth a check considering how much money any plan costs. Basically, considering the competition its one of the best.
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  #7  
Old 04-30-2013, 10:20 PM
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One issue with Kaiser is that you're stuck with their doctors. There are wider choices with other providers. For instance, I traveled to Pittsburgh for surgery a few years ago and since the doctor was in the BC network it was covered. Wouldn't have worked with Kaiser.
UHC has a 5k deductible 100% plan I'm looking at.
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  #8  
Old 04-30-2013, 11:53 PM
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We have them. Not sure what issues there are but we haven't had much bad luck with any of them. Had Dean (smaller group) when I worked for them, Physicians Plus and a couple others.

Only trouble was I got a bill that wasn't mine so I tossed it back in the mail.
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  #9  
Old 05-01-2013, 07:52 AM
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We have them at our company-nationwide. Not thrilled with them. Our co. is actually self insured and they are just the administrator of the plan. I'd love to know how that works. Do they just tack on a percentage fee when they bill the company for bills they have paid? How do they get their money?
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  #10  
Old 05-01-2013, 09:17 AM
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The AZ state retirement system's member insurance plan is with UHC. I was under it for a couple of years before going private. In my experience they are slow to pay claims. So slow apparently that some hospitals, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix for example, no longer accepts their coverage. I have heard there are others who have cut them off as well but don't know for sure. I believe I'd check with providers that I might be likely to use in the future before signing up with UHC.
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  #11  
Old 05-01-2013, 10:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sloride View Post
About ten years ago they came in with a very competitive price, only to go through the roof after that. Also they needed to be chased at that time for them to pay for services.

x2

Quote:
it's a great company to work with as long as you stay healthy and don't have any claims.
x2 to medmech's comment too.

I had to get the state of CT involved to get them to honor the terms of their side of a contract with a patient about 12 years ago. At that time, they were the most obstructionist, unethical, denial factory ive dealt with, and only repeated threats from the state attorney general got them to pay for medicine to keep someone alive.

my 2 cents. I personally wouldn't use them, but maybe things have changed in 12 years.
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  #12  
Old 05-01-2013, 10:49 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbomachines View Post
I spent 5-6 years working in a healthcare insurer as a competitor to them and now have UHC in my new unrelated job, that should tell you something. UHC is one of the best in the business (however messed up the business and system may be) they're consistently #1 or #2 in national healthcare networks and I haven't had a problem since switching over, IBX/BS would be a close second. If available in your area I would look into Kaiser Permanente (KP.org) which is a nonprofit (less overhead than commercial) which is also very good but generally only available in the southwest...if I recall you're close to there but not dead inside the network. I would not touch my former employer with a ten foot pole for long term security, along with a couple of their competitors--I am not going to divulge which company it is except it is NOT UHC but national competitors are lackluster in terms of medical loss ratio (MLR). There are a lot of problems with the industry, I got out when I consistently tried to fix some of the issues with my limited leverage and met a brick wall every time , although Obamacare will solve some of that love it or hate it.

BTW my new job, I pay less with UHC than I did with their direct competition WHILE WORKING FOR THEM and get better coverage....

edit: got my new job in 11/2012 so this is current. I was involved with a ton of high dollar ACA-related projects, not a total peon.
Kaiser P. sounds like a good choice that is not available to me due to location. What do you think the pros and cons are to letting health care companies offer their services nationwide. I don't want to highjack this tread just looking for answers from people in healthcare field.
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  #13  
Old 05-08-2013, 06:09 PM
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Originally Posted by kerry View Post
Anyone here have it or have an opinion about it as a health insurance company?

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