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Dan Neal: Has UnitedHealthcare seduced the AARP?

Here in Wyoming and across the country, people enrolled in Medicare are engaged in the annual task of assessing their supplemental insurance coverage. Insurance companies anxious to acquire more customers have flooded my mail box with pitches urging me to sign up before the open enrollment period ends Dec. 7.

The supplemental plans, known as Medigap, are offered by private insurers to cover some or all of the out-of-pocket costs that Medicare Parts A and B do not. Medicare’s website enables its clients to compare the “Medigap” plans easily, but it’s still not an easy decision. It requires gambling on one’s health — or in more official language, risk assessment. As elderly humans, we senior citizens know that cancer, a Parkinson’s diagnosis, or onset of diabetes can suddenly change a person’s health needs and send medical costs skyrocketing. Will it happen this year? Next?

Wyoming Senior Citizens, a private, nonprofit organization, provides a buyer’s guide put together by the Wyoming Department of Insurance. The guide provides a sense of an insurer’s ability to meet its obligations to policyholders via ratings from A.M. Best.

Even with those resources, it’s important for seniors and their families to be vigilant for deceptive advertising and offers. Watch for products that promise a range of services for “free” or “at no additional cost.”

In the past I’ve relied on the AARP to fight back against scammers on behalf of seniors, but my trust waned when I realized the organization benefits from some of the deception.

Which brings me to UnitedHealthcare. This giant insurance provider based in Minnesota first contacted me in late October. It advertises regularly in publications I receive from the AARP, the great advocate for senior citizens and defender of both Medicare and Social Security.