We enrolled in an AARP Medigap plan belatedly. There is NO network, the plan benefits are established by law. You are free to use any doctor or facility in the United States that accepts Medicare. Yes, you must enroll in Medigap within six months after you become 65 to be guaranteed acceptance, or you must be able to answer certain health questions satisfactorily if you decide to enroll later.
We finally decided to ditch my husband's union PPO plan where we usually ended up with extra bills. Also the union renegotiated contracts with insurers every two years and it was frustrating.
So we had to time our applications to AARP Medigap in order to satisfactorily answer the health questions before quitting the union plan. If the plan had gone out of business or terminated us involuntarily, we wouldn't have had to answer the questions.
I also suspect, but don't know for sure, that doctors prefer dealing with Original Medicare+Medigap plans set by law, over Advantage plans where they have to negotiate contracts. Maybe that's why patients often hear their doctors no longer accept XYZ Advantage plan.
I didn't know that you could drop your AARP membership and still continue your United Health Care Medigap plan. Our policy card carries the AARP membership number. Do you keep the same number?
Anyway, we are happy with AARP/Medigap, even though the premiums are more expensive. We've never received a bill from a provider.
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