Health Insurance at Costco?

[runawaykinms]

I came across this article today:

Aetna to sell health insurance to Costco members - MarketWatch

What do you guys think? How does this affect agents in this field?

 

[somarco]

If someone wants Aetna, they can have it.

Haven't seen the plan. Don't really care. Aetna is such a minor player and I doubt they will stay in the major med market much longer.

Plans are probably along the lines of the Aetna AARP plans. Move a few benefits around, 1 yr lookback on pre-ex. Not very different from street plans.

Some folks may get approved under the Costco-Aetna plan that would not otherwise be approved.

Other than that, I see no reason for the excitement.

 

[VolAgent]

Only time I ever had a claim denied was by Aetna. They seemed to conveniently forget that emergency is always treated as in-network.

Oh, and the facility was in-network too.

Yep, they really have a grasp on it all.

 

[Josh]

I'm biased because I used to work for them and have seen first hand the great member care they have (specifically on the Medicare side). My wife had them and they denied a claim when the physician was trying to do a sneaky double bill for a single office visit (which the physicians office dropped when I called them out on it).

Now if we're talking about their ability to process an MA enrollment, that's a horse of a different color.

 

[somarco]

Major med never was anything to write home about. A lot of junk plans with tons of out of pocket. Add in the whopping 4% commission and you have a real stinker.

 

[GreenSky]

I seem to recall PacifiCare having a Costco plan years ago.

Rick

 

[CABenefits]

I have a client that bought into Costco's dental plan for his family. They partnered with Delta Care USA. He had no support and a network of 3 providers. I moved him to a group dental ppo. I'm surprised they are not pushing Medicare supps

Mike

 

[foxmarble]

I have a client that bought into Costco's dental plan for his family. They partnered with Delta Care USA. He had no support and a network of 3 providers. I moved him to a group dental ppo. I'm surprised they are not pushing Medicare supps

Mike

Lol dont give them any ideas!

 

[rousemark]

Major med never was anything to write home about. A lot of junk plans with tons of out of pocket. Add in the whopping 4% commission and you have a real stinker.

4% ? Haven't sold Major Medical for years but in those days the commission was 20% -30% depending on the company.. Group plans generally paid 10% -15%. Sounds like it is tough being a health agent these days.

 

[somarco]

4% is half what other carriers are paying, but thanks to Obama commissions in the 15 - 20% range are history. Haven't seen anything approaching 25% in several years.

OTOH, premiums keep going up. But when a carrier pays 4% the premium needs to be 400% of what it was 2 yrs ago to get close to what we were earning pre-MLR