Just Call It “The American Association Of Ridiculous Postage”

Help! I’m being buried in an avalanche of mailings from AARP/United Healthcare, telling me why I should sign up for their Medicare Supplement plan. Lest you think our health care system is on the way to cutting costs, let me set the record straight. It isn’t.  AARP is stalking me–and millions of other Baby Boomers–as we’re about to turn 65 this year. It stands to clean up if we chose its Medicare supplement (provided by United Healthcare)  versus plans from numerous competitors, including Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Aetna and Prudential. And it doesn’t intend to let us forget about it, even for one day.

How can a company justify sending me not one, not two, not three, but about 25 thick packets filled with dozens of pages, all saying the same thing?  And all within a couple of months. The cost of the paper, printing, collating and stuffing envelopes, as well as mailing and postage, is not insignifant. No wonder our insurance costs are continually rising.

Today, I swear, I received two more identical packges in the mail from AARP, one addressed to me and the other to my ex-husband. Douglas and I have not lived together since 1988. Maybe AARP knows we’re good friends and figured we’d be spending our time discussing Medicare options.

What’s especially ironic about all these mailings is that I decided, months ago, to choose AARP’s plan. I’m actually thinking I may NOT sign up for it, however, in light of all its massive bureaucratic waste.

 

 

0 Responses to “Just Call It “The American Association Of Ridiculous Postage””

  1. 2 Month Old Baby says:

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  2. Bia says:

    I’m 28 yrs old and I receive a letter in the mail almost everyday from AARP. I’ve called them number numerous times begging them to stop and every single time I’ve called I’ve spoken to a clueless representative that could not help. How’s that for killing trees! I even got so fed up that I called once and said I would like to sign up. The representative then asked me, “How old are you honey?” (just by hearing the tone in my voice) and I said “28!!!” So then of course she told me that I was too young, and that is when I said “THEN STOP SENDING ME OFFERS!!!!!!!” Thinking that hopefully then they would stop, but no that too did not help. Keep sending them AARP! Only 37 more years to go!! Grrrrr!!!!

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    • Geri says:

      hi bia,

      this is hysterical. i’m glad you read my blog at 28!

      geri

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  3. Donna O'Sullivan says:

    Hi Geri,
    From my experience working in healthcare finance, you made a wise choice to go with AARP (and no, I don’t work for them, I work for a non-profit healthcare facility). They’re great ‘payers’; if you’re involved in healthcare from my side of the fence, providers love good ‘payers’. I’ve seen them many times covering charges, copays and medications that other companies deny; something invaluable if, God forbid, you wind up with major surgery or time in a Rehab facility. That being said, if I see you walking around with an AARP tote bag, girlfriend, I’ll draw the line.

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  4. Marsha Calhoun says:

    The American health care system is dumbfounding, at best – the more you look at it, the less sense it makes. My husband and I are with Kaiser (a large managed care program) and apparently they have no idea of how to help members transition from pre-Medicare coverage to post-Medicare coverage (although they must do exactly that dozens of times a day). It took hours and hours on the phone to get it right. In our community, other hospitals take out full-page ads weekly in local papers, presumably to persuade people to choose them when they must be hospitalized, and totally ignoring the fact that it is the physician who generally chooses which hospital a patient will use. It makes no sense, and the more questions I ask, the more run-around I get.

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    • Geri says:

      Hi Marsha,

      Your comment greatly interests me because I did a blog on KP and thought they had their act together. Email me directly and I will give you the name of the head of public relations and she will help you.

      Here’s the link to the blog: http://blog.faboverfifty.com/2011/12/05/omg-im-eligible-for-medicare/

      my email is geri@faboverfifty.com

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      • Marsha Calhoun says:

        I was assured by phone yesterday that the whole silly mess had been straightened out, but if the next billing is screwed up, I will certainly be in touch. That said, I really do like Kaiser as far as the medical services go, and I admire the ease with which the various departments and hospitals work together and with me – I did read your excellent blog, and unless they totally screw up, I won’t be changing. I just wish the business office was a tenth as efficient as the medical side (thought if I had to choose, I’d stick with medical efficiency!).

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