Complaints about websites

[Patriotic Voter]

It is one thing to hate the way a fun or informational website is set up, such as the top bar not going away after you scroll down the page or a video playing automatically. Mozilla Firefox has add-ons to fix annoyances like those. But if you need to know the facts about what your health insurance plan covers and that information is not published on their official website, that is a big problem worth complaining about. And it just happened to me recently.

If this sort of situation happened to you (it does not have to be medical), feel free to complain about that problem here. Or if you have any solutions, this is the thread to post them in. Got it?

 

[Demon]

It is one thing to hate the way a fun or informational website is set up, such as the top bar not going away after you scroll down the page or a video playing automatically. Mozilla Firefox has add-ons to fix annoyances like those. But if you need to know the facts about what your health insurance plan covers and that information is not published on their official website, that is a big problem worth complaining about. And it just happened to me recently.

If this sort of situation happened to you (it does not have to be medical), feel free to complain about that problem here. Or if you have any solutions, this is the thread to post them in. Got it?

I can really only speak about medicare, but I find you have to read the 'evidence of coverage' - the plans I'vs seen only give summaries unless you read the 'evidence', and you have to look for that.

 

[Patriotic Voter]

This was my problem: I need a new pair of hearing aids. My next pair will be custom molded to fit my ears (like what I have now) and come with a custom made charger, remote control, and iPhone app. They will use Bluetooth technology to work with speakers. I have no idea how much this would cost her, but Mom said in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids that use disposable batteries cost $3,000 per ear without insurance. So we both looked at the health insurance company website to find out if they will cover new hearing aids and which ones if it does. The company's homepage has no links to a hearing care department. That implies they do not cover any hearing aids at all. So Mom called a phone number on the website to ask them if they cover hearing aids. The answer is yes if she calls certain company's phone number. Why didn't the health insurance company publish the fact that they do offer partial coverage of audiology appointments and hearing aids and the phone number to do it on their website, even if it must be done through one specific audiology practice? Everyone who lives long enough loses some hearing and the fastest-growing generation is senior citizens, so there is no reason it should be so hard.

 

[Demon]

This was my problem: I need a new pair of hearing aids. My next pair will be custom molded to fit my ears (like what I have now) and come with a custom made charger, remote control, and iPhone app. They will use Bluetooth technology to work with speakers. I have no idea how much this would cost her, but Mom said in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids that use disposable batteries cost $3,000 per ear without insurance. So we both looked at the health insurance company website to find out if they will cover new hearing aids and which ones if it does. The company's homepage has no links to a hearing care department. That implies they do not cover any hearing aids at all. So Mom called a phone number on the website to ask them if they cover hearing aids. The answer is yes if she calls certain company's phone number. Why didn't the health insurance company publish the fact that they do offer partial coverage of audiology appointments and hearing aids and the phone number to do it on their website, even if it must be done through one specific audiology practice? Everyone who lives long enough loses some hearing and the fastest-growing generation is senior citizens, so there is no reason it should be so hard.

Yeah, its a pain they way they do things. The good news is that now hearing aids can be sold over the counter, so you may find them cheaper than with insurance. Here's what my insurance says about their hearing benefits:

In network

Maximum Coverage for Hearing Aids: $2,000 for both ears combined every three years

Out of Network
50%
Fitting/Evaluation for Hearing Aids: 40% for one fitting evaluation for hearing aid every three years
Maximum Coverage for Hearing Aids: Combined with in-network

 

[Patriotic Voter]

Yeah, its a pain they way they do things. The good news is that now hearing aids can be sold over the counter, so you may find them cheaper than with insurance.

I have to get mine from an audiologist. OTC hearing aids are for people with mild-moderate hearing loss (I am in the moderate-severe range) and can't be custom molded to fit my ears.