rewarded for ... being me!

That's right: my health plan gave me ten bucks just for doing what I normally do.

That's a new reward from United Healthcare that just began.

What was that start date?

Sunday.

And what did I have to do to earn it?

They gave me five options for this "connect with others" benefit.

 

1) Catch up with a friend or loved one.

I called my nephew Michael and sang "Happy Birthday", then we talked for almost thirty minutes.

 

2) Join a group class or activity.

- Nothing like that was going on that day.

3) Attend a community event.

I went to church to celebrate the start of our new year, enjoying hotdogs, ice cream, and chatting with several people there.

 

4) Bring a healthy dish to a get together.

- Nothing like that was going on that day.

 

5) Choose a social activity that interests you.

I went to The Wyld restaurant with meetup group 'Savannah Locals' and chatted with the five women there for almost two hours.

 

To get the reward, which was added to my UHC UCard, all I had to check off was one of the five options - and I had three!!!

Here's the real surprise: I thought the reward opportunities had begun on Monday, not Sunday, so I had logged in just to make sure of the rules.

How wonderful to find I had, by serendipity, completed the challenge on Sunday!!!

So, I claimed my reward, and part of it went to buy a quartet of new toothbrushes.

You see, as part of UCard Member Week, I also got a 20% discount at Walgreens for just showing my UCard.

That isn't a store I normally shop, but I will now.

They have taken the time to put "OTC Approved" labels on those products that money on the UCard can be used to buy.

Very nice!

I have been quite pleased with my choice of Medicare plan.

Back in April, after losing my mind over making this decision, postponing it until 'tomorrow', I finally set aside several days to thoroughly research my options.

I narrowed it down to three contenders.

 

Then I took a break for a day or so, to let my brain mull over the pros and cons.

There didn't seem to be much difference between the Medicare Advantage plans offered by Humana, United Healthcare, and Clover.

All three were geared toward veterans who have prescriptions through the VA, so no Part D was needed.

 - Okay, that was me.

All three included vision, hearing, and dental perks.

 - I still get my vision handled by the VA, but the dental was a good option.

All three had nearly identical out of pocket maximums, office visit copays, and that stuff.

 - Again, for anything high dollar, I would fall back on the VA, so I wasn't going to lose sleep over whether a specialist visit fee was $30 or $40.

 

In the end, I chose the United Healthcare Patriot plan.

The overwhelming reason behind my opting for them over the others?

Here it is: for every Community Care claim that I had, United Healthcare was the group that handled and paid the claim.

It hadn't mattered if it was for the breast cancer scare or the atrial fibrillation hospital claim, the company that took care of the bills was UHC, and they did so in a timely manner and didn't let the billers try to get away with sending the claim through multiple times.

I never had to make a phone call about any of that.

Trust me, that's a blessing.

And that bladder infection that sent me to ExperCare after my PCP blew it off?

My part of that almost $600 bill was just $40, thanks to UHC.

Yeah, that's a blessing.

i thank You, God.