Wouldn’t it be great if you could get rewarded with numerous benefits for simply getting older? AARP does exactly that with its health insurance and more.
AARP is a nonpartisan, nonprofit and non-governmental organization with a mission to empower individuals above a certain age to live their lives the way they want. AARP's primary focus is to provide Americans aged 50 and up with health insurance options that fit their lifestyles and benefit them.
While those under 50 are welcome to join the organization, the focus is on 50+ members. The minimum age for AARP health insurance is also different from the membership age at 65 and up. And while AARP does offer health insurance, it isn't an insurance company. Let's find out more.
What Is The Minimum Age To Be An AARP Member?
When it was first founded, AARP stood for the American Association of Retired Persons. Individuals ages 50 and up are eligible to become a full AARP member. Becoming an AARP member avails you a secondary membership for your household at no extra cost, carefully curated services and programs, hundreds of discounts, the AARP magazine, and a whole lot more.
Joining the AARP health insurance plan can be very advantageous for those that have plans to travel frequently. The annual membership fee provides access to a host of discounts with a much higher value than the fee. AARP associated car rentals, travel packages, and discounts that AARP members can take advantage of.
AARP also offers associate memberships to individuals younger than 50. With an associate membership, you can get all the wonderful benefits that come with full membership, so long as they aren't age-restricted offers. The wonderful thing is, as soon as you become 50, your associate membership becomes a full one with no further input from you.
Services, benefits, and policies that have the AARP brand on them have been designed to meet the needs of the American elderly. Becoming a member costs $16, with renewals also costing the same. There is a reduced renewal fee of $12 given to individuals that choose the auto-renew option. An added benefit is that free membership can be offered to a partner or spouse.
What Is Included In The AARP Health Insurance?
Understanding that as people age, there are bound to be more health concerns and challenges, most of which individuals have to cover themselves, AARP was created in 1958 by Dr. Ethel Percy with a philosophy of productive aging.
The philosophy is embodied by AARP insurance, being one of the foremost insurance companies that offer advantages to millions of senior citizens everywhere. The aim was to offer older retired people an insurance policy that was good enough to protect them when health issues arose.
Depending on which AARP medical insurance plan you choose, the coverages could go from basic to completely comprehensive. Most of the plans offer additional perks that Original Medicare does not cover. Things such as ER care, prescription drugs, and ER care are all variables that determine which AARP health insurance plan is suited to you.
When considering plans, you should also be wary of the plan's network coverage. Some plans allow you to make use of certain hospitals and plans in their network. For example, AARP Medicare Advantage offers HMO and PPO.
While HMO allows you to use out of network professional medical services, PPO restricts you to a network of providers except in emergency cases. Using a service not covered by their network could incur some out-of-pocket costs.
AARP health insurance plans differ from typical health insurance plans because traditional insurance services do not understand that most people function with a monthly budget. When compared with AARP health insurance, these companies typically have high insurance quotes and look like they are simply in the business to turn a profit.
UnitedHealthcare provides AARP's health insurance. This corporate agreement has been in place since 1997, enabling adults ages 65 and up to purchase insurance via AARP, especially if they need Medicare Advantage or other Medicare-related insurance plans.
The AARP health insurance from UnitedHealthcare has Medicare options, ranging from entry plans that cover out of pocket costs to more comprehensive plans.
Does AARP Offer Health Insurance For Those Younger Than 65?
At this time, AARP no longer offers a health insurance program for adults aged 50 and 64. However, it does provide many other medical and health products that can be beneficial to individuals in this age group. These typically include short-term vision and dental policies.
How Much Does AARP Health Insurance Cost?
How much you pay for any of the AARP health insurance plans made available from the UnitedHealthcare partnership typically depends on where you reside and the health insurance plan in question.
However, you can expect to pay anything from $0 to $26 a month for the Medicare Advantage or Part C plan. The Part D plan, the prescription package, costs a little more, with the entry price at $30 and the upper limit costing about $90+.
As stated earlier, AARP isn't an insurance provider. However, it does make available quality vetted coverage to its members. AARP Services, a branch of AARP, maintains oversight control for these options to ensure that quality is maintained. Apart from the plans listed earlier, other plans include AARP Medigap or Medicare Supplement plan and AARP D-SNP Dual Special Needs Plans.
What Is Included In The AARP Short Term Care Plan?
Short-term care is provided to those certified by a board-certified physician to be incapable of caring for themselves. This certification can also be used on those suffering from cognitive impairments such as dementia. The plan covers assisted living-related services for no more than a year. Anything longer than a year would require Long term Care (more on that later).
The services included in short term care plan are:
- Adult daycare
- Home healthcare
- Hospice care facility
- Assisted living centers.
- Nursing homes
AARP through Medico offers these short term care plans. These AARP insurance plans are available in 17 states of the union: Wyoming, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Ohio, North Carolina, Nevada, Montana, Mississippi, Michigan, Iowa, Colorado, Arkansas, and Alabama.
The plan also provides a maximum of $500 each to cover the expenses of assistance for household chores such as cleaning and lawn mowing and hiring a care coordinator. There are different benefit levels attached to the short term coverage plan, with price estimates from $100 per day to $310 per day.
What Is Included In The AARP Long Term Care Plan?
AARP long-term care insurance plans are offered via New York Life, a mutual life insurance company owned by its policyholders rather than investors. Unlike the AARP short term care plan, this long term care plan can be purchased in any state in the union.
This insurance plan takes up the expenses not covered by Medicaid, health insurance, or Medicare. It covers things such as assisted living centers, in-home care, and nursing homes. It also covers care services such as transferring, eating, and bathing.
AARP's long-term care plan is typically recommended to couples or individuals who pass the Medicaid eligibility threshold but do not have enough money to pay $51,000 to $110,000 a year for long term care that could be required.
Research by the American long term care insurance association discovered that rates for almost identical coverages could vary by about $110. This was further buttressed by the fact that the median yearly premiums for individuals ages 55 and older in 2020 were:
- $1,800 for a single man
- $2,700 for a single woman
- $3,100 for a couple
It is important to note that these prices are averaged and could cost more or less depending on the recipient's resident, lifestyle, pre-existing conditions, or health history. AARP members cannot receive instant quotes on the body's long term care insurance plans as a personal phone consultation would be required.
