5b.
Medicare Open-Market plans subsidized by HP or HPE.
If you haven't already done so, start at
Medicare - First step Best source of
Medicare info is the
very clear, official
Medicare & You book.
Trap:
HP/HPE enrollment deadlines are soft deadlines. Medicare
deadlines are hard deadlines.
For 2025 -- but not 2026 for HP Inc -- you may have two alternatives for company-sponsored Medicare coverage -- depending on your HP/HPE retiree medical program:
1.
Group Medicare plans are privately negotiated by HP or
HPE and administered by the HP or HPE Benefits Center. (HPE
refers to group plans as "sponsored" plans.)
Premiums for any health plan reflect the cost of care across the members of that plan --
and are therefore rapidly increasing as members of group plans move to lower-cost open-market plans. In
addition: "Recently, Medicare changed their reimbursement rates to save Medicare money. Because of this, additional expenses are being passed on to employer-sponsored health plans and participants. The increases for 2025 were determined by our medical carriers -- not HP -- based on retiree claim costs and health care inflation."
Group
plans
can be very different from similarly-named
publicly-available individual plans purchased on the open
market. May cover dependents or be better for those with
pre-existing conditions or high medication costs. May have a
broader network and service area, more comprehensive
coverage, or different out-of-pocket costs and yearly
limits. Group plans have different plan numbers from open-market plans.
You work with the HP or HPE Benefits Center to select and administer your group plan. HP or HPE is the purchaser of the plan -- and can intervene on your behalf.
Available for 2025, but not 2026 for HP Inc. Details and member advice:
https://www.hpalumni.org/medicare-group
2.
Individual, open-market Medicare plans are available
through insurance sales agencies and directly from insurance
companies.
Premiums are based on the highly-competitive open market and
across all customers of the insurer.
Medicare plans must meet certain standards but vary on critical
details -- such as network and service area, referrals and
pre-approvals, out-of-pocket costs, and yearly limits.
HP and HPE have both selected a specific nationwide insurance sales agency -- Alight Retiree Health Solutions -- to sell and
administer plans that are subsidized by HP or HPE. If you
qualify for an HP or HPE subsidy, you must purchase through
AlightRHS to get it. You don't need to use AlightRHS if you don't have a
subsidy -- however, their public website is a good place to
explore alternatives.
AlightRHS has a public website that lets you compare Advantage,
Supplement, and drug plans based on your location and personal
health situation. For each plan, it checks if your specific doctors are in-network and calculates cost for the generic or brand-name
drugs you specify. (Notes: AARP/UHC Supplement plans are listed, but you must call Alight for details and pricing. Some plans --
especially local plans -- are not available through Alight.)
Set up your Alight account, enter your data, and use the website
to compare your alternatives before your appointment with the
Alight agent.
Members report that
AlightRHS agents, who must be licensed to sell in your state, vary in availability, experience, and
competence. Follow along on the website while on the phone with
the agent.
HP/HPE do not directly pay anything to AlightRHS.
You pay list price to
the insurance company every month. Alight is paid the standard
commission
by the insurance company. If you qualify for a subsidy, Alight
notifies the Benefits Center, which reimburses you monthly until
your special "Retiree Reimbursement Account" (not to be confused
with an RMSA or HSA) has been depleted for the year. (RRA amount depends on years-of-service and when you left.)
Details and member advice below on this page.
If you decline HP/HPE medical coverage: Depending on your
situation, you can lose the ability to re-enroll in HP/HPE
coverage -- and your surviving dependents will not be eligible
for HP/HPE coverage. Details:
https://www.hpalumni.org/reenroll-restrictions
You must carefully compare the alternatives yourself.
The AlightRHS sales agency does not have info on the HP/HPE private group
plans -- nor vice-versa.
Member advice on how to compare plans:
https://www.hpalumni.org/health-compare
How to escalate retiree benefits issues to HP, HPE, or
AlightRHS:
https://www.hpalumni.org/escalate
Consider individual, open market Medicare plans subsidized by HP
or HPE.
To administer individual plans subsidized through the Benefits Centers, HP and HPE have
selected a nationwide sales agency that offers many (but
not all) available open-market plans -- Alight Retiree Health
Solutions (AlightRHS).
(Note that AlightRHS is a separate company from Alight Benefits
Administration, which operates the HP Benefits Center. The HPE
Benefits Center is operated by Bswift/Aetna.)
If you qualify for an HP or HPE subsidy, you must purchase
through AlightRHS to get it. This is covered in your
Annual Enrollment Coverage Statement, the personalized cover
letter mailed with the printed Enrollment Guide. This has
sometimes not been clear in the Enrollment Guides.
There are government specifications for open-market Advantage
and Medigap plans. A carrier may add additional features,
but can't change the required basic coverage.
Insurance sales agencies charge the
same list price and are paid the same standard commission by the
insurance companies -- for the initial sale and then a monthly
admin fee thereafter.
HP/HPE do not directly pay
anything to AlightRHS. Instead, the insurance companies pay
AlightRHS for
new plans and renewals.
You pay list price to
the insurance company every month. AlightRHS is paid their commission
by the insurance company and reports to the Benefits Center.
If on the Pre-2003 program:
- At the start of the year, the company funds a special account
at the Benefits Center that HP calls a "Retiree Reimbursement Account" (RRA.)
(Not to be confused with any other reimbursement account
that you might have, such as an RMSA -- Retiree Medical
Savings Account, or an HSA -- Health Savings Account.)
(RRA amount depends on years-of-service and when you left.)
- The premiums you pay to AlightRHS are reimbursed monthly from
the RRA -- until your annual subsidy is used up. The
process works well once set up.
If on the current Retiree Medical Program: You can request
reimbursement via your Retiree Medical Savings Account (RMSA.)
In either case, your subsidy is not reported to the IRS as
taxable compensation.
No sales agency, including AlightRHS, offers all plans potentially available in your ZIP code.
AlightRHS examples: 1.
AARP/UHC plans available by request. 2.
For 2025, Kaiser and
Tufts will be available through AlightRHS. 3. For example, until the HPAA
raised the issue with HP, Regence Idaho was not available from
AlightRHS.
AlightRHS has a very well-done "Plan
Recommendation Tool" -- with details and list prices for the
specific plans they carry.
To purchase an individual health
insurance plan, the transaction must be completed by an agent
who holds an insurance sales license in your state
The AlightRHS system and
agents do not have information on group plans available from
HP/HPE.
Examine the alternatives online
before your appointment with an AlightRHS agent,
which you can do without
registering or affecting current enrollment.
Members report that
AlightRHS agents vary dramatically in availability, experience, and
competence.
(The HPAA has an informal escalation path into AlightRHS management.
https://www.hpalumni.org/escalate-ARHS )
- Alight Retiree Health
Solutions (AlightRHS) will sell to anyone, but is now owned
by an HR outsourcing company. (The HP Benefits Center is operated by
a related company, Alight Benefits
Administration.)
- Prices
and features at
https://retiree.alight.com are the same as via the HP and
HPE logins. (
https://retiree.alight.com/hp and
https://retiree.alight.com/hewlettpackardenterprise )
- Members report that AlightRHS agents vary dramatically in
availability, experience, and competence.
No single agency represents all
companies. Some companies prefer to sell
direct. In either case, the people you talk to must be
licensed
in your state.
You can compare benefits
and costs for all open-market plans -- Advantage, Drug, and Medigap
-- available in your ZIP code on the official Medicare
site. Gives estimated cost -- and contact info -- for each plan.
(Notes: No sales agency, including AlightRHS, offers all plans available in your area. The official Medicare comparison site does not have information on any
group plans, such as
HP/HPE, that you might be qualified for.)
https://www.medicare.gov/plan-compare
There are government specifications for open-market Advantage
and Medigap plans. A carrier may add additional features,
but can't change the required basic coverage.
There are many ways
to buy Medicare plans. Your car/home insurance agent carries
a limited range of health plans. To find a local independent
agent familiar with what works best in your area, ask your
friends and neighbors -- or ask on Nextdoor or Facebook.
An experienced
health insurance agent can make a big difference. For example,
members report that their agent may submit an anonymous "test"
application to an insurance company. Or help them fill out their
application to position them for the best price or coverage --
or deal with pre-existing conditions.
You can explore most -- but not all
-- of your options without setting up an AlightRHS Retiree account (or without disturbing your current
AlightRHS Retiree account settings.)
1. Go to the Alight Retiree Health
Solutions (AlightRHS) public website
https://retiree.alight.com
Or you can go to AlightRHS's HP or HPE
website and create an account. (This is a different account from
your Benefits Center account.)
https://retiree.alight.com/hp -- AlightRHS website for HP.
https://retiree.alight.com/hewlettpackardenterprise --
AlightRHS
website for HPE.
Create account and enter your medications.
Then compare plans.
Get your
AlightRHS appointment early! In some states, AlightRHS
doesn't have a sufficient number of licensed agents. You are
competing for attention with employees and retirees of 150 other
organizations.
- AlightRHS agents vary in level of experience. Because
AlightRHS helps
people get their state insurance sales license, that job is an
entry path into the insurance industry.
- AlightRHS agents receive sales commissions for plans they place in your cart.
- Given AlightRHS's limited availability of licensed and experienced
agents in some states, it is best to explore your options online
before talking to AlightRHS. You can do that without setting up an
AlightRHS account or disturbing your current plan choices.
- The list price for a given plan is the same whether you
purchase it through AlightRHS or any other sales agency.
The amount of the subsidy you would receive if you
choose to buy through Alight Retiree Health
Solutions is shown in the body of
the personalized Annual Enrollment Coverage
Statement under the heading "HP
premium reimbursements for Alight Retiree Health
Solutions Retiree Health
Exchange coverage." [See yellow highlights in our
sample personalized Coverage Statement:
hpalumni.org/2021HPIncSampleStatement-Aon.pdf
]
Examine the AlightRHS choices for your area -- with list prices
that you pay directly to AlightRHS -- without making any commitment. (You
receive the RRA subsidy directly from HP.)
You can explore your options without talking to AlightRHS or creating
an account (or without disturbing your current account
settings.)
AlightRHS for HP
https://retiree.alight.com/hp
AlightRHS for HPE -- Hewlett Packard Enterprise
https://retiree.alight.com/hewlettpackardenterprise
Prepare for your call by using the AlightRHS site:
- Register and confirm your enrollment appointment
- Enter your prescriptions -- which has a huge effect on which
plans work best for you.
- Compare plans and put the best alternatives in the shopping
cart
Member tip: After the first year with AlightRHS, "Don't
bother with an Advisor, who is unlikely to know anything
that you haven't already researched. They also take up a lot
of your time. And from reports on this forum, they sometimes
stand you up. Now that we are allowed to do our own
enrollment on their web site, do that. It worked for me."
Work with both AlightRHS and the Benefits Center to determine
the best plan for your specific situation offered via each. Then you
make the final choice.
Your HP/HPE benefits account settings are confusing at first
glance:
- On your HP/HPE Benefits account, select "Alight Retiree Health
Solution $0.00" as your plan -- instead of the default company
group plan and price. This will cause the Benefits Center to
notify Alight. (It says "$0.00" because you pay the carrier
directly.)
- The plan or plans you bought are specified on your AlightRHS
account -- but are irrelevant to the company, and therefore not
indicated on your HP/HPE Benefits account.
Carefully go through the Annual Enrollment Coverage Statement,
the personalized cover letter mailed with the Enrollment Guide.
The Statement gives critical details that are not covered in the Guide -- such as the amount of any subsidy. Unlike the Enrollment Guide, your Coverage Statement is
not available on your
http://www.myhpbenefits.com account.
You can change back to an HP/HPE group plan from
AlightRHS
individual coverage, see your
Enrollment Guide for limitations.
Alight Retiree Health Solutions for HP
https://retiree.alight.com/hp
1-800-975-0355 -- 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Time, Monday
through Friday
Alight Retiree Health Solutions for HPE -- Hewlett Packard Enterprise
https://retiree.alight.com/hewlettpackardenterprise
1-844-537-5303 -- 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Time, Monday
through Friday
Troubleshooting. Member advice:
Medicare troubleshooting and contacts
Advice and reference info from
members.
(Oct 10, 2024) Website operated
by volunteers. Not officially endorsed or supported.
Question? Email:
info@hpalumni.org
Next step:
5c. How to Use Alight Retiree Health Solutions
How to efficiently use the insurance sales/admin agency selected
by HP and HPE.
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