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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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