MEGA Life & Health Insurance - UGA Field Services LEGALIZED SLAVE LABOR MEGA N. Richland Hills Texas

I have had a MEGA policy for 2 years now, have filed claims, and have had less out of pocket expenses than I expected, in addition to saving thousands of dollars a year in premiums. The company has paid what was explained to me by my agent, and I have not had any complaints whatsoever. In fact, I am grateful to have found such a policy, as my medical expenses are less than what they were with my ex-company benefits with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. So when several friends I recommended MEGA to told me to check out this Rip-Off Report site, I decided to see what they were talking about, because you can never be too sure these days. But everything I have read seems to be completely different from my experience. I called my agent, who is also a long time friend, whom I would trust my life to, and asked what his experience has been as a MEGA agent, and why I was reading these reports from ex-agents. He explained to me that MEGA advances money to agents for policies they sell. Essentially, the company loans the agent money for a full year of a policy. He's done very well, and is grateful.

In the end, my MEGA policy has been an excellent choice for our family, and I have no regrets whatsoever. It sounds like the people who are posting these negative comments are venting about their anger at not understanding something fully. I get angry when I try to get to the bottom of a complaint and find nothing but someone's ignorance, so I felt like I had to throw some reality into this conversation. My agent also told me about a website where customers can post there experience with MEGA (www.megacustomers.info), where I am now going to post my good experience so that others can benefit from one of the most thought out and useful health insurance policies I have ever used. In a state like Maine, it's important that people know that there are some very good options out there for business owners like myself. Shame on you for all for trying to scare us away from MEGA, and from having an exceptional experience like my own. I will continue to recommend these plans to my colleagues and hopefully stop your bad-mouthing and scare tactics.

Concerned and satisfied customer,
Sarah

I couldnt have said it better myself, dont sign up and dont open the door when these weasels show up. Mega is a mega pile of dung, Blackstone should and will dump them when they get pressure from the public. Call them and raise hell America !!

I have read the MANY reports here on ROR about Mega, some from employees and some from consumers. My opinion tends to be the same as the OP. Mega is junk and anyone who purchases their products only does so because they have been lied to. If Mega is truly on the up and up, there could not POSSIBLY be so many irate customers and disgruntled employees, no matte what the shills would have us believe. And NO, I have never been an employee of Mega, nor a customer. Nor will I ever be either one.

Mega Health and Life (Health Markets) is a SCAM company period. I worked for them for 3 months and know personally two of their biggest national producers in South Florida and even attended their top producers convention in Dallas this past December. Even though they do sell policies, there are plenty of insurers out there that provide WAY better services than they do i.e. Aetna, Humana United/Golden Rule, Assurant, Cigna, BCBS, National Foundation Life, IAC... and the list goes on.

The reason why Blackstone, a large publicly trade hedge fund, has invested into Health Markets business is because for what you pay, which by the way is comparable or more expensive (depending on the "options" you choose) to the insurers listed, you get exclusions and limitations that will turn your head blue resulting in fewer and less expensive claims paid per premiums received = MORE PROFIT. I mean BLACKSTONE is a hedge fund JKAZZ, did you see what happended to BEAR STERNS??? The two executives who ran that fund are facing 20 years a piece right now. Not to metion the multi state probe that took place and was released a few months ago by the various State Insurance Commisions outlining their deceptive agent practices and pathetic training modules. There is absolutely NO arguement for this companies insurance, and if you still think that they are a valid option for a self employed person because of their BS association benefits and RX discount card which are no more than "DISCOUNT CARDS" NOT INSURANCE you are as stupid as you sound. I would NEVER put someone on one of these plans and would rather burn my money than waste a dollar on this scam of a product.

Phil and other prospective readers,
I think the characterization you have made is off base and simply false. As is true with any large insurance carrier, the responsibility is on the the agent, in this case "captive agent", to fully explain the coverages before selling the policy. There are no such things as bad coverages, only bad agents that are money driven and do not explain the exclusions and limitations properly. I have worked for the company for a short time and while I find the business to be very challenging, I also find the policies to be very competitive. The coverages are, however, structured very differently than traditional "comprehensive" plans and this should be explained to the consumer. MEGA provides "catastrophic plans" that do not include well care for any circumstances. If the event is not sympton related, the event is not covered. In my opinion, this fact is what keeps the premiums affordable and allows a small business owner to take advantage of other association benefits, such as the hospital advantage card and Rx discount program, to complement the insurance coverages.

I encourage everyone to ask themselves this question.....
"Why does Blackstone group, a Multibillion dollar holding company, own MEGA if the company operates in such a misleading way?"

Every insurance company gets sued and every insurance company has issues with consumers, especially one that is the size of MEGA. The number one reason is not that something was not covered how the policy states, but that the agent did not explain what is covered when meeting with the consumer. I spend over 2 hours with each client during a presentation to ensure that they find the best coverage for their situation. If the coverage does not work for them, I do not sell the policy. It is called ethics and it is my duty as a licensed professional.

My answer is that agents are to blame in the cases of misrepresentation to the clients and when found to be doing so, are retrained or released by the company. It is true that maine health insurance can be confusing, but the reason why and insurance agent must be licensed is to ensure they are held to a higher fiduciary duty.

MEGA is not Blue Cross and Blue Shield and does not claim to . The coverages are different and both have positive and negative aspects. MEGA is known as "nonmanaged" care and part of a Preferred Provider Organization. Blue Cross is "managed care" and is a Health Maintenance Organization. When coverages are explained correctly, there are no problems that I have seen. It is then up to the consumer to see the most benefit for themselves.

That being said, I understand the 350 calls per week that you had to make and how frustrating it can be, but your conversion rate for appointments indicates that you were doing something wrong. That is why UGA has district leaders in place, to offer help. The only kicker is that you have to ask for it. I also scored over 90% on the test you are speaking of, if you took it in Maine. Maybe you should examine where the anger you have is coming from. Is it MEGA's fault as an insurance company or your fault as an agent for your lack of success?

I understand that you are blowing off some steam, but we all need to take some responsibility. The individual market differs greatly from the group market, both in benefits and the way coverages are structured. The client needs to be educated about coverages so they know what they are buying before the sale and that responsibility lies solely on the agent.

MEGA has been operating for years base on selling fear and greed when it comes to selling its products and greed and or desperation when it comes to recruiting its agents. I was recruited through desperation not greed. The state of Maine is one of the most expensive states to live in and has one of the lowest wages in the country. It also has the highest overall tax burden which essentially keeps industry away and wages low. A more vicious financial cycle would be hard to find in the U.S. It is however one of the best places to bring up children in, which is why I'm here.

I cannot speak for the policies in the state that you live in but in the state of Maine, partly because of that high tax burden, no one is ever turned away from essential health care and no one ever loses their home or property because of medical expenses that cannot be met. This makes it incredibly difficult to sell any health insurance product here, never mind a sub-standard one.

Most people will willingly pay a percentage of their wages for a good group coverage product but to ask a family to pay for the entire premium for a bad policy when their income level may low to begin with is crazy. Granted the state of Maine has done it to itself to a certain extent through over regulating the health insurance industry here making it unafordable to buy for most self-employed people. There are only a hand full of insurance companies that still sell policies in Maine which makes it even easier for MEGA to take advantage of the situation here. That being said however, the state does pick up the pieces for just about anyone who falls short in income and cannot afford their medical treatments.

I hate to say this because it is fundamentally unethical but if you have to purchase your own health insurance in the state of Maine and aren'e pretty well off you are better off not having any. While I was selling MEGA's products I was actually told this fact by lawyers that I was trying to sell to. They themselves were better off without any health insurance than the products that MEGA had to offer, and if you can truly afford health insurance you are much better off coughing up the extra 15% to 20% and get a high deductible product from a real health insurance company that actually pays out on legitimate claims.

The straw that broke my back was when I was told by more than several of my existing clients that they were shocked at how little was actually covered by the product when they turned in claims. MEGA's line has always been that they are much better on paying the big claims than the small ones. Well, not so...the law suites cropping up and being won around the country is proof enough that this is not true.

My advice to you is to investigate with the health care professionals in your state and what the policies are in your social services there because many small business owners and self employed individuals do qualify for state supported programs and plans that are much less expensive and provide much better coverage. Maine's Dirigo plan beats the heck out of MEGA and is much less expensive because the premuims are based on income level. I doubt MEGA agents in Maine can continue to rip off many more citizens, except those who are naive and clueless as to their options which is of course their modus operandi.

I for one, like to sleep at night and I wouldn't knowing that I was helping a company legally rip off consumers through policies that are so slanted towards the insurance company and against the insured that at the end of the day the consumer ends up paying twice for their health care, once to the insurance company in premiums and again to the health care provider for the uncovered amounts...which are incerdibly high.

I was actually told to tell to prospective clients that if they did get seriously ill that they could (should) always quickly change to a much better insurance company if they chose to and use the "pre-existing condition" clause to get the new company to pick up the entire tab for the expenses since they had "legitimate coverage" within 62 days of applying for the new insurance and could not be legally turned down! That is indeed the law... and that is other scam, this one being hoisted on other insurance companies.

This company isn't just ripping off consumers and their own sales force which is just as easily duped like I was but all the really legitimate insurance companies that have to then legally pick up the bill.

Believe me when I tell you because I don't want to relate here the serious medical experience my own family is going through at the moment but if someone in your family gets seriously ill you don't want MEGA as your health insurance provider. Spend the extra money and get real coverage. You don't want that extra headache to have to deal with during any already painful time.

As far as my personal work experience for MEGA...no one should have to pay back to an employer (with interest!) what they have worked hard to earn. This is very similar to what the agriculture industry used to do to migrant workers. At the end of the season many migrant workers would often owe the abusive agricultrural company more money than they had actually earned due to the inflated prices they got charged by the company store for food and essentials that they could not otherwise get because they couldn't travel to a legitimate store in town for their supplies. Its about time these abusive practices stopped in every industry!

I almost got burned as a potential insured. When I expressed my concerns about the MANY weaknesses of the coverage to the agent in Eastern NC, he cut off communication with me. How do you feel about the actual insurance product you sold?