queequeg wrote:when insurers talk about "no gap" coverage, they mean the Medicare gap, not the difference between what the surgeon charged and what the Medicare schedule fee is.
This is very true.
It took us a bit by surprise as well.
In the real world, there are two gaps. There's the medicare fee, there's the insurance limit, and then there's the actual cost.
When my daughter needed surgery, the surgeon's secretary sat us down to talk about fees and payment.
"Oh, that's okay, we've got full insurance", we said.
She rolled her eyes and smirked knowingly, pulling out her list of prices with the insurance "component" listed alongside. Obvious n00b error.
So, with private cover, you get your choice of surgeon (as if you know enough surgeons to make an informed choice anyway)... which means, I guess, you get to choose how much you want to pay over and above the insurance payout.
That aside... for the sake of the original question, we're with HBA (who I think are called Bupa now), and will be with them forever. We were already on their books before we had our disabled daughter, so they're not allowed to dump us... and nobody else would touch us with a barge pole now, because we'll cost them a lot more than we ever pay them. So, no idea whether HBA are good, bad or otherwise. They just are. We're on a no-gap plan, which is really good for frequent fliers like us - paying the medicare gap for every hospital visit was a bit of a drain :-/
tim