That's a pleasant surprise, after all the VA disasters I've heard about on the news. And that health insurance is a shit show for some people, including you, should not be surprising, since it is basically a corporate-government socialism partnership.
One of the insurance guys held a meeting at the township hall for seniors who would be turning 65 in the next year or so. I'm a young fellow, but my Mrs. is turning 65.
I liked the guy immediately because this is exactly what he told us. Medicare allocates $800 per customer per month to these various advantage plans because they are too incompetent to manage things themselves. That is why you can get a $0 premium plan which includes perks like fitness club memberships. He also said AARP basically package other plans on the market and mark it up handsomely for using their name.