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Medicare users offered advice on plan options
TweetThe Medicare Advantage open enrollment period is Thursday to March 31.
STAFF REPORT
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Insurance, through its Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program, is helping Ohio Medicare Advantage beneficiaries understand their plan options, providing enrollment assistance and explaining how to avoid predatory sales practices.
People on Medicare can make a single plan election into or out of a Medicare Advantage plan, sometimes referred to as Part C. This type of Medicare health coverage is comprehensive and can include prescription drug coverage.
“Beneficiaries are advised to carefully evaluate their plan options with the help of a family member or trusted adviser, not be pressured into making a quick decision and be aware of misleading sales pitches and promises that seem too good to be true,” said Mary Jo Hudson, director, Ohio Department of Insurance.
The Medicare Advantage open-enrollment period begins Thursday and continues through March 31.
People with Medicare can contact OSHIIP at (800) 686-1578 with their questions; for help determining a plan most suitable for their budget and health care needs; and to report any concerns regarding inappropriate or predatory sales practices by insurance agents and companies, Hudson said.
Here are the different coverage scenarios permitted during Medicare Advantage open enrollment, according to the Ohio Department of Insurance:
UIf a person on Medicare currently has a Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage, he or she can use open enrollment to select a different Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage; can use original Medicare and a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan; or can use a private-fee-for-service plan and a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan.
UIf a person on Medicare has a Medicare Advantage plan with no Part D prescription drug coverage, he or she can use open enrollment to select a Medicare Advantage plan or Original Medicare without prescription drug coverage.
UIf a person on Medicare currently has original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan, he or she can use open enrollment to select a Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage or a private-fee-for-service plan with the same stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan.
UIf a person on Medicare has Original Medicare without a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan, he or she can use open enrollment to select a Medicare Advantage plan without prescription drug coverage.
Comments
A few additional points for Medicare Beneficiaries – Many states have Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs (SPAP) with income limits higher than those of Medicaid. Check with your state website for details.
http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/p...
Also,
Medicare beneficiaries should be aware (if not angry) that getting advice on Part D and Medicare Advantage Plans will get much tougher in 2009.
Just 4 days prior to the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) instituted a mandatory cut in compensation to independent advisors educated and certified to assist Medicare beneficiaries in their enrollment. In PA NJ or DE try this organization: http://www.mysenioradvisorsgroup.com/
In a swift socialist embrace CMS cut what the market was will to compensate and forced independent advisors out - leaving little objectivity behind. Come 2009 many of the better qualified, and experienced agents will flee the Medicare advice business and focus efforts in areas where they are fairly compensated. Having committed resources many professionals were committed in 08 to what was transformed in the final hour into a losing proposition. (CMS change came days before in a most unprofessional implementation – Credit card companies by example have been given 18 months before their industry modification takes effects)
Many professional qualified advisors had no other choice but to remain involved for the 2008 Annual Enrollment Period. However, this ruling did not apply to the biased insurance company employees – (Can you say “political contributions”) - they will be compensated at about 10x the amount of independent advisors when you include all cost and expenses So beware; the less objective insurance company salesmen will gladly enroll you in the company policy but don’t expect them to tell you if there is a better choice. How’s that for looking out for the senior population?
Medicare beneficiaries are strongly encouraged to contact their representative and tell them that advice on Medicare Advantage and Medicare Rx plans is extremely important! That in democratic, capitalist system the market should determine profits and loses and government should protect and serve. CMS has created a vacuum of advice that will likely be filled by less qualified, biased, and/or unethical individuals.
Certainly the Medicare Advantage program has issues but the policies and regulation devised to correct these problems are amateurish, naïve, and sophomoric. I have proposed additional oversight that would weed out the bad apples, rein in cost and improve benefits for Medicare Beneficiaries. CMS seems more intent on punishing every agent and beneficiary to weed out a few problems. Sounds like a solution my eighth grader might devise.
Contact your local representatives. For additional comments and contact information on the topic see....
http://medicareadvantageplan.blogspot...