If you’re headed into open enrollment and anxious about how you’ll find the time for everything, we’ve got you covered.
Service
CMS has announced a change in Medicare ID cards that will begin to take effect in April 2018. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015 requires CMS to remove Social Security Numbers from all Medicare cards by April 2019. A new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) will replace the SSN-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) on the new Medicare cards for Medicare transactions, such as, billing eligibility status and claim status. The MBI will be confidential and should be protected as Personally Identifiable Information. The biggest reason CMS is implementing this change is to fight medical identity theft for people with Medicare. It will better protect private health care and financial information as well as federal health care benefit and service payments.
Every now and then, agents run into clients that have a desire to change the way they pay their monthly Medicare Advantage or Part D Prescription Drug Plan premium. The typical way to have someone take care of this is to call Humana’s customer service department. However, in this age of websites and do-it-yourself seniors, the mission can be accomplished quite easily online. Here’s a quick rundown of what your more computer and internet savvy clients can do:
[Read more…] about Help Your Humana Clients Change their Bill Payment Method
Helping your clients with Medicare Part D coverage understand the mechanics of the Medicare Part D coverage gap can be a daunting task. We are going to cover a couple of the more difficult questions raised regarding the coverage gap in this segment.
[Read more…] about Your client is in the Medicare Part D Coverage Gap…Now What?
One of the more common questions agents get asked from their Medicare clients is “what is the Medicare Part D late enrollment penalty?” It is fairly easy to explain that if a Medicare member spends more than 63 consecutive days without having Part D or creditable drug coverage, they will be required to pay a late enrollment penalty should they choose to enroll in a Part D plan in the future. The typical follow-up question is “will I have a late enrollment penalty?” This is also usually pretty easy to answer, assuming the agent asks the proper questions of the client and the client responds with accurate answers about prior coverage.
[Read more…] about Calculating the Medicare Part D Late Enrollment Penalty
As agents we are pulled in many different directions, life and business events occur, and things occassionally slip through the cracks. Certifications can easily be one of those things that slips through the cracks. Here are two major reasons why it’s a good idea to make sure your certifications are current:
[Read more…] about Why it’s important to maintain your Medicare Advantage certifications
