It’s nearly December and Medicare Annual Enrollment Period will soon be coming to an end, but for those looking to kick back their feet and breathe a sigh of relief, the marketing and sales work has only just begun! With the April release of the Final Rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services […]
While Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have long offered extra benefits, including dental, vision and hearing coverage, CMS released new guidance in April of this year that dramatically expanded the scope of supplemental benefits. Beginning coverage year 2019, plans for the first time can offer adult day care, alternative medicine, home aids and other services that […]
The 2019 Final Call Letter brought significant new changes to Medicare Advantage (MA) benefits in 2019, including the elimination of the meaningful difference requirements and benefit uniformity flexibility, as well as a reinterpretation of supplemental benefits. Combined, these changes offer the biggest opportunity to MAOs in years. In the past, supplemental benefits could only be […]
The Model Documents released by CMS each year offer instructional guidance and standardized document templates for the member materials that must be distributed each fall by Medicare Advantage, Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug, Prescription Drug, and 1876 Cost Plans. On July 24th, the 2019 ANOC and EOC Standardized Models were released, which reinforce the new policies of the Final […]
A recent survey from Change Healthcare found that 80% of payers are currently incorporating interventions around the social determinants of health into their population health management initiatives. In fact, in March of 2018, a group of commercial payers and other healthcare organizations formed a coalition called Aligning for Health (AFH) to explore how addressing the […]
As smartphone adoption grows, health plans are looking to leverage mobile apps to give members simplified access to the information they need to understand and maximize their benefits. Traditionally, members have had to struggle to gain quick and clear insight into their essential benefits information. Through investment in mobile app development, plans are taking a […]
“Regulations do have their role. They’re very important to assuring patient safety and quality and for program integrity, but there’s a fine line between being helpful and being a hindrance,” – Seema Verma, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services That quote captures CMS’s current sentiment. The agency is striving to reduce overly […]
Each year, Medicare healthcare providers struggle to create AEP marketing pieces that drive new member acquisition. Like any industry, the marketing landscape and audience are constantly changing. Seniors today are living a drastically different lifestyle than seniors 15 years ago. Internet and smartphone adoption continues to increases among this group, making them more socially connected […]
We’ve seen Amazon transform retail through their ability to remove the layers of the standard business model and redefine how consumers shop for, pay for, order and receive products. Now, with slow-to-evolve brick and mortar retailers left in the dust and others still scrambling to compete, Amazon is setting its eyes on an all new […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires plans to monitor and conduct regular updates of their provider network data, including updating providers’ ability to accept new patients, as well as their office address, phone number and any other changes that affect availability. Medicare Advantage (MA) plans must contact providers every three months and […]