There is good news in the SE Texas Medicare Advantage Market! It announces a new Medicare insurance plan which provides what is likely the greatest access to medical providers to date. It allows a member may go to any provider that sees Medicare patients. This equates access to that of the Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plans I typically encourage my clients to enroll in. And the out-of-pocket expenses are $0! There is not even the Part B annual out-patient deductible of $233 which applies to the most popular Medigap Plan G!
Additionally, it provides the convenience of Medicare Advantage Part D Drug (MAPD) plans because it includes Part D Prescription Drug coverage. This means one need not pay an additional premium for a standalone drug plan to accompany their medical coverage because your medical and drug coverage is included under the cover of one policy.
*(The details of this plan are described by the insurance company in the Feature Article below.)
FOR WHOM IS THIS PLAN BEST SUITED?
In my opinion, it is best suited for the older Medicare recipient for whom their Medigap and Part D drug plan premium now exceeds $215.40 – the monthly premium for this Medicare Advantage Plan. Someone who has just turned age 65 will find their Medigap premium combined with a low-cost Part D drug plan competitive for quite some time. However, as they get older, the total cost can greatly exceed the premium for this Advantage plan. Additionally, unless they have Medigap Plan F, they remain responsible for the annual Part B deductible noted above.
As we age, many of us acquire moderate to significant pre-existing medical conditions. In Texas, and most states, when their Medigap premium becomes burdensome, Texans cannot enroll in a new, and lower cost, Medigap plan and be guaranteed approval. They must go through underwriting and risk being declined due to their health history. With Medicare Advantage plans this cannot happen as approval is guaranteed during the eligible enrollment periods.
WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF THIS MAPD PLAN?
First, as implied above, if someone is a relatively younger Medicare recipient – with little in the way of brand name drug usage – their combined premium for medical and drug coverage can be considerably lower than the premium for this MAPD plan.
Furthermore, because this plan combines one’s drug plan with their medical plan – one is tied, or captive to, its Part D drug coverage. Coverage which may not be the best drug coverage available to them in the Part D market.
Lastly, Medicare Supplement Plans (Medigap) are created by and standardized by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). They can only be changed by legislation. If legislation would result in a change in their benefits, the insured member would most likely be “grandfathered” or, otherwise, allowed to keep their existing coverage.
With this new “Flex PPO” plan from a major health insurance company, the company could decide to eliminate it in any new calendar year. CMS is not going to mandate an equivalent benefit Advantage Plan. And if none is available – the member is likely to find themselves with an alternative offering less access to providers and with out-of-pocket expenses. Or a member could move to a new area where equivalent coverage is not available.
These are all considerations that must be made before transitioning from Medigap – or another Medicare Advantage plan to this Advantage Plan. Regardless, unless one is just qualifying for Medicare due to age or disability – or losing access to another Medicare Advantage Plan – they will not be allowed to enroll in this new plan until this year’s Annual Election Period October 15th – December 7th.
When that time comes, do not hesitate to contact me for assistance in determining if this option is in your best interest and assistance in enrolling.
**(Due to compliance concerns the company will not be identified at this time. You may contact me for that information as well as all details of the plan. The following is their notice to agents and brokers.)
We want to remind you of our new Medicare Advantage Flex (PPO)SM plan that’s currently available for Medicare age-ins or those eligible for Special Enrollment.
Features include:$0 Copay/coinsurance, $0 deductible, no out-of-pocket costs – and it’s open access. Members can visit any provider nationwide who accepts Medicare. And it includes prescription drug coverage!
NOTICE DATED 04.25.2022 FROM:
Important Information Regarding Your Provider Plan Coverage Thank you for enrolling in the Medicare Advantage Flex (PPO)SM plan.
With this plan you can:
• See any provider accepting Medicare whether inside or outside the plan service area.
• See any health care provider, at no additional cost, when traveling nationwide.
• Access care from any provider who accepts Medicare assignment and bills Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
• You are not required to obtain authorization for out-of-network services, however, services must meet medical necessity criteria to be covered.
• We also offer a traveler benefit for members leaving the service area for six months or less. If you plan to travel and be away from home for up to six months, contact customer service. SAVE THIS Below is a provider notification card for you to keep and present when seeking care from a provider. This will ensure your medical claims are processed in a proper and timely manner. If you have any questions, please call the number on the back of your member ID card.
• Write your name and member ID number on the front of the provider notification card
• Carefully remove and fold card
• Keep this card with your member ID card
• Take both cards to all health care provider appointments Thank you for being a Medicare Advantage Flex (PPO) plan member. Carefully punch out and fold this card
Dear Provider:
• As a provider, you do not need to be a Medicare Advantage Flex (PPO)SM contracting provider to see and treat this member.
• Members can see any provider who accepts payment from Medicare.
• If you are a provider with any of our MA networks, authorization requirements apply.
• The member’s coverage level is the same whether or not a provider is in the network for the Medicare Advantage Flex (PPO).
• At a minimum, eligible claims will be reimbursed at the Medicare Allowed Amount.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR A JANUARY 1 EFFECTIVE DATE!
Op-ed by D. Kenton Henry Editor, Broker 26 November 2021
In September, I learned Aetna and Unitedhealthcare would be reentering the Texas ACA Underage 65 health insurance market for the first time since 2015. Since then, BlueCross BlueShield has been the only “household name,” a large, financially sound insurance company in the southeast Texas market. This was most welcome news, and I was hopeful these additional peer companies would allow my clients and fellow Texans access to more doctors and hospitals. Finding my client’s preferred doctors and hospitals in a plan network has been my client’s and my greatest challenge since the departure of all PPO network options six years ago. Alas, the hoped-for provider expansion in 2022, at this point, has failed to materialize. From 2015 into 2021, the St. Lukes Hospital system has been the only major hospital system participating in most insurance companies’ HMO networks. Such will remain the case for 2022.
Additionally, the entry of Bright Insurance Company (for the first time) doesn’t even appear to do that. They will limit their policyholder’s access to hospitals will be limited to smaller HCA local community hospitals. At least for the time being.
Doctors have practicing privileges at one or more hospitals. Of course, it follows that when an insurance company has fewer hospitals in their network, they will have fewer participating doctors. And so it seems. Only one health insurance company in the southeast Texas ACA health insurance market allows its clients access to the three major hospital systems in the area. Those hospitals are St. Luke’s, Memorial Hermann, and Houston Methodist. And then, only if you acquire their more expensive Silver or Gold plans.
However, there is a bit of good news for all Americans in the “Individual and Family” health insurance market. The federal government’s American Rescue Plan has increased the amount of Advance Premium Tax Credit (subsidy) and Cost Sharing Reduction (reduction of deductibles, copays, and coinsurance) available to a household. It also expanded the eligibility for these subsidies. As the feature article below explains, this will qualify more people for both types of savings.
Furthermore, unemployment effects and increases your potential premium tax credit! The American Rescue Plan exempts up to $10,200 in UI benefits from federal income tax. People who receive UI benefits in 2020 will be able to reduce their adjusted gross income by up to that amount, and so reduce their federal income tax liability.
Please get in touch with me to learn the details on the aforementioned company providing the greatest access to providers and how the expanded subsidies and Cost-Sharing Reductions may improve your health insurance situation.
If you choose to be proactive and would like to do some reconnaissance before calling me for assistance and details, you may click on my quoting link immediately following. When the page opens, ignore the login button. You need not log in. Enter your information. I.e., birth date, zip code, etc. On the next page, click on the top box “SELECT ALL” to clear the selections. Then select “MEDICAL” only, to get started. Otherwise, you will be overwhelmed with options and information. You can always return for dental, etc.)
Click “YES” if you would like to estimate whether you qualify for a subsidy. If so, enter your estimated annual income in 2022 and click “CALCULATE”. It will estimate your subsidy. The estimates are usually accurate to within $3.00. From there, click “NEXT”. You will then see all your plan options and be able to LOOKUP PROVIDERS and see plan details. Or simply call me to do all this for you!
CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL YOUR ACA HEALTH INSURANCE OPTIONS (IF NECESSARY, COPY THE LINK IN YOUR BROWSER AND HIT ENTER):
As the cost for everything, including medical treatment, is going up, so too are Medicare’s premiums and deductibles. As our second feature article below illustrates, the Medicare Part B (outpatient) basic premium is going from $148.50 to $170.10 and it’s calendar year deductible is going from $203.00 to $233.00! You can do the math, but, needless to say, so much for 5% inflation rate projected by the current administration which also does not appear to apply to our cost for gasoline, meat, and energy and food, in general! You’ve already spent the increase in your Social Security Benefit!
The details of how your Medicare Part B basic premium will may titrate upward relative to your income are clearly outlined in Feature Article 2, just published by the Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Lastly, if you are making the decision whether to go with a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Health Plan vs. a Medicare Supplement policy coupled with a Part D Prescription Drug Plan – please read Feature Article 3 (say it ain’t so, Joe!) below, and carefully weigh your decision.
Again, please contact me for guidance in how to minimize the impact of these changes and maximize your both your access to providers and quality health care. My 35 years specializing in the health and Medicare related insurance industry have provided me insights beyond that of the average agent/broker/generalist; and my clients access to a far greater number of products and solutions.
Advanced Premium Tax Credits(APTC):Lowers the cost of premiums and can be used on any Marketplace plan except for catastrophic plans.
Cost Sharing Reductions(CSR):Lowers the cost of deductibles and can only be applied to Marketplace Silver plans.
This year, many people will qualify for both types of savings!
Why are subsidies more generous this year:
The American Rescue Plan Act increased the amount of APTC and CSR available to a household, and it also expanded the eligibility for these subsidies.
Silver plans vs. other metal levels:
All Marketplace health insurance plans are broken into five types: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Catastrophic. You can expect the same level of care fromall metal levels. The difference is how your healthcare costs will be split between you and the insurance company. Metal levels Premium Platinum Highest Gold Silver Bronze Catastrophic Deductible Higher Middle Lower Lowest Lower Middle Higher Highest. If you are eligible for a CSR, you must choose a Silver plan!
On November 12, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2022 premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance amounts for the Medicare Part A and Part B programs, and the 2022 Medicare Part D income-related monthly adjustment amounts.
Medicare Part B Premium and Deductible
Medicare Part B covers physician services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment, and certain other medical and health services not covered by Medicare Part A.
Each year the Medicare Part B premium, deductible, and coinsurance rates are determined according to the Social Security Act. The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $170.10 for 2022, an increase of $21.60 from $148.50 in 2021. The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $233 in 2022, an increase of $30 from the annual deductible of $203 in 2021.
The increases in the 2022 Medicare Part B premium and deductible are due to:
Rising prices and utilization across the health care system that drive higher premiums year-over-year alongside anticipated increases in the intensity of care provided.
Congressional action to significantly lower the increase in the 2021 Medicare Part B premium, which resulted in the $3.00 per beneficiary per month increase in the Medicare Part B premium (that would have ended in 2021) being continued through 2025.
Additional contingency reserves due to the uncertainty regarding the potential use of the Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm™, by people with Medicare. In July 2021, CMS began a National Coverage Determination analysis process to determine whether and how Medicare will cover Aduhelm™ and similar drugs used to treat Alzheimer’s disease. As that process is still underway, there is uncertainty regarding the coverage and use of such drugs by Medicare beneficiaries in 2022. While the outcome of the coverage determination is unknown, our projection in no way implies what the coverage determination will be, however, we must plan for the possibility of coverage for this high cost Alzheimer’s drug which could, if covered, result in significantly higher expenditures for the Medicare program.
Medicare Open Enrollment and Medicare Savings Programs
Medicare Open Enrollment for 2022 began on October 15, 2021, and ends on December 7, 2021. During this time, people eligible for Medicare can compare 2022 coverage options between Original Medicare, and Medicare Advantage, and Part D prescription drug plans. In addition to the recently released premiums and cost sharing information for 2022 Medicare Advantage and Part D plans, the Fee-for-Service Medicare premiums and cost sharing information released today will enable people with Medicare to understand all their Medicare coverage options for the year ahead. Medicare health and drug plan costs and covered benefits can change from year to year, so people with Medicare should look at their coverage choices annually and decide on the options that best meet their health needs.
To help with their Medicare costs, low-income seniors and adults with disabilities may qualify to receive financial assistance from the Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs). The MSPs help millions of Americans access high-quality health care at a reduced cost, yet only about half of eligible people are enrolled. The MSPs help pay Medicare premiums and may also pay Medicare deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments for those who meet the conditions of eligibility. Enrolling in an MSP offers relief from these Medicare costs, allowing people to spend that money on other vital needs, including food, housing, or transportation. People with Medicare interested in learning more can visit: https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/get-help-paying-costs/medicare-savings-programs.
Medicare Part B Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts
Since 2007, a beneficiary’s Part B monthly premium is based on his or her income. These income-related monthly adjustment amounts affect roughly 7 percent of people with Medicare Part B. The 2022 Part B total premiums for high-income beneficiaries are shown in the following table:
Beneficiaries who file individual tax returns with modified adjusted gross income:
Beneficiaries who file joint tax returns with modified adjusted gross income:
Income-related monthly adjustment amount
Total monthly premium amount
Less than or equal to $91,000
Less than or equal to $182,000
$0.00
$170.10
Greater than $91,000 and less than or equal to $114,000
Greater than $182,000 and less than or equal to $228,000
68.00
238.10
Greater than $114,000 and less than or equal to $142,000
Greater than $228,000 and less than or equal to $284,000
170.10
340.20
Greater than $142,000 and less than or equal to $170,000
Greater than $284,000 and less than or equal to $340,000
272.20
442.30
Greater than $170,000 and less than $500,000
Greater than $340,000 and less than $750,000
374.20
544.30
Greater than or equal to $500,000
Greater than or equal to $750,000
408.20
578.30
Premiums for high-income beneficiaries who are married and lived with their spouse at any time during the taxable year, but file a separate return, are as follows:
Beneficiaries who are married and lived with their spouses at any time during the year, but who file separate tax returns from their spouses, with modified adjusted gross income:
Income-related monthly adjustment amount
Total monthly premium amount
Less than or equal to $91,000
$0.00
$170.10
Greater than $91,000 and less than $409,000
374.20
544.30
Greater than or equal to $409,000
408.20
578.30
Medicare Part A Premium and Deductible
Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, hospice, inpatient rehabilitation, and some home health care services. About 99 percent of Medicare beneficiaries do not have a Part A premium since they have at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment.
The Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible that beneficiaries pay if admitted to the hospital will be $1,556 in 2022, an increase of $72 from $1,484 in 2021. The Part A inpatient hospital deductible covers beneficiaries’ share of costs for the first 60 days of Medicare-covered inpatient hospital care in a benefit period. In 2022, beneficiaries must pay a coinsurance amount of $389 per day for the 61st through 90th day of a hospitalization ($371 in 2021) in a benefit period and $778 per day for lifetime reserve days ($742 in 2021). For beneficiaries in skilled nursing facilities, the daily coinsurance for days 21 through 100 of extended care services in a benefit period will be $194.50 in 2022 ($185.50 in 2021).
Part A Deductible and Coinsurance Amounts for Calendar Years 2021 and 2022 by Type of Cost Sharing
2021
2022
Inpatient hospital deductible
$1,484
$1,556
Daily coinsurance for 61st-90th Day
$371
$389
Daily coinsurance for lifetime reserve days
$742
$778
Skilled Nursing Facility coinsurance
$185.50
$194.50
Enrollees age 65 and over who have fewer than 40 quarters of coverage and certain persons with disabilities pay a monthly premium in order to voluntarily enroll in Medicare Part A. Individuals who had at least 30 quarters of coverage or were married to someone with at least 30 quarters of coverage may buy into Part A at a reduced monthly premium rate, which will be $274 in 2022, a $15 increase from 2021. Certain uninsured aged individuals who have less than 30 quarters of coverage and certain individuals with disabilities who have exhausted other entitlement will pay the full premium, which will be $499 a month in 2022, a $28 increase from 2021.
Medicare Part D Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts
Since 2011, a beneficiary’s Part D monthly premium is based on his or her income. These income-related monthly adjustment amounts affect roughly 8 percent of people with Medicare Part D. These individuals will pay the income-related monthly adjustment amount in addition to their Part D premium. Part D premiums vary from plan to plan and roughly two-thirds are paid directly to the plan, with the remaining deducted from Social Security benefit checks. The Part D income-related monthly adjustment amounts are all deducted from Social Security benefit checks. The 2022 Part D income-related monthly adjustment amounts for high-income beneficiaries are shown in the following table:
Beneficiaries who file individual tax returns with modified adjusted gross income:
Beneficiaries who file joint tax returns with modified adjusted gross income:
Income-related monthly adjustment amount
Less than or equal to $91,000
Less than or equal to $182,000
$0.00
Greater than $91,000 and less than or equal to $114,000
Greater than $182,000 and less than or equal to $228,000
12.40
Greater than $114,000 and less than or equal to $142,000
Greater than $228,000 and less than or equal to $284,000
32.10
Greater than $142,000 and less than or equal to $170,000
Greater than $284,000 and less than or equal to $340,000
51.70
Greater than $170,000 and less than $500,000
Greater than $340,000 and less than $750,000
71.30
Greater than or equal to $500,000
Greater than or equal to $750,000
77.90
Premiums for high-income beneficiaries who are married and lived with their spouse at any time during the taxable year, but file a separate return, are as follows:
Beneficiaries who are married and lived with their spouses at any time during the year, but file separate tax returns from their spouses, with modified adjusted gross income:
Joe Namath may have delivered the New York Jets’ last Super Bowl championship, but the old quarterback is throwing a bunch of bull on his TV commercials for private Medicare plans.
He’s one of a slew of pitchmen and women selling Medicare Advantage plans to the more than 54 million Americans 65 or over eligible for Medicare. That includes more than 100,000 of us in Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties.
Joe Namath may have delivered the New York Jets’ last Super Bowl championship, but the old quarterback is throwing a bunch of bull on his TV commercials for private Medicare plans.
Those pitches, which also flood our mailboxes during this enrollment period that ends Dec. 7, complicate what can be a mind-boggling array of insurance choices.
First, some basic facts:
Medicare Advantage is the all-in-one alternative to original Medicare health insurance. Original Medicare includes coverage for hospitalization (Part A), medical visits and procedures (Part B) and, at additional cost, prescription drugs (Part D). Before you enroll in Advantage plans, you must have original Medicare, and you still must pay the Part B premium of $148.50 (in 2021). While Medicare Advantage plans include medical, hospital and drug coverage, they can also feature extra benefits not offered by traditional Medicare, such as dental, hearing and vision coverage with no additional premium.
Especially in those pitches from celebrities like Namath, William Shatner and Jimmie Walker, they can also promise everything from free meal delivery to money deposited in your Social Security account.
But …
“Buyer beware,” says Erinn Braun, Orange County Office for the Aging’s Health Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program coordinator. She provided much information for this column.
Pitches like Namath’s can be misleading or downright deceptive, starting with the red, white and blue colors that insinuate the ads are from the government, as do the state logos on some mailers. While the plans themselves are perfectly legal and may be great for many of the 27 million Americans enrolled in them, they often don’t deliver everything those pitches seem to promise. Plus, those pitches don’t come close to telling the full story of the benefits of those plans – many of which aren’t even offered in your area.
For instance:
Unlike original Medicare, which is accepted by virtually all doctors and hospitals, Medicare Advantage plans include a network of doctors and hospitals you must visit to be insured. So if you hear about a great gastroenterologist in New York City and she isn’t in your Advantage plan’s network, your insurance may not cover your visit. Plus, unlike original Medicare, you may need prior approval for coverage of a medical procedure or equipment such as insulin pumps.
And while the dental and vision coverage of Medicare Advantage plans sounds great, some plans in your area may only include routine visits, not more expensive items like dental implants and eyeglasses. Plus, the average yearly coverage limit of Advantage dental plans ranges from about $1,000 to $1,300, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The dentists and eye doctors you visit must also be in the plan’s networks – meaning your eye doctor or dentist may not accept your plan.
Steve Israel
As for those meals and money Joe Willie is pitching?
Again, buyer beware.
A few Advantage plans may offer meal delivery for the qualified but only one or two plans in your county may offer those benefits. And your doctors or hospital may not accept those plans. Same thing goes for that money Namath says could go into your Social Security account. Not only does that money go toward the required payment for Part B of original Medicare, very few plans – if any – in your area may feature that benefit, and those plans may not include your doctors.
Finally, when you call the number provided by Namath and other pitch folks, you’ll reach a salesperson who’s in business to … you guessed it … sell you a Medicare Advantage plan.
For help selecting the right Medicare plan for you, contact your county’s Office of the Aging. Orange: 845-615-3710, Sullivan: 845-807-0241, Ulster: 845-340-3456. A trusted health insurance agent can also help. Medicare.gov and 1-800-Medicare provide a wealth of information.
(AETNA AND UNITEDHEALTHCARE RE-ENTER THE ACA INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY HEALTH INSURANCE MARKET)
By Editor, Agent, Broker
D. Kenton Henry
It is that time of year and, once more, we find ourselves on the cusp of the “Annual Election Period” for Medicare Advantage and Part D Prescription Drug Plans. This is the period when any Medicare recipient may enroll or change their Advantage and / or drug plans for a January 1 effective date. The period runs from October 15th through December 7th.
As if this was not a busy enough time for Medicare insurance product brokers, many of us (like myself) must do “double duty”, during the holidays. This is because the “Open Enrollment Period” for those “Under the Age Of 65“, in need of Individual and Family health insurance, begins November 1 and runs through January 15th. This a one month extension from previous years. However, those wishing to have new coverage effective by January 1 must still enroll by December 15th.
In addition to the extension of the ACA enrollment period, an interesting and positive turn is that Aetna and Unitedhealthcare are re-entering the marketplace in SE Texas for 2022 after a six year hiatus! This brings welcome competition to a market which was vacated by every major carrier – other than BlueCross BlueShield – in January of 2016. While we will not have insight into the details of their health plan options until just before November 1, their names and reputation should garner a lot of attention, not only from consumers but medical providers. It is my hope that more high quality doctors and hospitals will elect to participate in the insurance companies’ provider networks. With Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) network plans eliminated, Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) network plans have been the consumer’s only option since 2016. And with the expansion in the availability of the Advance Premium Tax Credit and Cost Share Reductions, for many, their greatest challenge is no longer being able to afford health insurance but finding their providers in an insurance plan’s network.
And it is the same for me. As an agent / broker with 34 years in medical insurance, my greatest challenge isn’t finding a plan the consumer can afford or the benefits they’re seeking. It’s finding my client’s, and prospective client’s, medical providers participating in a network. While this isn’t a major issue to those new to the area, those of us who have resided here for years, have long established relationships with providers we are reluctant to part with.
I would be extremely pleased if some of the companies in the marketplace elect to offer PPO plans in 2022. But make no mistake, I in no way expect this to happen. The problem for a company considering offering PPO coverage is that if all their peers do not also, they “adversely select” against themselves. In other words, if they are the “only game in town” when it comes to PPO plans, they are going to attract, and garner, an inordinate number of “bad risks”. In other words, insured members with serious pre-existing conditions who need access to a greater number of providers will flock to them vs the insurance company offering access to an HMO network only. They will submit higher and more frequent claims, thereby compounding the potential for “loss” to the insurance company. This is why insurance companies ceased, in unison, offering PPO coverage, in most regions of the United States, in 2016. They want to limit your access to providers, and thereby limit your access to what is likely to be more expensive treatment. Enrolling people in HMO plans is the easiest way to do this. Regardless, my duty, as your agent, is to do my best to find your providers participating in the network of a plan whose benefits meet your needs.
The good news is – two new major carriers will uncertainly increase the number of options available to the consumer in terms of premiums, benefits, and providers. Additionally, several of the insurance companies are lowering copays and deductibles and the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the sale of all ACA health insurance, has made it much easier to qualify for a “subsidy” to reduce the policyholder’s share of the premium due, especially for anyone who claimed unemployment benefits any time during 2021.
In the Medicare related insurance market, increases in variables for 2022 are estimated to be higher than in recent years. Some were not definite as of the end of September. The Part A In-patient deductible is projected to increase but, as of this date, I have no definitive cost. The Part B Out-patient deductible is estimated to be going from $203 to $217 per calendar year and it’s premium is projected to go from $148.50 to $158.50 per month.
There are currently 30 different Part D Drug plans for Texans to choose from. Each covers some drugs but not others. The plan which is best for you is entirely dependent on the drugs you use. Not the drugs your spouse, neighbor, or I use – but the ones you use. The Part D deductible is going from $445 to $480 for the calendar year. A drug plan may choose to have deductible ranging from $0 all the way to$480 before your drugs become available for a copay. With many plans, the deductible will not apply to Tier 1 and Tier 2 generic drugs. The threshold for entering the “GAP” will occur when the member and plan have paid $4,430. During this time, the member will pay 25% of the cost of their drugs. They will cross over into “CATASTROPHIC COVERAGE” if, and when, the member has personally expended $7,050. At this point, a member will pay $3.95 for a generic drug and $9.85 or 5% of the cost of a brand name drug – whichever is higher.
As a broker for my clients, and prospective clients, my goal is to identify the Medicare Plan, whether Medicare Supplement, Advantage or Part D Drug Plan which is most likely to result in their lowest total out of pocket cost for the calendar year while providing them access to all their providers. The “total cost” is the sum of their premium, any applicable deductible or deductibles, and copays or coinsurance. Our objective is the lowest sum and that plan, or plans, will usually be my recommendation.
To this end, I encourage anyone interested in enlisting my help, to contact me. If you would like me to identify your lowest total cost drug plan for 2022, based on your current or anticipated drug use, email me a list of your Rx drugs and, preferably, the dosages. The latter can make a difference. If you know you want Medicare Advantage, send me a list of doctors and hospitals you feel you must have access to. Please recall that with Medicare Supplement coverage you may obtain treatment from any doctor, hospital, lab, or medical provider, that sees Medicare patients. There are no networks with which to concern yourself. However, with Supplement, unlike most Medicare Advantage plans, you will have to acquire a Part D Prescription Drug Plan to accompany it. For those using little or only low cost generic drugs, the lowest premium plan for Texans in 2022 will be $6.90 per month.
*(READ FEATURED ARTICLE BELOW ON WASHINGTON’S EFFORTS TO LOWER RX DRUG COST FOR MEDICARE RECIPIENTS)
The name of my insurance agency I opened in 1991, after being in the medical and life insurance industry since 1986, is All Plan Med Quote. It is located in The Woodlands, Texas. In 1995, I created one of the first websites in the country to market health insurance via the internet. It still exists as Allplanhealthinsurance.com. In 2015, I expanded my web presence with TheWoodlandsTXHealthInsurance.com. The primary objective in naming the first two was to convey that (while I work, for the consumer) I am appointed (contracted) with virtually every “A” rated, major and minor insurance company doing business in your geographic region. But the insurance companies do not pay me a guaranteed wage or salary. They compensate me fairly if, and only if, you elect to go through me to acquire their products. But, without my clients, I have no income. So certainly my clients are my priority. Not the insurance companies. And, as my client, you are charged no more by going through me to obtain their product then if you walked through their front door and acquired it directly from them.
Here is a partial list of the companies whose products may, or may not, be appropriate for you, I may introduce to you:
AARP Unitedhealthcare
Aetna
Ambetter
Anthem
BlueCross BlueShield of Texas
Caresource
Cigna
Community Health Choice
Friday
Humana
KelseyCare Advantage
Molina
Mutual of Omaha
Oscar
Scott and White
Unitedhealthcare
Wellcare
D. Kenton Henry Office: 281-367-6565 Text my cell 24/7: 713-907-7984 Email: Allplanhealthinsurance.com@gmail.com
Democrats’ signature legislation to lower drug prices was defeated in a House committee on Wednesday as three moderate Democrats voted against their party.
Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), and Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) voted against the measure to allow the secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower drug prices, a long-held goal of Democrats.
The vote is a striking setback for Democrats’ $3.5 trillion package. Drug pricing is intended to be a key way to pay for the package. Leadership can still add a version of the provision back later in the process, but the move shows the depth of some moderate concerns.
The three moderates said they worried the measure would harm innovation from drug companies and pushed a scaled-back rival measure. The pharmaceutical industry has also attacked Democratic leaders’ measure, known as H.R. 3, as harming innovation.
The three lawmakers had long signaled their concerns with the drug pricing measure, but actually voting it down in the House Energy and Commerce Committee is an escalation.
A separate committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, did advance the drug pricing measures on Wednesday, keeping the provisions in play for later in the process.
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) had implored the three lawmakers to vote in favor of the measure to at least keep the process going.
“Vote to move forward today,” he said to the moderates in his party. “Vote to continue the conversation.”
Still, Pallone said he is confident that some form of measure to lower drug prices will make it into the final package. The House legislation was already expected to change before the final version, given moderate Democratic concerns in the Senate as well. Senate Democrats are working on their own bill, which is not yet finalized but is expected to be less far-reaching.
“I know it is going to have drug pricing reform,” Pallone said of the final bill, noting that negotiations with the Senate would continue over the coming weeks.
Still, the move on Wednesday is a show of force from the moderates.
Henry Connelly, a spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said Democrats were not giving up on including drug pricing measures.
“Polling consistently shows immense bipartisan support for Democrats’ drug price negotiation legislation, including overwhelming majorities of Republicans and independents who are fed up with Big Pharma charging Americans so much more than they charge for the same medicines overseas,” he said in a statement after the vote. “Delivering lower drug costs is a top priority of the American people and will remain a cornerstone of the Build Back Better Act as work continues between the House, Senate and White House on the final bill.”
Peters and Schrader both cited concerns about harming drug companies’ ability to develop new drugs, citing the industry’s record during the COVID-19 crisis.
Peters warned that “government-dictated prices” under the bill would cause harm to the “private investment” that backs drug development.
Schrader said the bill would mean “killing jobs and innovation that drives cures for these rare diseases.”
Advocates said the lawmakers were simply beholden to the pharmaceutical industry.
“Reps. Peters, Rice, and Schrader are prioritizing drug company profits over lower drug prices for the American people, particularly for patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis,” said Patrick Gaspard, president of the left-leaning Center for American Progress. “To the contrary of what they contend, their opposition to the drugs proposal threatens the entirety of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, which Democrats have campaigned on for years and that they previously voted for.”
Savings from the drug pricing provisions are a key way of paying for other health care priorities in the $3.5 trillion package, including expanding Medicaid in the 12 GOP-led states that have so far refused, expanding financial assistance under ObamaCare, and adding dental, vision, and hearing benefits to Medicare.
The Congressional Budget Office found that H.R. 3 would save about $500 billion over 10 years. Depending on what Senate Democrats can find agreement on, the final drug pricing legislation is expected to be less far-reaching, meaning it will result in fewer savings, though how much less is unclear.
The Senate bill would still allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, but it is expected not to include another provision that would cap drug prices based on the lower prices paid in other wealthy countries. That provision has drawn particular pushback from some moderate Democrats.
Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices is extremely popular with voters, with almost 90 percent support in a Kaiser Family Foundation poll earlier this year. Many vulnerable House Democrats support the idea.
By D. Kenton Henry Editor, Agent, Broker 29 October 2018
The media is proffering all manner of good news when it comes to the Open Enrollment Period for purchasing 2019 individual and family health insurance, just three days away. The doors open this Thursday, November 1st and will remain so through December 15th. During this time you, the consumer, will be able to review your options and make a decision to renew your existing policy or select a new one to become effective January 1. Whichever, that policy will cover you the coming calendar year.
The feature article appearing below, states there will be ” . . . fewer sources of unbiased advice and assistance to guide them through the labyrinth of health insurance.” To wit, it cites, the budget for insurance counselors, known as navigators, has been cut by 80%, leaving over one-third of navigators in 2,400 counties served by Healthcare.gov, unfunded. Thank you very much, New York Times. Somehow, they neglected to consult with me and my agency, ALL PLAN MED QUOTE. Reading the article in full, one can infer they feel the only meaningful assistance can come from the government (at taxpayers’ expense) and fail to credit the private industry, which has provided counsel and enrollment assistance within the domestic insurance industry some two hundred years plus. One token sentence in the article acknowledges the private industry’s presence to assist the consumer with procuring health insurance. In my estimation, this reflects the media’s general opinion and thesis that the government is the end-all solution to every conceivable personal financial issue. Which, again, in the mind of this editor, is precisely the philosophy, the perpetuation of which got us into this fix in the first place. Moreover, what exactly is that fix?
Current pre-midterm election media coverage informs us premiums have stabilized and are, in many cases, going down in 2019. While that may be true in some localities, the recently released premiums in southeast Texas reflect increases of 20% or more. If you obtain a subsidy, wherein you get a tax credit for a portion of your premium, the subsidy itself may be larger, but the balance may be as well. Also, for those not obtaining a subsidy (the vast majority of us) the increase will be born entirely by ourselves. The situation has made healthcare the number one concern of Americans heading into next week’s midterm elections according to a Fox News Poll.
For the record, ALL PLAN MED QUOTE and I have never been subsidized by taxpayer dollars. As an independent, self-employed broker/agent I am compensated when I successfully enroll someone in health insurance. I am not compensated when I fail at such. That is fine by me. In spite of continual cuts in agent compensation. I prefer autonomy to bureaucracy. My advice and guidance are objective. My goal is to succeed it getting you enrolled in a policy which makes sure you have access to the care and treatment you need, when you need it and are not financially devastated in the process. All this for the lowest possible premium. I do not care which insurance company you contract with, as long as you are satisfied you have obtained the best coverage for your given situation and needs. Ideally, it would also provide you access to all the doctors and medical providers you choose to utilize. Regrettably, that latter objective has become my biggest challenge and is one every insurance agent and counselor faces. To say it can be overcome in every instance would be misleading but I do my best. All 2019 individual and family options are Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) policies, and this has been so since 2016. The HMO networks are narrow in comparison to what one may typically have experienced with employer-based HMO coverage. However, there are a very few plans (3 in my primary region) which operate very similar to a traditional Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO) policy in that they do cover treatment at a provider outside the network. Benefits are paid up to a limited percentage, and there is no cap on your maximum annual out-of-pocket but―for someone who wants to be assured they can obtain coverage from the provider of their choice―it is better than no coverage whatsoever. If you feel you must learn more about this option, please contact me.
To assist me in these ends, I am appointed with every company providing Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act-compliant health insurance company doing business in Montgomery, Harris, Fort Bend, and Galveston counties. BlueCross BlueShield of Texas (to my knowledge) does business in every corner of Texas, and I have been appointed with them twenty-seven years. In addition to Texas, I am licensed in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
I offer short-term health insurance for those who do not get a subsidy and those who, whether they do or not, cannot afford credible health insurance. However, I do not represent it as covering pre-existing health conditions, as it does not. Nor do I represent it as a substitute for credible, compliant coverage. It is a short-term bridge to a long-term solution.
As always, the Open Enrollment Period will be a very busy and hectic time for anyone in my profession. To make things proceed more smoothly, I would appreciate you visit my quoting site to obtain spreadsheet comparison of your options from all the health insurance companies offering coverage in your county. Attempt to narrow your selection down to those plans you feel most closely approximate the coverage you need. You can search for in-network providers from the search button directly next to the premium quoted. If you are so confident a plan is right for you, please feel free to apply straight from the quote. However, many of you will have questions or appreciate my insight and experience with the plan details and application process. Those in need of a subsidy will find my assistance especially helpful. If this is you, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Again, for quotes and applications, you may go to my website at Http://TheWoodlandsTXHealthInsurance.com and click on “Health” in the top menu.
Alternatively, you may go directly to my spreadsheet quotes and an application by clicking on this link: https://allplanhealthinsurance.insxcloud.com
*(it is not necessary to log in or register to obtain quotes or apply)
**(if these links do not function from this text, please copy and paste or type in your browser and hit enter)
If you apply for coverage through these links, I will be your agent and available to assist and commit to providing the best of service throughout the year. I bring my entire thirty-two years in medical insurance to bear for this purpose. I look forward to hearing from you and assisting you. Regardless, I hope you succeed in obtaining health insurance which suffices until Congress puts their heads together and provides us with more reasonable options.
D. Kenton Henry All Plan Med Quote Office: 281.367.6565 Text my cell @ 713.907.7984 Email: Allplanhealthinsurance.com For the latest in health and Medicare-related insurance, news go to Https://HealthandMedicareInsurance.com
COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS:
************************************************************************************************ FEATURED ARTICLE
The New York Times By Robert Pear Oct. 27, 2018
Shopping for Insurance? Don’t Expect Much Help Navigating Plans
Affordable Care Act navigators helping patients during an enrollment event in 2016 at Southwest General Hospital in San Antonio.CreditCreditEric Gay/Associated Press
WASHINGTON — When the annual open enrollment period begins in a few days, consumers across the country will have more choices under the Affordable Care Act, but fewer sources of unbiased advice and assistance to guide them through the labyrinth of health insurance.
The Trump administration has opened the door to aggressive marketing of short-term insurance plans, which are not required to cover pre-existing medical conditions. Insurers are entering or returning to the Affordable Care Act marketplace, expanding their service areas and offering new products. But the budget for the insurance counselors known as navigators has been cut more than 80 percent, and in nearly one-third of the 2,400 counties served by HealthCare.gov, no navigators have been funded by the federal government.
“There is likely to be a lot of consumer confusion about the various plan options that may be available this year,” said Sabrina Corlette, a research professor at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute. “It will be a bit of a Wild West — buyer beware!”
“Obamacare health plans,” short-term plans and “Christian health sharing plans” are all displayed on the same page of some shopping sites like Affordable-Health-Insurance-Plans.org, which describes itself as a free referral service for insurance shoppers.
ADVERTISEMENT
Consumers may have difficulty sorting through their options after the administration sliced the budget last summer for insurance navigators to $10 million this year, from $36 million in 2017 and nearly $63 million in 2016.
“Navigators play a vital role in helping consumers prepare applications to establish eligibility and enroll in coverage through the marketplaces,” the Department of Health and Human Services says on its website.
But 797 counties served by HealthCare.gov will not have any navigators this year, according to a tabulation of federal data by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That is a sharp increase from 2016, when 127 counties lacked such assistance.
“If you are confused and you want somebody’s help to try to figure out what’s right for you — what’s junk and what is legitimate — there will be fewer people to help you in most states,” Ms. Corlette said.
Federal officials said they were not providing funds for navigators in Iowa, Montana or New Hampshire because no organizations had applied for the money in those states.
Cleveland, Dallas and large areas of Michigan and other states will also be without navigators.
Texas will be hit hard. The state has the largest number and the highest percentage of people who are uninsured, with 4.8 million people, or 17 percent of residents, lacking coverage, according to the Census Bureau.
“North Texas remains one of the most uninsured areas in the country,” said the chief executive of Dallas County, Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins. “The administration’s decision to defund all navigators across North Texas will hurt our ability to enroll individuals in health insurance and result in some working families losing coverage. Only 45 of Texas’ 254 counties have any navigator coverage.”
Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, defended the cuts.
After five years, she said, “the public is more aware of the options for private coverage” available through the marketplace, so “it is appropriate to scale down the navigator program.” In addition, she said, information and assistance are available from other sources, including insurance agents and brokers.
Consumers can sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act starting Thursday. Last year, 8.7 million people enrolled at HealthCare.gov, and three million more selected plans on insurance exchanges run by states.
Consumers can go without insurance next year without fear of a penalty, as Congress repealed the unpopular tax surcharge imposed on people who lack coverage.
Many health policy experts say that federal financial assistance is more important than the individual mandate in inducing people to buy insurance. Those subsidies will still be available to low- and moderate-income people for insurance that complies with the Affordable Care Act and is purchased through the public marketplace. The subsidies cannot be used for short-term policies.
The vast majority of the people we serve, over 90 percent, are motivated to have insurance because they want coverage for their family and themselves,” said Matthew Slonaker, the executive director of the Utah Health Policy Project, a nonprofit. “It’s not because they otherwise would have to pay a penalty.”
Average premiums for the most popular types of insurance purchased by individuals and families will be relatively stable next year and, in some states, will actually decline, the administration says.
Under new standards issued by the administration, navigators this year are encouraged to inform consumers of the full range of coverage options, including short-term plans that do not provide all of the benefits and consumer protections required by the Affordable Care Act.
President Trump has promoted the short-term policies as an inexpensive alternative to the Affordable Care Act, and he said those plans would be “much more widely available” as a result of an executive order he signed last year to overturn restrictions imposed by President Barack Obama.
Democrats have made health care a major theme in midterm election campaigns, and they say the short-term policies show how the Trump administration threatens protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
Short-term policies, which can extend up to 364 days and then be renewed for two additional years, often provide no coverage for pre-existing conditions, prescription drugs, pregnancy, maternity care or the treatment of mental disorders and drug abuse.
Indeed, Mr. Trump said, the short-term plans are cheaper because they are “not subject to any very expansive and expensive Obamacare coverage mandates and rules.”
ADVERTISEMENT
But, said Kirsten A. Sloan, a vice president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network: “People may be attracted to short-term plans without understanding that the lower premiums come with less coverage. These plans may not cover the doctors and hospitals and drugs you need if you get sick.”
In another challenge this year, consumers may be deluged with robocalls offering cheap insurance.
Alex Quilici, the chief executive of YouMail, a company that offers software to combat robocalls, said he was seeing a huge increase in health insurance scams.
“Callers say ‘it’s open enrollment’ or ‘we can get you a better deal by looking at all the health insurance plans,’” Mr. Quilici said. “Callers ask for lots of personal information, and the unwitting consumer often gives their birth date, Social Security number and information for everybody in the family, in order to get a great deal. In reality, it’s identity theft or payment theft or both.”
Mr. Quilici’s company has recorded hundreds of robocalls. A typical call says that, with enrollment just “around the corner,” Mr. Trump has created short-term coverage options lasting up to three years, “so you and your family can get a great insurance plan at the price you can afford.”
It is difficult to identify the source of the robocalls, Mr. Quilici said, because callers often falsify information displayed on caller ID.
(A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 27, 2018, on Page A25 of the New York edition with the headline: Shopping for Health Insurance: Many Options but Little Guidance. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe)
Fellow classmates of the High School Class of 1972! Congratulations! It’s been thirty-six years since we graduated and went on to build careers and raise families. During this time we dutifully paid into Social Security and paid Medicare taxes. Most of us will be turning age 65 during the next year if we have not already done so. As such, we will be “aging into Medicare”. Never, in my life, have I looked forward to getting older,―until now. Because―as such―I will be eligible for Medicare and finally have an alternative to the Under Age 65 Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace for health insurance purposes. As a Medicare-related, private insurance specialist,―knowing all my plan options―along with knowing which plans I will enroll in―I am elated to finally being able to take advantage of the following benefits not currently available to any of us not currently on Medicare:
I know I will I be able to go to any doctor or hospital that sees Medicare patients. Additionally, I will be out of nothing―or virtually nothing―for my Medicare eligible medical expenses, per se, throughout the calendar year! (By “per se”, I mean aside from the out-patient prescription drug costs I will pay at the pharmacy counter.)
Even those of you who have had the benefit of employer-based group health insurance through throughout your working career ― have to had to meet a significant deductible before insurance benefits apply to your major medical expenses. In recent years, that has probably been at least $1,000 and, probably, more. Then you have been responsible for additional costs (coinsurance) thereafter! Compare that to your share of a maximum of $183 per calendar year, should you go with the plan option I will most likely recommend for you!
Regarding Part D prescription drug plans ― you will have approximately three dozen to choose from. Each of these covers some drugs but does not cover others. And vice versa. The plan that is best for your spouse or neighbor is not necessarily the best plan for you. Our objective is to: (1) cover all your prescription drugs and (2) do so at your lowest possible total cost for both the plan and your prescription drugs for the calendar year. “Total Cost” is the sum of your plan premium, any applicable deductible, and your copays or coinsurance for your Rx drugs.
*If you would like me to identify your lowest cost Part D Medicare Prescription Drug Plan for 2019 ― email me, at Allplanhealthinsurance.com, a list of your current drug regimen and dosages. I will do so in the order received and forward the results via email.
CHANGES TO MEDICARE PART D DRUG PLANS IN 2019:
A) Stage 1, the Medicare Part D “Yearly Deductible Stage” is going to require a Medicare recipient member meet as much as a $415 deductible, up from $405. This does not mean a drug plan will increase your deductible, or even charge one in the first place. It simply means the Center For Medicare Services has informed the drug plans they may charge as much as that amount.
B) Stage 2, the “Initial Coverage Stage” is going to $3,820. This is the limit your, and the plan’s, drug cost must reach before you enter the “Coverage Gap”.
C) Your liability for your drug costs has been diminishing each year since 2011. This year, you will pay 25% of the cost of brand-name drugs, plus a dispensing fee, and 37% of the price for generic drugs.
D) When your year to date personal drug costs reach $5,100 you enter the “Catastrophic Coverage Stage”. Therein, you will pay $3.40 of a drug that is treated like a generic and $8.50 or 5% of the cost of the drug―whichever is higher― for all other drugs.
*****
MEDICARE PART B 2019
There has been no announcement on whether Medicare Part B’s calendar year outpatient deductible of $183 will be changing.
CONSIDERING MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT VS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE to cover those medical expenses not paid by Medicare? Refer to today’s FEATURED ARTICLE 1 on “Denials of Care” below then call me for my opinion on one vs the other.
Should pharmacists be subject to a “gag” clause preventing them from telling you a lower cost for your drug is available at the pharmacy counter? See FEATURED ARTICLE 2, below:
Turning age 65 in April, I am right in this with you. I share a kinship, not only with my personal HS classmates, but everyone of my generation. I began my career out of college as social worker and then―believe it or not―a pharmaceutical sales person. I understand the perspective on brand name vs generic drugs, both from the drug companies’ and the consumer’s standpoint. (If you’d like to me to share this with you, off the record, please call me.) I still like to help people and I get great satisfaction from ensuring I keep my client’s drug and medical costs to a minimum.
To assist you in this, I represent virtually every “A” rated (AM Best Rating) Medicare Supplement Plan and most of the Medicare Advantage and Part D Prescription plans I feel worthy of your consideration for 2019. I bring thirty-two years of experience in the industry to provide you an objective comparison of your options, simplify the enrollment process, and ensure you maintain the right plans for yourself, thereafter. I charge no fee for my services. I am compensated directly by the insurance company whose product you elect to utilize, and then―if, and only if―you elect to acquire that product through me. The key to you is―you are charged no more for that product than if went through the door of that insurance company to acquire it on your own. Additionally, when you call, text or email me, you know you are communicating with someone who knows your history and has a vested interest in keeping your business. Which means keeping you happy. This as opposed to a different faceless person at the other end of a toll-free number.
So―Class of ’72! Open enrollment begins October 15th for Medicare plans (and November 1st for your Under Age 65 family members in need of health insurance for 2019). Please call, text, email, or visit my websites for information and assistance. I’m certain our life experiences and objectives are much the same and I know peace of mind when it comes to our healthcare and costs is integral to our quality of life
A new federal watchdog report warns that privately run Medicare health plans used by millions of older Americans may be improperly denying patients medical care.
Federal auditors have found “widespread and persistent problems related to denials of care and payment in Medicare Advantage,” the privately administered plans that insure more than 20 million people, according to the report from the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
Medicare Advantage plans collect a fixed fee from the government for taking care of patients 65 or older who qualify for traditional Medicare coverage. The fixed per-patient rates the government pays may give plans “an incentive to deny preauthorization of services for beneficiaries, and payments to providers, in order to increase profits,” the report said.
Medicare Advantage plans have become popular with consumers because they combine traditional Medicare benefits with additional coverage, such as vision, dental care, and prescription drugs.
The program paid $210 billion to Medicare Advantage plans last year. Companies including UnitedHealth Group Inc., Humana Inc., and Aetna Inc.are the largest sellers of the coverage. Enrollment in Medicare Advantage has roughly doubled in the past decade, and one-third of Medicare patients are now covered by the private plans.
In 2016, Medicare Advantage plans denied 4 percent of requests to approve treatment before it was provided, known as prior authorization, and 8 percent of requests for payment after treatment, according to the report.
Only 1 percent of patients disputed the insurers’ denials, but in those cases, the decisions were overturned three-quarters of the time, according to the report.
Improper denials “may contribute to physical harm for beneficiaries if they’re not getting access to services that they need,” said Rosemary Rawlins, the inspector general’s team leader on the report. Patients and doctors can also be harmed financially if not reimbursed for appropriate care, she said.
If plans aren’t providing the care they’re contracted to, it risks wasting taxpayers’ money. The government “has already paid to cover beneficiaries’ health care,” Rawlins said. Not every denial is an indication that patients are being blocked from needed treatment, however.
“You wouldn’t expect the denial rate to be zero,” Rawlins said. “Part of managing care is denying care that’s not needed.”
There’s a lot of variation in how often Medicare Advantage plan denials were overturned. In 2016, seven Medicare Advantage contracts had almost all of their denials reversed on appeal — more than 98 percent. Another 69 contracts had denial rates above 90 percent. The report doesn’t name specific companies or plans. Individual insurers can have more than one Medicare Advantage contract with the government.
Problems with denials of care aren’t isolated to a few plans, however. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, audits different organizations each year, “but consistently find problems related to denials of care and payment,” Rawlins said.
The CMS audits are one of many factors that affect health plans’ star ratings, which are intended to help Medicare patients shop for plans based on quality. But starting in 2019, as the result of a change by CMS, the audits will no longer be a factor in the ratings, “which diminishes the usefulness of the star ratings system as a tool for beneficiaries,” the report said.
The inspector general recommended that CMS increase its oversight of Medicare Advantage plans and give patients better information about violations. The agency concurred with the findings.
A CMS spokesperson said in an email that the agency is committed to “strong oversight and enforcement of the Medicare Advantage program to ensure that plans are delivering care to Medicare beneficiaries” as required.
*****
FEATURED ARTICLE 2
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Senate unanimously passes bill banning pharmacy ‘gag clauses’ in Medicare
The Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday that would ban Medicare insurers from enforcing “gag clauses” that forbid pharmacies from telling customers about cheaper ways to buy drugs.
The Know the Lowest Price Act is intended to help patients covered under Medicare to find out if their prescription would cost less if they were to pay for it out of pocket rather than through their insurance plan.
“Passing this bill and eliminating gag clauses gives patients more power to lower their healthcare costs,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who helped introduce the plan, said in a statement. “It makes prices transparent so patients can save money with less expensive prescriptions.”
The new rules explicitly apply to Medicare Part D, which pays for prescription drugs, and to Medicare Advantage, a healthcare plan managed by private insurers. Medicare is the program covering adults 65 and older and people with disabilities.
In the complexity of the system that involves pharmaceutical companies, drug reimbursements, middlemen known as pharmacy benefits managers, and health insurance companies, patients can sometimes end up paying more while others in the chain pay less. Private health insurers and pharmacy benefits managers use “gag clauses” in their contracts to prohibit pharmacists from informing customers that they can save money if they don’t go through their health plans.
Another bill passed in committee, known as the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act, would provide the same protections for people who have private health insurance coverage. The Trump administration has called for Congress to undo the gag clauses and pass other measures to help reduce what patients pay for drugs.
Perhaps a storm would be a better analogy but 2016 will deliver something more than a mild tropical depression to the coast of the “Individual and Family” health insurance market. At the same―the Cat 3 (minimum) hurricane projected to slam the Senior market of Medicare recipients appears to have been diverted. For now.
As we enter the third year of enrollment in health insurance plans compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) the “Affordable” aspect of care or―more accurately―the cost of protecting oneself from the cost of health care―seems elusive and more and more a case of misrepresentation. As I have said many times in the past, if you qualify for a subsidy of your health insurance premiums you may find your options affordable. However, depending on where you live, you will surely be upset with the increasing cost of health insurance. 70% of all Obamacare members are enrolled in a Silver Plan. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHS), which oversees enforces the Act and oversees the health insurance industry, has designated the second lowest cost Silver Plan of any insurance company to be the default plan one must select in order to maximize the benefit of any subsidy. This could include a reduction in not only one’s premium but their deductibles and co-pays. As Fox News and the Washington Post report (see featured article below) the cost of these plans will rise by a national average of 7.5%. States such as Oklahoma will see an increase of 37.5%!
In some states it is much worse.
To add insult to injury many insurance companies, such as BlueCross BlueShield of Texas, have taken such losses―in spite of skyrocketing premiums―they have announced they are eliminating the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) network option for their plans and member benefit. The only option will be to select a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) network option wherein the company can ration your providers and treatment. While the young or otherwise very healthy may find this option acceptable, those of us who are older or dealing with existing illnesses or injuries are certain to be upset by this development. The insurance companies seem to be in agreement on the viability of PPOs and explain any premium increase necessary to assure they even break even on a PPO policy would be beyond the increase limit set by Obamacare. As such, it would therefore not be approved by their state insurance commissioner. So the question remains: what will your personal network and benefit options be for 2016 and what will they cost?
Virtually all insurance companies are keeping the answers close to their vest until this Sunday, November 1, the first day of OPEN ENROLLMENT wherein one may choose a health insurance plan for 2016. Enrollment will remain open until January 31st. Those without a plan at that time will be locked out for the remainder of the year and will pay a penalty equal to the higher of two amounts:
2.5% of your yearly household income (Only the amount of income above the tax filing threshold, about $10,150 for an individual in 2014, is used to calculate the penalty.) The maximum penalty is the national average premium for a Bronze plan
$695 per person ($347.50 per child under 18) The maximum penalty per family using this method is $2,085.
A banner follows which, as of Sunday, November 1st, you may click on and by simply entering your birth date, zip code and tobacco usage, obtain ALL your health insurance options from each and every insurance company issuing 2016 coverage in your state. It will also allow you to calculate what subsidy, if any, and enable you (if you choose) to log directly into the federal marketplace to acquire it and your insurance plan. If you have questions, as you most surely will, do not hesitate to contact me via my contact information via the link or below.
CLICK ON THIS BANNER TO OBTAIN 2016 HEALTH INSURANCE QUOTES:
Relative to Medicare recipients, it would appear a planned increase in the 2016 Medicare Part B premium and deductible has been taken off the table for the time being. The increase would have resulted in a huge spike in what higher income recipients and new enrollees in Part B Out-Patient coverage would pay in premium. The proposed premium increase would have been as presented here:
Income Limits, Medicare Part B Premiums for 2016
Single
Married
2015
2016 Held Harmless
2016 Not Held Harmless
$85,000 or less
$170,000 or less
$104.90
$104.90
$159.30
$85,001 to $107,000
$170,001 to $214,000
$146.90
$223.00
$107,001 to $160,000
$214,001 to $320,000
$209.80
$318.60
$160,001 to $214,000
$320,001 to $428,000
$272.70
$414.20
Above $214,000
Above $428,000
$335.70
$509.80
The threat and legislation which averted this is described in detail in The Fiscal Times article below. As of today, it is still unclear to this editor whether the increase in the calendar year deductible has also been averted.
The prices for a popular and important group of health plans sold through the federal insurance exchange will climb by an average of 7.5 percent for the coming year, a jump nearly four times bigger than a year ago, according to new government figures.
The rate increase for 2016 compares with average growth of 2 percent, from 2014 to this year, in the monthly premiums for a level of coverage that serves as the benchmark for federal subsidies that help most consumers buying coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
A “snapshot” of insurance rates, released Monday by the Department of Health and Human Services, also shows that the rate increases for next year vary substantially around the country. Although there are exceptions, more populous states and metropolitan areas tend to have more modest premium increases for the coming year than smaller areas.
The changes for next year have a wide range — from premium increases averaging 35 percent in Oklahoma and Montana to a decrease of nearly 13 percent in Indiana.
The analysis is based on hundreds of health plans sold in local markets within 37 states that use HealthCare.gov, the federal online insurance marketplace. It excludes plans in other states that have created separate ACA insurance marketplaces. The rates reflect the prices of the second-least expensive health plan in each market for 2016 in a tier of coverage known as silver. ACA health plans are divided into four tiers, all named for metals, depending on the amount of customers’ care that they cover. Silver plans have proven by far the most popular. Officials at HHS issued the analysis as less than a week remains before the start on Nov. 1 of a third open-enrollment season for Americans eligible to sign up for health plans under the insurance marketplaces created by the 2010 health-care law. The exchanges are intended for people who cannot get affordable health benefits through a job.
In their analysis, federal officials contend that the health plans sold through the exchanges will be affordable to people willing to shop for the best rates. The cost to consumers, HHS officials emphasize, is cushioned by the fact that nearly nine in 10 are eligible for tax credits.
Taking the subsidies into account, nearly four in five people who already have gotten insurance through these marketplaces will have access for 2016 to a health plan for which they could pay no more than $100 in monthly premiums, the analysis found. The analysis does not address other costs to consumers, such as co-payments and deductibles, which tend to be more expensive in ACA health plans than in employer-based health benefits.
The figures in the analysis reinforce a theme that Obama administration officials introduced last year and have revived as the third sign-up period approaches: the usefulness of researching the best and most affordable coverage, even if it means switching insurance from year to year. “If consumers come back to the Marketplace and shop, they may be able to find a plan that saves them money and meets their health needs,” Kevin Counihan, the HHS official who oversees the health exchanges, said in a statement.
The new figures show that existing customers who went back last fall to HealthCare.gov and picked a different plan at the same level of coverage saved an average of nearly $400 in premiums over the course of this year. Slightly fewer than one-third of those who bought such coverage for a second time switched health plans, according to the analysis. During this open enrollment, Obama administration officials are striving both to attract existing customers again and to ferret out Americans eligible for the exchanges who remain uninsured even though the law requires them to have coverage. Although many consumers can be largely shielded from rate jumps through subsidies and shopping around, the increases ratchet up the government’s expenditures on the tax credits that the law provides, health policy analysts point out.
Analysts have expected that premiums for the coming year would grow more rapidly than they did for 2015. “This is the first year that insurers actually have a full year of experience with how much care people use,” said Larry Levitt, senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health policy organization. “In the first two years of the program, insurers were essentially guessing.” In addition, Caroline Pearson, senior vice president at Avalere, a health-care consulting firm, said that, as some health plans have attracted a significant share of customers, “the need to price really low diminishes a little bit.” Clare Krusing, a spokeswoman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry’s main trade group, said that “averages don’t tell the whole story” and that insurance rates hinge on “location and the cost of providing care to individuals in particular markets.” In particular, Krusing said, last year was “a record-breaking year for prescription drug prices. That trend is likely to continue.”
***********************************
Seniors Exhale as Congress Blocks Huge Medicare Increase
By Eric Pianin October 27, 2015 3:17 PM
Responding to pressure from seniors’ and labor groups as the 2016 campaign season heats up, congressional leaders and the White House have blocked a huge, 50 percent increase in the Medicare Part B premium for nearly one third of the 50 million elderly Americans who depend on the program for health services.
The bipartisan solution will block all but a tiny fraction of the premium increase. It is contained in the two-year budget and debt ceiling bill negotiated by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the White House and that awaits ratification by the two chambers – likely by the end of this week.
The threatened sharp premium increase – reported back in August by The Fiscal Times – was triggered by a quirk in federal law that penalizes wealthier Medicare beneficiaries, newcomers to the program and lower income Americans with complicated chronic health problems. It kick in any time the Social Security Administration fails to approve an annual cost-of-living adjustment – as will be the case next year.
Medicare Part B and the Social Security trust fund are interconnected, and most seniors on Medicare have their monthly premiums deducted from their Social Security checks. Because the federal law “holds harmless” about 70 percent of Medicare recipients from premium increases to cover unexpected increases in healthcare costs, the remaining 30 percent of Medicare Part B beneficiaries suffer the consequences by being made to pay higher premiums.
Without intervention by Congress, roughly 15 million seniors and chronically ill people currently claiming both Medicare and Medicaid coverage would have seen their premiums increase from $104.90 per month to $159.30 for individuals, according to Medicare actuaries. The actuaries also predicted an increase in the annual deductible for Part B of Medicare, from $147 in 2015 to $223 next year.
Estimates of the cost of legislation to blunt or block a premium increase have ranged from $7.5 billion to $10 billion. Under the budget agreement unveiled late last night, that cost will be covered by a loan of general revenue from the U.S. Treasury to the Supplemental Medical Insurance Trust Fund.
In order to repay that loan, the 15 million people who are not subject to the “hold harmless” protection will be required to pay an additional $3 a month in premiums – a token amount — until the loan is repaid years from now, according to a House budget document describing the deal. Medicare beneficiaries who currently pay higher income-related premiums would pay more than $3, based on their income levels.
If there is no Social Security cost of living adjustment increase for 2017, this provision will apply again.
(Announcement by D. Kenton Henry and HealthandMedicareInsurance.com)
Who will end up the winner ― you ― the insured, the insurance companies or Uncle Sam?
As a health insurance broker of 27 years, I and my peers have waiting with baited breath all year to see two things:
First ― will enrollments in 2015 health insurance plans, which begin at midnight tonight, the 15th of November, go more smoothly than last year’s embarrassing debacle that was the glitch plagued Healthcare.gov website which floundered in the death throes of end-stage technology through the entire first year “open-enrollment” period?
Secondly ― what are 2015 premiums and benefits going to look like? By the time you read this, you are about to know. I hope you will be happy with the options available to you, however, I hate to say, I cannot guarantee that. Rumor has it that premiums will be going up at varying rates relative to each of the fifty states. In Texas they are projected to rise an average of 14% above 2014 rates depending on your age. If this is the case and you have coverage you feel is adequate―along with the option of keeping it―that is exactly what you should do. But if you are like a great number of my clients, who have been told your current plan will terminate 12.31.2014, your only options are to forego coverage and pay the penalty (excuse me “shared responsibility tax”) when you file your 2015 tax return. Or purchase one of the new compliant plans.
I cannot control the options you will have but I can present, simplify and guide you to your best value in 2015 health insurance coverage. My quoting link will not only determine if you qualify for and calculate the amount of your subsidy (utilizing the same algorithm employed by Healthcare.gov) but, in the event you do qualify, will allow you to seamlessly take advantage of the subsidy and apply for your health plan selection for the reduced (net) premium. It will illustrate all your options from every carrier both on and off the federal exchange.
I am certain that after reviewing your options you will have numerous questions. I encourage you to email or call me with them. I will answer them and once you have decided upon your best value, I can make the enrollment process go as smoothly and comfortably as possible. I intend to work all through the weekend and make myself available to be best of my ability.
It is currently 10 p.m. CST on the 14th. After midnight click on this link to begin exploring your options and know I greatly anticipate working with you and making this transition period in the health insurance consumer market go as smoothly as possible for you.
“Consumers should shop around,” said Marilyn B. Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the federal insurance exchange serving three dozen states. “With new options available this year, they’re likely to find a better deal.” She asserted that the data showed that “the Affordable Care Act is working.”
But Republicans quickly pounced on the data as evidence of the opposite.
“Last year, many who liked their plan were surprised to learn they couldn’t keep it,” said Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, who is in line to become chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. “This year, many who like their plan will likely have to pay more to keep it.”
The new data means that many of the seven million people who have bought insurance through federal and state exchanges will have to change to different health plans if they want to avoid paying more — an inconvenience for consumers just becoming accustomed to their coverage.
A new Gallup Poll suggests that seven in 10 Americans with insurance bought through the exchanges rate the coverage and the care as excellent or good, and most were planning to keep it.
In employer-sponsored health plans, employees tend to stay with the same insurer from year to year. But for consumers in the public insurance exchanges, that will often be a mistake, experts said.
Nashville illustrates the need for people with marketplace coverage to look closely at the alternatives available in 2015.
Marilyn B. Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the federal health exchange. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times
A 40-year-old in Nashville, with the cheapest midlevel, or silver plan, will pay $220 a month next year, compared to $181 a month this year, for the same plan.
The least expensive plan is offered by another insurer, Community Health Alliance, one of the so-called co-op plans created under the federal law. It offers coverage for a monthly premium of $194.
But the lower premium means that consumers will have to pay a much larger annual deductible, $4,000, rather than $2,000. A policyholder who becomes seriously ill or has a costly chronic condition could pay hundreds of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses.
In addition, different health plans often have different networks of doctors and hospitals and cover different drugs, meaning that consumers who change plans may have to pay more for the same medicines.
Another problem for consumers is that if the price for a low-cost benchmark plan in the area has dropped, the amount of federal subsidies provided by the law could be less, meaning that consumers may have to pay more unless they switch.
The data, released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, indicates that price increases will be modest for many people willing to change plans. In a typical county, the price will rise 5 percent for the cheapest silver plan and 4 percent for the second cheapest.
************************************
NEW YORK TIMES
Estimate of Healthcare Enrollment Leaves Room to Grow
10 November 2014
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Monday offered a surprisingly modest estimate of the number of people who would sign up for health insurance in the second round of open enrollment, which begins on Saturday.
Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the secretary of health and human services, said she was working on the assumption that a total of 9.1 million people would have such coverage at the end of next year.
By contrast, the Congressional Budget Office had estimated that 13 million people would be enrolled next year, with the total rising to 24 million in 2016. In the past, the White House has used the budget office numbers as a benchmark for success under the Affordable Care Act.
This estimate appeared to be part of an effort by federal officials to lower public expectations, so the goal would be easier to meet and to surpass. In addition, the new number could indicate that administration officials believe it will be difficult to find and enroll many of the uninsured while retaining those who signed up in the last year.
“The number we are going to aim for this year is 9.1 million,” Ms. Burwell said on Monday during remarks at the Center for American Progress, a liberal research and advocacy group.
Ms. Burwell’s estimate was at the lower end of the range suggested by health policy experts in her department. In a report issued earlier Monday, the experts estimated that, at the end of next year, 9 million to 9.9 million people would have coverage purchased through insurance exchanges, or marketplaces.
Representative Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, said the administration was “trying to manage expectations and rewrite its definition of success ahead of the second open-enrollment period.” Administration officials said they were just being realistic, in the light of experience with other health programs.
President Obama announced in April that eight million people had signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Officials said Monday that enrollment had declined to 7.1 million after some people failed to pay their share of premiums and others were found to be ineligible because of unresolved questions about their citizenship or immigration status.
The Department of Health and Human Services estimated that enrollment, including renewals and new customers, would reach 10 million to 11 million by the end of the three-month sign-up period, which closes on Feb. 15.
However, if Ms. Burwell is right, the number would shrink to 9.1 million people at the end of next year. That would still be a 28 percent increase over the number believed to have marketplace coverage today.
Ms. Burwell’s estimate came as a surprise to insurance counselors, agents and brokers working with the Obama administration.
Anne Filipic, the president of Enroll America, a nonprofit group trying to expand coverage, said the goal of 9.1 million “seems reasonable.” She praised the administration for taking what she described as “a pragmatic, analytic approach” to setting a numeric goal.
Federal health officials said they had ended coverage for 112,000 people who could not demonstrate that they were United States citizens or legal immigrants entitled to insurance under the health care law.
In addition, they said, 120,000 households will lose some or all of the insurance subsidies they have been receiving because they could not adequately document their income. These households will face higher premiums.
In making their estimates, federal health officials said, they assumed that 83 percent of the people with marketplace coverage — 5.9 million of the 7.1 million people in “qualified health plans” — would renew their coverage.
The intense political debate swirling around the Affordable Care Act does not make the job of enrolling people any easier, officials said.
Republicans like Tom Cotton in Arkansas and Joni Ernst in Iowa won Senate races in which they emphasized opposition to the health care law, as did successful Republican House candidates like Mia Love in Utah and Ryan Zinke in Montana.
Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, said that people were skeptical of the law and “aren’t signing up because they realize it’s not a good deal for them.”
The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would consider a case challenging subsidies paid to more than four million people who obtained insurance through the federal marketplace.
Ms. Burwell said Monday that she did not see the legal challenge as a serious threat to the Affordable Care Act. “As we go into open enrollment,” she said, “nothing has changed.”
Federal health officials said they believed that marketplace enrollment would grow more slowly than projected by the Congressional Budget Office, which sees the total holding steady at 25 million from 2017 to 2024.
Administration officials noted that uninsured people could also get coverage by enrolling in Medicaid or by finding jobs with health benefits.
In a brief analysis of coverage trends, the Department of Health and Human Services said Monday that “most of the new marketplace enrollment for 2015 is likely to come from the ranks of the uninsured,” rather than from people who previously bought insurance on their own outside the exchanges.
All Plan Med Quote has been providing the individuals, families and employer groups the lowest quotes and best value in health and Medicare related insurance in four different states since 1991. In 1998 we became one of the first insurance agencies in the country to begin marketing via the internet through our website AllplanHealthInsurance.com.
In an effort to respond more directly and with products tailored to our hometown, we have just launched a sister website: TheWoodlandsTXHealthInsurance.com http://thewoodlandstxhealthinsurance.com. Logos and customized marketing materials are still being designed but the website is online!
In addition to health, Medicare related, dental and life insurance we will be posting health care news relevant to residents of our great community. If you are a resident of The Woodlands or Montgomery County, Texas please visit our site and also follow my blog at http://healthandmedicareinsurance.com to stay abreast of the latest in consumer medical insurance and health related news.
The analogy is irresistible and the comparison inescapable. Dr. Frankenstein experienced an epic epiphany when he realized his good intentions had gone awry and he was responsible for creating a monster which was a threat to the public’s health and welfare. And now the same realization has dawned on the White House and Democratic Senate. They ignored all the polls which have always indicated the majority of Americans are not in favor of Obamacare. They ignored the entreaties of the Republicans (not one of whom voted for the Act) to at first repeal; then later, to post-pone the individual mandate. Now, with November’s mid-term elections on the horizon, they are pressing the panic button and back-pedaling in an overtly political attempt to mitigate fallout at the polls. Last week they modified the individual mandate allowing those who like their non-compliant plan to keep their plan through 2016. But what went unnoticed and unreported by the media was their latest move (also last week) to destroy their own creation wherein they modified the hardship exemption. It now allows anyone whose health plan was canceled due to Obamacare to sign a form stating such–and that the act of purchasing ACA compliant coverage would be “hardship”– to opt out of a purchase with no financial repercussions. The details of the exemption are outlined in our feature article in The Wall Street Journal which concludes the exemption is essentially available to anyone who wants one.
In reality, the Democrats are realizing they are falling on their own sword. What was already a case of adverse selection in terms of the risk funneled into the new Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliant policies, has now been made a case of adverse selection on steroids. This editor’s concern is that the insurance companies will not be able to sustain the new block of compliant policies and will fail minus another massive government bailout. Like banks, they will be deemed “too big to fail” by the administration. For now. Of course, in good time (after Democrats succeed in maintaining control of things), the safety net will be removed and the liberals will rejoice as the companies fail. And left leaning Democrats will have the single-payer system they have long admitted was their prize objective. An accomplishment so necessary for them to control one sixth of our nation’s economy. This in spite of the fact that every major social welfare program this country has implemented is on the fast track to insolvency.
As Dr. Frankenstein worked to destroy his own signature creation, the President now works to gut his. And as always . . . for the sake of politics.
HHS quietly repeals the individual purchase rule for two more years.
Updated March 12, 2014 6:58 p.m. ETObamaCare’s implementers continue to roam the battlefield and shoot their own wounded, and the latest casualty is the core of the Affordable Care Act—the individual mandate. To wit, last week the Administration quietly excused millions of people from the requirement to purchase health insurance or else pay a tax penalty.
This latest political reconstruction has received zero media notice, and the Health and Human Services Department didn’t think the details were worth discussing in a conference call, press materials or fact sheet. Instead, the mandate suspension was buried in an unrelated rule that was meant to preserve some health plans that don’t comply with ObamaCare benefit and redistribution mandates. Our sources only noticed the change this week.
That seven-page technical bulletin includes a paragraph and footnote that casually mention that a rule in a separate December 2013 bulletin would be extended for two more years, until 2016. Lo and behold, it turns out this second rule, which was supposed to last for only a year, allows Americans whose coverage was cancelled to opt out of the mandate altogether.
In 2013, HHS decided that ObamaCare’s wave of policy terminations qualified as a “hardship” that entitled people to a special type of coverage designed for people under age 30 or a mandate exemption. HHS originally defined and reserved hardship exemptions for the truly down and out such as battered women, the evicted and bankrupts.
But amid the post-rollout political backlash, last week the agency created a new category: Now all you need to do is fill out a form attesting that your plan was cancelled and that you “believe that the plan options available in the [ObamaCare] Marketplace in your area are more expensive than your cancelled health insurance policy” or “you consider other available policies unaffordable.”
This lax standard—no formula or hard test beyond a person’s belief—at least ostensibly requires proof such as an insurer termination notice. But people can also qualify for hardships for the unspecified nonreason that “you experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance,” which only requires “documentation if possible.” And yet another waiver is available to those who say they are merely unable to afford coverage, regardless of their prior insurance. In a word, these shifting legal benchmarks offer an exemption to everyone who conceivably wants one.
Keep in mind that the White House argued at the Supreme Court that the individual mandate to buy insurance was indispensable to the law’s success, and President Obama continues to say he’d veto the bipartisan bills that would delay or repeal it. So why are ObamaCare liberals silently gutting their own creation now?
The answers are the implementation fiasco and politics. HHS revealed Tuesday that only 940,000 people signed up for an ObamaCare plan in February, bringing the total to about 4.2 million, well below the original 5.7 million projection. The predicted “surge” of young beneficiaries isn’t materializing even as the end-of-March deadline approaches, and enrollment decelerated in February.
Meanwhile, a McKinsey & Company survey reports that a mere 27% of people joining the exchanges were previously uninsured through February. The survey also found that about half of people who shopped for a plan but did not enroll said premiums were too expensive, even though 80% of this group qualify for subsidies. Some substantial share of the people ObamaCare is supposed to help say it is a bad financial value. You might even call it a hardship.
HHS is also trying to pre-empt the inevitable political blowback from the nasty 2015 tax surprise of fining the uninsured for being uninsured, which could help reopen ObamaCare if voters elect a Republican Senate this November. Keeping its mandate waiver secret for now is an attempt get past November and in the meantime sign up as many people as possible for government-subsidized health care. Our sources in the insurance industry are worried the regulatory loophole sets a mandate non-enforcement precedent, and they’re probably right. The longer it is not enforced, the less likely any President will enforce it.
The larger point is that there have been so many unilateral executive waivers and delays that ObamaCare must be unrecognizable to its drafters, to the extent they ever knew what the law contained.
The White House has doubled down on the Republican’s November request to delay the “Individual Mandate” of the Affordable Care Act.
At least a major portion of it.
The only thing predictable about implementation of the Affordable Care Act is that . . . nothing is predictable. On Wednesday, the Obama Administration played “tooth fairy” to Democrat candidates up for re-election this November and gave American individuals and families with pre-2014 health insurance policies a reprieve on the mandate to purchase ACA compliant coverage for two years through 2016. Last fall the House argued and passed a bill allowing American individuals and families who liked their current health plan – to keep their health plan. As the President had originally promised they could do. But for just one year. Now, in what appears to be an entirely self-serving and purely political move to mitigate a loss of Democratic seats in the up-coming mid-term elections, the Administration Obama says . . . “Errrr – of course! You can keep your plan for two more years!” It is quite apparent the Democrats have correctly determined the backlash from plan cancellations mandated by law could be devastating in terms of their election. Therefore, they speculate, with this aspect of the law deferred they will fair much better at the polls.
As a health insurance broker, I must admit I feel this is something of reprieve for myself and many of my clients. My clients can keep their lower cost plans which, in Texas, average approximately 40% higher than pre-compliant plans (approximately 80% higher in Indiana and Ohio – not to mention a dearth of PPO options as opposed to the restrictive HMO options). As for me, I can cease worrying, for now, about losing clients en masse who would otherwise be forced off their existing plans and might go elsewhere for replacement coverage. I can also anticipate obtaining entirely new clients who choose to elect a new plan in order to cover a pre-existing condition or just to comply with the law. And therein lies the rub. Just because the White House says those who have a plan can keep their plan, does not mean the individual states or the insurance companies will agree to this. And for many, it is far too late – their policies already having been canceled. But–furthermore–this reprieve apparently does not carry over to those who have no coverage whatsoever. They must still acquire coverage by March 31st or be assessed the penalty and locked out of insurance for the remainder of 2014. (Unless, of course, they are also eventually granted clemency by the President.)
And how does your editor feel about this from an actuarial standpoint relative to the insurance companies and the ACA itself? In four words: “Politically Pragmatic Voodoo Economics”. Even Obamacare architect Ezikiel Emanuel, stated Wednesday while on MSNBC, that while he denounced the policy implications of yet another Obamacare delay, “for the political gain, it’s worth it”. Unabashedly self-serving.
If the insurance companies comply, they are once again forced to flex at the last minute and be left with two separate blocks of business. One old block containing less claim’s risk. And one new block where the only motivation to insure oneself will be to transfer personally large risk to the insurance company. This will be in terms of pre-existing conditions which were previously manageable or that arise for the first time. As evidence of this, in an attempt to limit the disruption to the insurance industry precipitated by this latest modification, the Department of Health and Human Services also announced yesterday that the “risk corridor” program (which has been described as a bailout to insurers) would be further modified to channel more money to the insurers in states affected by the change. This only reinforces my opinion that those behind this bill are not economists and never cared about the financial viability of this law. They are, however, very concerned with maintaining their political lives at all cost.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, grappling with continued political fallout over its health care law, said Wednesday that it would allow consumers to renew health insurance policies that did not comply with the new law for two more years, pushing the issue well beyond this fall’s midterm elections.
The reprieve was the latest in a series of waivers, deadline extensions and unilateral actions by the administration that have drawn criticism from the law’s opponents and supporters, many saying President Obama was testing the limits of his powers.
The action reflects the difficulties Mr. Obama has faced in trying to build support for the Affordable Care Act and the uproar over his promise — which he later acknowledged had been overstated — that people who liked their insurance plans could keep them, no matter what.
Under pressure from Democratic candidates, who are struggling to defend the president’s signature domestic policy, Mr. Obama in November announced a one-year reprieve for insurance plans that did not meet the minimum coverage requirements of the 2010 health care law.
The Times would like to hear from Americans who have signed up for health care under the Affordable Care Act.
Wednesday’s action goes much further, essentially stalling for two more years one of the central tenets of the much-debated law, which was supposed to eliminate what White House officials called substandard insurance and junk policies.
The extension could help Democrats in tight midterm election races because it may avoid the cancellation of policies that would otherwise have occurred at the height of the political campaign season this fall.
In announcing the new transition policy, the Department of Health and Human Services said it had been devised “in close consultation with members of Congress,” and it gave credit to a number of Democrats in competitive races, including Senators Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Mark Udall of Colorado.
Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said Mr. Obama was trying to “smooth the transition” to a new system, using flexibility that exists under the law.
The move reflects the administration’s view that a divided Congress would not be willing to make changes to the law, but lawyers questioned the legitimacy of the action and said it could have unintended consequences in the long run.
“I support national health care, but what the president is doing is effectively amending or negating the federal law to fit his preferred approach,” said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University. “Democrats will rue the day if they remain silent in the face of this shift of power to the executive branch.”
Mr. Turley said Mr. Obama was setting precedents that could be used by future presidents to delay other parts of the health care law or to suspend laws dealing with taxes, civil rights or protection of the environment.
Republicans said the move confirmed their contention that parts of the health care law were ill conceived and unworkable.
The number of people with noncompliant coverage is not known. Insurers sent out perhaps 4.5 million cancellation notices last fall, but some of the policyholders have bought new coverage that complies with the law. Administration officials said that the number of people with noncompliant policies would shrink by attrition in the next two years.The health care law sets dozens of federal standards for insurance, requiring coverage of services in 10 specific areas and providing many consumer protections not found in older policies.Under the transition policy announced by Mr. Obama in November, insurers “may choose to continue coverage that would otherwise be terminated or canceled.” Insurers were allowed to renew existing policies even if they did not provide the “essential health benefits” prescribed by law. In addition, the administration said, insurers could continue charging women more than men for those policies and could charge higher premiums based on a person’s health status, in violation of the new law.
A White House official said Wednesday that it would allow insurers to continue existing policies with renewals as late as Oct. 1, 2016, so individuals and small businesses could have noncompliant coverage well into 2017.
Under another policy announced by the administration on Wednesday, certain health plans will be exempt from new fees imposed on insurance companies and on many self-insured group health plans. Labor unions had been lobbying for such an exemption, saying the fees could be “highly disruptive” to Taft-Hartley plans administered jointly by labor and management representatives in construction, entertainment and other industries.
The Times would like to hear from Americans who have signed up for health care under the Affordable Care Act.
Wednesday’s action goes much further, essentially stalling for two more years one of the central tenets of the much-debated law, which was supposed to eliminate what White House officials called substandard insurance and junk policies.
The extension could help Democrats in tight midterm election races because it may avoid the cancellation of policies that would otherwise have occurred at the height of the political campaign season this fall.
In announcing the new transition policy, the Department of Health and Human Services said it had been devised “in close consultation with members of Congress,” and it gave credit to a number of Democrats in competitive races, including Senators Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Mark Udall of Colorado.
Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said Mr. Obama was trying to “smooth the transition” to a new system, using flexibility that exists under the law.
The move reflects the administration’s view that a divided Congress would not be willing to make changes to the law, but lawyers questioned the legitimacy of the action and said it could have unintended consequences in the long run.
“I support national health care, but what the president is doing is effectively amending or negating the federal law to fit his preferred approach,” said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University. “Democrats will rue the day if they remain silent in the face of this shift of power to the executive branch.”
Mr. Turley said Mr. Obama was setting precedents that could be used by future presidents to delay other parts of the health care law or to suspend laws dealing with taxes, civil rights or protection of the environment.
Republicans said the move confirmed their contention that parts of the health care law were ill conceived and unworkable.
But Republicans denounced the change. “The administration’s decision to carve out its union cronies from the Obamacare fee is beyond egregious and will leave others with self-insured plans on the hook to foot the bill,” said Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota.
Robert Laszewski, a consultant who works closely with insurers, said the reprieve for noncompliant policies “tends to undermine the sustainability of Obamacare” by reducing the number of people who will buy insurance through the exchanges.
The administration acknowledged that its transition policy could lead to “higher average claims costs” for people who buy insurance that complies with the Affordable Care Act. But health officials said the 2010 law provided several “shock absorbers” to help stabilize premiums.
healthandmedicareinsurance.com 