Health insurance agents lack of disclosure can affect Medicare plan choices Commonwealth Fund authors call for a deeper policy look into a system that limits options for beneficiaries without their knowledge.
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A convoluted selection process and a lack of transparency surrounding health insurance agents could be affecting how informed Medicare beneficiaries are regarding their plan options, according to a new report.
The Commonwealth Fundreport found that while beneficiaries often turn to licensed agents for help in finding suitable plans, agents are not required to represent all available plans. Agents also do not have to disclose whether there are other suitable plans outside of their representation. This can limit options presented to beneficiaries, unbeknownst to them.
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January 6, 2021 9:30 AM Kate Ashford
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If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan but aren’t thrilled with it, you have a chance now to change things up: The annual Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment period opened Jan. 1.
During this period, which ends March 31, you’re allowed to take one of the following actions once if you’re in a Medicare Advantage Plan:
Drop it and go back to Original Medicare, and join a Medicare drug plan.
If you don’t have a Medicare Advantage Plan already, this open enrollment period isn’t for you. For instance, you can’t take any of the following steps:
Foreign travel emergencies
What is the difference between Medicare Plan G and Plan F?
Plan G is essentially Plan F without coverage for the Part B deductible. In 2015, Congress signed the Medicare Reauthorization Act, which included a rule eliminating Medigap plans that paid the Part B deductible.
The rule applied to all new plans sold on or after January 1, 2020.
Plan F, which is the most popular Medigap plan among all Medicare beneficiaries, is no longer available to anyone who first became eligible for Medicare after December 31, 2019.
If you had Plan F before January 1, 2020, you can keep your plan. If you’re new to Medicare, Plan G gives you the same comprehensive coverage minus the Part B deductible.
Dec 14, 2020
Dec 14, 2020
Wouldnât it be nice to get back some or all of your Medicare Part B monthly premium? Itâs possible through the Part B premium Give Back, otherwise known as the Part B premium-reduction benefit.
The reduction is administered through the Social Security Administration, and depending on how you pay your Part B premium, the reduction will show as an increase in your Social Security check or a credit on your Part B premium statement. Below is an overview of the Medicare Part B premium Give Back program.
â¢How does the Medicare Part B Give Back program work? The Medicare Part B Give Back program is a feature of Medicare Advantage. Yet very few Medicare Advantage plans offer this benefit and it isnât available in all areas. The Part B Give Back is just like it sounds. You enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan that offers this benefit and the plan pays some or all of the monthly Part B premium.