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Archive for April, 2009

HealthMetrix Research CostShare Report featured in AARP Public Policy Institute Report (from A. Mittermaier)

Posted in Medicare Advantage, News on April 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

“A First Look at How Medicare Advantage Benefits and Premiums in Individual Enrollment Plans Changed from 2008 to 2009.” Click for complete report

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Ritter Insurance Marketing Announces Pennsylvania Seminars During the Week of May 11th, 2009: “The Future of Medicare: How Senior Market Agents Can Maximize Opportunities in the Current Political Climate.”

Posted in About Ritter Insurance Marketing, Pennsylvania on April 8, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Ritter Insurance Marketing is pleased to announce our Spring 2009 Seminar Schedule for Pennsylvania.  NOTE TO AGENTS OUTSIDE OF PA:  I will be offering the same content via a series of Webex Presentations in late-May and mid-June.  To pre-register for the WEBEX ONLY, click here and we will alert you to the dates and times! The [...]

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Listen to Gary Jacobs, SVP of Corporate Development at Universal American discuss the Political Background of Medicare Advantage, the Current Climate and Future Possibilities

Posted in CMS, Medicare Advantage, News on April 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Gary does a great job in clearly laying out the political history of Medicare Advantage and the impact of MMA (2003) and MIPPA (2008) and discusses what the future holds. Click here to listen to this recorded call.  Gary begins speaking around the -52 minute mark.  The entire call lasts 60 minutes with some technical [...]

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Join Us on April 16th to Learn how to Sell Medicare Supplement (Med Supp) over the Phone

Posted in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Great American Companies, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisana, Loyal American, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, States, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming on April 8, 2009 | 2 Comments »

EDITIOR’s NOTE:  THIS SESSION IS FULL, HOWEVER WE SCHEDULED A SECOND MEETING ON APRIL 22nd.  Click here to register for that meeting!   Sell Med Supp over the Phone! No need to see your client No need mail them an application E-Signature is taken over the phone, so your client doesn’t need to own a [...]

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CMS Issues Correction to 2010 Part D Co-payment and Deductible Levels

Posted in CMS on April 7, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Previously, I posted 2010 Part D Co-payment and deductible levels:  HERE. Yesterday in their conference call, CMS adjusted these levels slightly. I’ve also updated our explanation page on the Standard Part D benefit. Here are the key numbers: 2010 Part D deductible = $310 (versus $305 initially reported) 2010 Inititial Coverage = $2,830 (versus $2,780 [...]

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2010 Medicare Advantage Capitation Rates Issued by CMS

Posted in CMS, News on April 6, 2009 | 5 Comments »

Here are the rates.  countyrate2010 Essentially, with some coding changes, this will represent a 5% reduction from 2009 payments.  Assuming 5% trend (which is probably low), you get a 10% differential in 2010 versus 2009.  Essentially, CMS assumed (for purposes of calculating the rates) that the physician’s payments would be cut by 21% in 2010 [...]

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2010 Medicare Advantage Capitation Rates expected Shortly from CMS

Posted in CMS, News on April 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

From what I’m hearing, there will be a conference call from CMS after the markets close today.  Here is an article. I’ll post more as soon as I hear, maybe later tonight.

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New York State to Continue State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program (SPAP) for New York’s Senior Population – Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC)

Posted in New York, News on April 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

EPIC is the State Pharmaceutic Assistance Program (SPAP) for New York State.  EPIC is one of largest (perhaps THE largest) SPAP in the nation in terms of # of enrollees. The New York Legislature extended the EPIC benefits and this was signed by the Governor of New York. Full Story is here!

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First Medicare Advantage Carrier Announces Discontinuation of Private Fee for Service (PFFS) plans in 2010

Posted in Medicare Advantage, News on April 4, 2009 | 3 Comments »

5/17/09 – Editor’s Note:  Since I blogged on this back on April 4th, 2 more companies have made similar announcements.  See Coventry and WellCare blog posts.  Thanks to Rick and John for advising me of this! This was an “agent use only” announcement, so I won’t name the company, but I think this is an [...]

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BCBS of Michigan Files for Medigap Rate Increase

Posted in Medicare Supplement, Michigan on April 4, 2009 | 1 Comment »

This is from the Detroit News.  BCBSM is requesting a substantial increase of 31% on their individual Medgap Plans.  This is only a filed request and HAS NOT been approved.  They have competitively priced plans A and C (Community Rated).  They also have 209,000 Medigap members in Michigan.  The last time they requested a rate increase was [...]

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