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Archive for September, 2009

Lawmakers Meet with ehealth; Get a preview of Health Insurance Exchange

Posted in News on September 28, 2009 | 4 Comments »

From the standpoint of Independent agents having a strong future in the Individual Health market, the concept of the Health Insurance Exchange is probably the most critical.  It is absolutely essential that Individual Agents be allowed to participate within the Exchange to provide their knowledge, expertise and recommendations to consumers who will be shopping through [...]

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2010 Medicare Advantage and Part D Product, Premium, Service Area Data Now Available on the Agent Protected Forms Page of Ritter Insurance Marketing Website

Posted in 2010 MA Plans, News on September 27, 2009 | 8 Comments »

We have uploaded a large amount of 2010 Plan Data to the Agent Use Only password protected portion of our website. To access 2010 plan data for your state you must be logged in: Go to our Resource Center (or go to “Sales Materials” and “Forms” from our homepage.) Select either “Medicare Advantage” or “Part [...]

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US House of Representatives Passes Bill to Stop Rise In Medicare Part B Premiums

Posted in News, Social Security on September 25, 2009 | 2 Comments »

In 2010, it appears that because there is no increase in Social Security slated (due to low inflation), there will be no increase in Medicare Part B premium for about 75% of Medicare Beneficiaries.  This is how the law stands now.  Due to increases in Medical Inflation, the Medicare Part B premium was supposed to [...]

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Senator Tries to Allay Fears on Health Overhaul

Posted in News, Uncategorized on September 25, 2009 | 4 Comments »

WASHINGTON — Senator Bill Nelson of Florida desperately wants to expand health insurance coverage because one in five Floridians is uninsured. As a former state insurance commissioner, he wants to crack down on insurers. And as a member of the Senate Finance Committee, he can shape legislation to achieve both goals. But Mr. Nelson, a [...]

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Aetna Selected by Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund as Provider of PA State Retirees; Opportunities Abound for Small/Middle Market Medicare Retiree Groups for January 1st, 2010 Effectives

Posted in Aetna, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC on September 23, 2009 | 2 Comments »

I saw 2 stories which covered Aetna’s announcement today.  One from the Pennsylvania Business Journal and one from Trading Markets. The coverage will take effect on 1/1/10.  Previously, the state retirees were covered by Coventry Healthcare on a PFFS product.  The Aetna plan is a combination HMO/PPO Medicare Advantage model. If you are an agent [...]

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CMS Changes Guidelines for Notification of Marketing Events

Posted in CMS on September 22, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Effective September 15th, CMS notified plans that the requirements for notifying them of upcoming marketing events has changed.  Previously, Plans were required to notify CMS of the FOLLOWING MONTH’s Marketing events around the 20th of the PRECEDING MONTH.  The new guidance changes that requirement to allow the Plans to file Marketing Events with CMS a [...]

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Huffington Post Blog Provides a Great Example of the Advantage of Medicare Advantage

Posted in CMS, News on September 22, 2009 | 5 Comments »

I’ve been talking a lot about the recent CMS investigation.  As far as I can tell, this originated with a blog posting from the Huffington Post (this was the first I had heard about Humana’s letter to it’s members).  Interestingly, in the blog post, if you read about 1/2 way down, there’s a story about [...]

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Wall Street Journal Editorializes on CMS Investigation into Humana’s Letter to it’s Members

Posted in CMS, Humana, News on September 22, 2009 | 3 Comments »

I blogged on this last night.  I’m glad I’m not alone in feeling a little funny about how this whole thing went down.  See the Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Opinion entitled, “Baucus Bludgeons Humana.”

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Obama Administration Warns Insurance Companies They may Face Legal Action for Allegedly Trying to Scare Seniors about Healthcare Reform

Posted in CMS, News on September 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Full Story at the Washington Post. CMS asked Insurance Companies to cease all mailings and information on their websites (or related websites) related to mobilizing their members to voice their opposition to the proposed cuts to the Medicare Advantage system.

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CMS Investigating Humana over Letter to Members Regarding Healthcare Reform; Freedom of Speech meets HIPAA

Posted in CMS, News on September 21, 2009 | 7 Comments »

I originally saw this on a blog on the Huffington post and didn’t think that much would be made of this.  Here is the original blog posting from Dawn Teo.  I wasn’t sure of Dawn’s political leanings, so I checked out her twitter page!  Check it out for yourself and see if you can venture a [...]

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