Highlighted Topics
- 2008-09 Governor’s Budget—California Department of Aging (CDA)
- Be Prepared California
- Get Healthy California
- Health Care Reform
- Long-Term Care Guide
- Security Awareness Training
- Senate Recognizes Department of Aging for Health Promotion in Workplace
Latest News
- Tips to Prevent Heat Related Illness
- 2008 Economic Stimulus Rebate Information
- Medicare Fraud Toolkit to Assist Consumers in Protecting Their Medicare Benefits from Fraud and Abuse.
- Do you know, after February 17th, 2009,
all full power television stations will broadcast in digital signals only ?
- Information for Homeowners Facing Forclosure
Upcoming Conferences & Events
Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) - E-Clearinghouse Resources
California's Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program - HICAP
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In the News
- Moratorium on Unique IDs is lifted
- CMS Announces Approved PDP and MA-PD Plans
- Prescription Drug Plan Cost Estimator is Online
- Medicare and You Handbook to be mailed in early October
- Medicare website and 1-800-MEDICARE ready in October for Drug Coverage Inquiries
- Medicare Drug Plans to Offer Premiums of $20 or Less
- Medicare Part B Premiums for 2006 Increase by $10.30
- Medicare Savings Program fact Sheet
- SSA Fact Sheet
- SSA Contractor to Place Follow-Up Calls to Medicare Beneficiaries
- Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA) Publishes HMO Report Card
- Auto-enrollment Notice to be mailed end of October
- Key Dates
- Do’s & Don’ts of Medicare Prescription Drug Plans and MA-PD Marketing Rules
- Save the Date
Moratorium on Unique IDs is lifted
You may now submit requests at any time for Counselors waiting in the queue due to the moratorium. However, the protocols have changed. Please follow the new Medicare CSR Unique Identification Number Protocols. HICAP Managers will have more discretion in the future over the issuance of these IDs to Counselors.
CDA will now issue Unique ID numbers for each NEWLY REGISTERED Counselor. This means EVERY new Counselor will be required to register on SHIPtalk.org when you file their application for State registration. Program Managers will then receive the Unique ID number along with the approval letter and card. It will be up to the Program Manager to issue the number to the new Counselor, or withhold it. With this added responsibility, we expect HICAP Managers to maintain direct control over the use of these numbers at all times. We will not retroactively issue numbers to existing Counselors (approximately 500) who do not already have an ID Number.
Managers must sign, date, and return a Master Confidentiality Agreement before activation of this system. This Master Confidentiality Agreement is attached. Please mail the original signed document back, to:
Attention: Wayne R. Lindley
California SHIP-HICAP Director & Policy Mgr. Data Team
California Department of Aging
1300 National Drive, Suite 200
Sacramento, CA 95834
- HICAP Program Manager Master Confidentiality Agreement for Receipt of Unique Identifier (ID) Numbers for HICAP Counselors
- Medicare CSR Unique Identification Number Protocols
- Confidentiality Agreement for Receipt of Medicare CSR Unique Identification (ID)
CMS Announces Approved PDP and MA-PD Plans
On September 23, 2005 CMS announced the approval of nine organizations offering drug coverage nationwide. In California, 18 organizations will offer stand-alone prescription drug plans, including five with premiums of less than $20 a month. People with Medicare in California can also get drug coverage with additional benefits and even lower total out-of-pocket costs by enrolling in Medicare Advantage plans. The Medicare Advantage options include one new statewide PPO plan and in 2006, ten Medicare Advantage organizations will provide prescription drug coverage for no additional cost.
Prescription Drug Plan Cost Estimator is Online
The Medicare Prescription
Drug Plan Cost Estimator, an online tool
that compares consumers’ current plans
to Medicare while calculating potential
savings, is now available. http://www.medicare.gov/medicarereform/drugbenefit.asp.
Medicare and You Handbook to be mailed in early October
In early October, the Medicare
& You 2006 handbook will be mailed to
every Medicare household. If you do not
receive or would simply like a copy, please
call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
Medicare website and 1-800- Medicare ready in October for drug coverage inquiries
Beginning in mid-October,
Medicare’s website, http://www.medicare.gov,
and its 24-hour toll-free number, 1-800-MEDICARE
(1-800-633-4227), will also have specific
information available to help beneficiaries
find the drug coverage that suits their
needs.
Medicare Drug Plans to Offer Premiums of $20 or Less
This chart summarizes the
preliminary number of stand-alone prescription
drug plans with monthly premiums in different
ranges for each of the 34 CMS prescription
drug plan (PDP) regions. Between 11 and
23 organizations are offering these stand-alone
prescription drug plans in each region,
with many organizations offering plans in
multiple regions. In addition, this chart
shows the weighted-average monthly premium
for each region. The estimated weighted
average monthly premium nationally is around
$32.20. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicarereform/premiumoptionsregional
premiumtable.pdf
Medicare Part B Premiums face a 2006 INCREASE of $10.30
The Medicare Part B monthly premium will be $88.50 in 2006, an increase of $10.30 from the current $78.20 premium.
CMS attributes the increase to the following: “Continued rapid growth in the intensity and utilization of Part B services is the primary reason for the premium increase. This growth is seen in physician office visits, lab tests, minor procedures, and physician-administered drugs. It also includes rapid growth in hospital outpatient services. Additionally, increased fee-for-service expenditures contribute to higher payment rates to Medicare Advantage health plans. Also, enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans is increasing as those plans have become much more widely available. These factors are leading to higher Medicare costs related to the Medicare Advantage program.” (http://www.cms.hhs.gov)
Medicare Savings Program Fact Sheet
This fact sheet is designed
to assist counselors in identifying people
with Medicare who may be eligible for help
from Medicaid paying their Medicare premiums
through Medicare Savings Programs. Below
you will find definitions, eligibility,
and the 2005 income requirements for Medicare
Savings Programs. http://www.shiptalk.org/shipTalkORGv2/User/Library/2005
Dual Eligibles and MSPfinal2.doc
SSA Fact Sheet
This page is designed to provide information to organizations about SSA's Medicare Outreach products. Medicare and Prescription Help
Several national newspapers and journals will publish informational pieces about Medicare Part D:
- AARP has prepared a four-page insert in Parade Magazine, USA Weekend and American Profile for publication September 4, 2005. This insert titled, “The New Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit…Now Available in Easy to Swallow Doses” discusses the new Medicare drug coverage and provides resources for further information. SHIPtalk.org is listed here as a resource (see attached PDF file to view the ad copy).
- CMS/AoA is preparing an eight page insert for Parade Magazine to be published September 25. The insert is available online at : http://www.cms.hhs.gov/partnerships/news/adcampaign/91013_ParadeInsertRev_Printer_975x5562rev921.pdf
SSA Contractor to Place Follow-Up Calls to Medicare Beneficiaries
The Social Security Administration (SSA) will contract with NCS Pearson, Inc., and its partner, West Corporation, to conduct follow-up telephone calls to individuals who have not responded to the Low-Income Subsidy Application (LISA) mailed to them. Nearly 19 million individuals potentially eligible for extra help with Part D costs were mailed an application for extra help, and those who have not yet applied for the extra help will receive a phone call from the SSA Contractor. In California as of 9/19, over 1.6 million applications were mailed and close to 200,000 applied. SSA has developed a fact sheet to explain the phone call procedures and to offer answers to commonly asked questions regarding these calls. SSA contractors will not have access to and will not collect any personal information; they "will clearly identify themselves as employees of NCS Pearson and the West Corporation calling on behalf of the Social Security Administration." (www.ssa.com) Medicare beneficiaries who receive calls from anyone claiming to work for Social Security and asking for personal information should be wary of identity theft and should report the incident to their local SSA office.
Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA) Publishes HMO Report Card
While its 2005 HMO Report Card praised the state's top 10 HMOs for incrementally improving care, the OPA rankings showed that they fall short in nine areas. Examples include not offering vision tests to diabetics and not offering programs to help people stop smoking or overeating.
The OPA analysis ranked Kaiser Permanente Southern California as the state's top-quality HMO, followed closely by Kaiser Permanente Northern California. The next tier included PacifiCare of California and Health Net, followed by Western Health Advantage, CIGNA HMO and Blue Cross HMO CaliforniaCare.
The 2005 report is available
at www.hmoreportcard.ca.gov or by calling the OPA at (866) 466-8900.
Free printed summaries are also available
at local libraries, Walgreens and other
independent pharmacies.
Auto-enrollment Notice to be mailed end of October
This notice is to inform
people with Medicare and full Medicaid coverage
about the change in their drug coverage
from Medicaid to Medicare. The notice explains
that these individuals will be enrolled
in a Medicare Prescription Drug plan if
they don’t join a plan by the end
of the year. The mailing is limited to those
who get their Medicare benefits through
the Original Medicare Plan. Individuals
enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans and
PACE organizations will be notified by those
Plans. The auto-enrollment notice is posted
on the CMS website:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicarereform/EnrollmentQA9-08-05withcoversheet.pdf .
October 1, 2005: PDPs
begin advertising to Medicare beneficiaries
November 15, 2005: Enrollment
in PDPs begins.
January 1, 2006: Part
D Coverage begins.
Do’s & Don’ts of Medicare Prescription Drug Plans and MA-PD Marketing Rules
The Health Assistance Partnership created a Do’s & Don’ts of Marketing in order to simplify 158 pages in the CMS Marketing Guidelines. While it doesn't cover everything it does offer a “plain language” outline of the basics. Such as:
“Plans can advertise
their Plans through telephone campaigns,
however, Plans cannot enroll beneficiaries
over the phone and Plans cannot ask for
financial or personal information over the
telephone. Furthermore, Plans must honor
the “National Do Not Call Registry”
and “do not call again” requests.
http://www.healthassistancepartnership.org/assets/docs/Marketing-Rules-1.doc
- CMS Train the Trainer
is scheduled for October 25 & 26 in
San Francisco at the Sir Francis Drake
Hotel. The training will introduce modules
on PDP Enrollment tools and the Plan Comparison
tool. This training is by invitation only.
The Program Managers that responded to
Ross Kaplan are on the CMS invitation
list. CMS will E-mail invitations by September
30. Contact Apryl Williams if you haven’t
received your invitation by that date. Apryl.Williams@cms.hhs.gov
- C4A Annual Meeting and Annual Conference is scheduled for November 14-17, 2005 at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine. The Conference packet including a registration form was emailed to the aging network and HICAP Program Managers.