Oct. 2, 2018
Dive
Brief:
- CMS is updating Medicare.gov,
Administrator Seema Verma said Monday, with a new initiative dubbed eMedicare. The
multi-year pushaims to improve online resources for Medicare beneficiaries to
help them narrow down choices when deciding on a plan.
- Components of the effort include a
revamped coverage wizard allowing users to compare the average cost of
different plans, a standalone out of pocket cost calculator for both
overall and prescription drug costs, a simplified login for the Medicare
Plan Finder and a customer service webchat. These facets of eMedicare will
be phased in before open enrollment begins Oct. 15.
- Verma said it builds on the
agency's commitment to presenting transparent and straightforward options
for seniors, along with a more personalized customer experience
"while they make this very important decision" about
coverage. CMS is not eliminating any of the pre-existing ways
beneficiaries receive information.
Dive
Insight:
CMS
cast the latest effort as a step in its bid to reduce paperwork and make
Medicare more efficient. It will likely take years to gauge whether these
revised portals are serving beneficiaries better or making the system run more
smoothly. Improved customer experience, however, is a key goal right now for
commercial and government payers.
Verma
highlighted five specific units in Monday's announcement that build on previous
modernizations, along with a simplified and easy-to-use Medicare.gov. All
changes underwent user testing before being implemented, according to CMS.
The
Medicare coverage options tool, launched last year with 10 questions that
funnel beneficiaries into a range of plans based on their answers, was
winnowed down to five health, preference and lifestyle queries.
The
Medicare cost comparison tool, based on the same data that runs
Medicare Plan Finder, will allow beneficiaries to conduct a side-by-side
analysis of traditional Medicare (with or without a Medigap policy or a drug
plan) and Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage (with options to select a
low, medium or high premium).
CMS
said 2017 saw the most traffic for My Medicare Plan Finder since the tool's
inception in 2004. Due to the uptick, the agency simplified the login
process and added a customer service web chat for authenticated users that will
go into effect along with open enrollment.
Though
a more optimized online experience has been a long time coming, there are
concerns around potentially unintended consequences of such tools. In the
absence of guidelines or cautions, the initiative could potentially present
estimates as fact and cause recipients to inadvertently select a specific plan
when another option might be better tailored to their health and financial
needs.
For
example, the out-of-pocket cost calculator uses the most common Medigap plan,
an F plan, in its algorithm to calculate costs, but it doesn't explain that
simplification to the consumer. The omission could create some confusion for
the average layperson.
Additionally,
website visitors must select if they are of poor, good or excellent health for
the calculator. That could be problematic as people tend to not be good
judges of their overall wellness, and health status can change in an instant
— especially for Medicare's elderly and disabled population.
The
rigid selections could cause complacency in insurance and plan selection, an
arena that is perhaps better served with a healthy dose of caution.
But
"we think it’s very important for our beneficiaries to make the choices
that are going to work best for them," Verma said. "This isn't meant
to push people in any way… Ultimately, the final decision is theirs."
Verma termed
the new eMedicare schemes the "beginning of a lot of things that we’re
going to launch," telling reporters to expect lots of CMS news to
break within the next couple of weeks revolving around the kickstarting of open
enrollment, quality information and user-friendliness, mobile optimization and
price transparency.
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