SEP
18, 2018
MINNEAPOLIS
(AP) — An estimated 320,000 seniors across Minnesota will need to change
Medicare health plans in the coming months.
Residents
with Medicare Cost health plans have to switch because of a federal law
eliminating the policy next year in most of the state, The Star Tribune
reported.
The
2003 law says Medicare Cost plans cannot be offered in areas with significant
competition from Medicare Advantage plans. Congress delayed the law’s
implementation until 2019.
Medicare
Cost plans will be eliminated in almost 70 Minnesota counties, including
Hennepin and Ramsey counties. The plans will still be available in about 20
counties, such as St. Louis County.
About
20 million people in the U.S. are covered by Advantage programs, while only
about 630,000 people had Cost plans in June.
“The
government is not trying to take away benefits,” said
Sean Creighton, a vice president in the policy practice with Avalere, a health
care consultancy in Washington, D.C. “What they are trying to
do is simplify the administrative structure and have health plans take
financial responsibility for managing the health care utilization of
enrollees.”
Insurers,
government agencies and consumer advocates have begun informing residents about
the transition but details of the 2019 coverage options won’t be available
until next month.
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