BY GLEN ROSALES / FOR THE JOURNAL
Monday, October 28th, 2019 at
12:02am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Medicare open enrollment
period is well underway, but it is not too late for those eligible to sign up
and become involved in the significant health and wellness programs offered to
seniors and those younger with certain disabilities.
“It is definitely important as we look at our
extra health and wellness benefits to help promote our members’ health and
well-being,” said Janice Torrez, vice president of external affairs at Blue
Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico.
Company employees from SolAero Technologies
participate in a free Crossfit class as part of its wellness programs to
encourage healthy lifestyles. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal)
And that can be something as seemingly easy as
going to visit a doctor on a consistent basis.
“One of the things we find that is very
important is we want our members to seek medical care when they need it,” she
said. “We have zero-pay premiums and zero-co-pay programs under Medicare
Advantage where members can see their doctors without a co-pay.”
The Medicare enrollment and re-enrollment
deadline is Dec. 7 and the best place to get information is medicare.gov or
cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare.html.
The good news for Medicare enrollees is the
monthly premium for Advantage plans is expected to decrease 14% to about $23 in
2020 from an average of $26.87 in 2019, according to a news release from the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Additionally, beneficiaries will have more plan
choices, with about 1,200 more Medicare Advantage plans operating in 2020 than
in 2018.
Another important website to keep handy is
medicare.gov/plan-compare/#/?lang=en. It allows prospective Medicare enrollees
to specifically compare different providers.
Providing incentives to get healthy or remain
healthy are a big part of many of the plans.
For instance, UnitedHealthcare’s 2020 Medicare
Advantage plans offer programs that help people stay active, improve health and
navigate complex care needs – often for no additional out-of-pocket cost.
Plans offer benefits, programs and resources
that can support people in their efforts to live a healthy life, like free gym
memberships, according to George Young, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Medicare &
Retirement in New Mexico.
Members also can earn rewards in the form of
gift cards by completing qualifying health care activities such as an annual
wellness visit or preventive screening. Eligible members can also earn rewards
by tracking activity-based data (steps and/or sleep).
Blue Cross/Blue Cross Medicare members can earn
gift cards for retailers by actively taking care of their health, Torrez said.
“We have a rewards and incentive program that’s
a really good way of helping our members monitor their health,” she said. “It’s
an easy way to earn up to $100 in gift cards at national local retailers. We
encourage our members to visit their doctor at least once a year. And to do
things that will reward them with a gift card. Things like getting an annual
flu shot, doing screenings or colon assessments or anything that will help
monitor your health and wellness.”
It’s a program Blue Cross/Blue Shield enacted
several years ago “and the seniors just love the rewards. And they look for
those activities where they can earn rewards.”
Accessing health care can often be a challenge
as people age, so making that an easier task is an incentive many plans are
starting to offer.
UnitedHealthcare HouseCalls is a yearly health
and wellness visit for people enrolled in qualified Medicare Advantage plans
that happens in the privacy and convenience of their home. This means no
driving to an appointment and no sitting in a waiting room, thus making it
simple to get access to additional preventive care.
Blue Cross/Blue Shield offers transportation
credits for members to encourage them to see their doctors, Torrez said.
“We have a transportation benefit with 12
one-way trips,” she said. “We want members to take advantage of them. Sometimes
a family member can take them to the doctor’s appointment but can’t wait with
them to take them back home. It’s very popular with our members.”
Offering easy-access services to purchase such
health-related items as toothbrushes, toothpaste and vitamins through mail
order at reduced rates, delivered to their doors, also is a popular incentive
programs are starting to offer.
The whole key, Torrez said, is early detection
and prevention.
“We want to make sure that our seniors stay
healthy,” she said.
That is the goal with Medicare, Young added.
“We’re helping people maintain and improve their
well-being by providing resources, support and motivation to stay engaged in
their health,” he said.
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