January
10, 2020
By: Seema Verma, Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service
At the End of another Successful Medicare Open Enrollment, CMS
is Dedicated to Ensuring Seniors are Confident in their Choices
As we start a new year, we
know that for many seniors January 1st also signals a fresh start
for their Medicare health insurance coverage. Coverage and costs may change,
deductibles reset, and those who changed health or drug plans start learning
about their new plan benefits. Another successful Medicare Open Enrollment
wrapped up on December 7th, but the need to help seniors
understand and access their coverage did not. CMS’ dedication to that goal is
ironclad and unwavering.
On the heels of Open
Enrollment, I am pleased to report several important successes in CMS’
historic update to Medicare Plan Finder. Despite the unprecedented traffic
and scale of the changes, we experienced no system outages. Our metrics show
that from this year to last year the number of unique visitors to Plan Finder
increased by 116% and the number of page views increased by 121%.
Additionally, the number of sessions per user in the tool decreased by 64%,
indicating that users found it easier to complete their task with fewer
visits.
During this same time,
Plan Finder users were able to navigate the tool more easily: visitors who
viewed their Plan Results rose an impressive 35 percentage points, from 22%
in 2018 to 57% in 2019. The significance of the data is unmistakable:
increased usage of the updated Plan Finder was coupled with more successful
task completions and reduced need for return visits per user. Overall, that
adds up to a more effective and convenient experience for
beneficiaries.
Nevertheless, CMS
understands that for a variety of reasons, a coverage change may be
necessary. For example, a beneficiary might have experienced exceptional
conditions that require a new plan choice, such as being provided incorrect
or misleading information. So CMS provides “Special Enrollment Periods”
(SEPs) and other options to help beneficiaries with any necessary change.
Beneficiaries that have
concerns about their coverage at any time during the year can call 1-800-
MEDICARE, and the weeks following Open Enrollment are no exception. Call
center representatives are trained to listen to concerns and help resolve the
issue based on individual situations. Sometimes, that might involve using an
SEP that would allow a change in plans. Other times, the issue might be
resolved in some other way, such as working with the beneficiary’s current
plan to institute coverage exceptions. Regardless, CMS is ready to help in
any way possible to address concerns.
Every year, individuals
enrolled in Medicare Advantage (with or without drug coverage) also have the
opportunity to switch to another plan, drop their plan, or to return to
Original Medicare during the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, which
runs from January 1st through March 31st.
With an unprecedented
level of health and drug plans and more flexible supplemental benefit options
than ever before, it’s important for Medicare beneficiaries to understand
what their Medicare plans offer and what works best for them. We remain
committed to offering seniors the best tools to compare their options and
choose a plan that fits their needs.
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Get CMS news at cms.gov/newsroom, sign up for CMS news via email and follow CMS on Twitter CMS
Administrator @SeemaCMS, @CMSgov, and @CMSgovPress.
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Friday, January 10, 2020
At the End of another Successful Medicare Open Enrollment, CMS is Dedicated to Ensuring Seniors are Confident in their Choices
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