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CMS
BLOG
March 1,
2019
By: Seema Verma, Administrator, Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services
Empowering Patients and
Unleashing Innovation: eMedicare for Today and Future Generations
Public
service is a privilege. My primary mission as the Administrator of the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is to deliver on President
Trump’s commitment to strengthen and modernize Medicare for the millions of
Americans who depend on us every day.
To this end, at CMS we are
constantly looking for new ways to better serve our beneficiaries. That’s why
we started the eMedicare initiative.
eMedicare is a multi-year
initiative to modernize the way people with Medicare get information about
their benefits, and create new ways to help them make the best decisions for
themselves and their families. eMedicare empowers patients with the kinds of
tools they are used to using in the private sector and other parts of their
lives. Tools in the eMedicare suite include enhanced interactive online
decision support to help beneficiaries and their caregivers better understand
and evaluate their coverage options and costs between Original Medicare and
Medicare Advantage, a new online service that lets people see how different
coverage choices will affect their estimated out-of-pocket costs, new price
transparency tools that let consumers compare the national average costs of
certain procedures between settings, and a new webchat option in the Medicare
Plan Finder.
As part of eMedicare, CMS
created the “What’s covered” app, which lets people with Original Medicare,
caregivers, and others quickly see on a mobile device whether Medicare covers
a specific medical item or service. People can now get accurate, consistent
Original Medicare coverage information more easily—at the doctor’s office, in
the hospital, or anywhere else.
This app is designed to
meet the needs of the growing population of people with Medicare. The
Medicare population is projected to increase from 57 million beneficiaries in
2016 to more than 80 million beneficiaries in 2030.
I’ve learned that with any
improvement you try to make, there will always be naysayers. A recent article
by Kaiser Health News surprised me, though, because it took a disappointing
view of our nation’s seniors: that they are incapable of and not interested
in using modern technology.
Sadly, this type of ageism
isn’t anything new. But it is inaccurate. CMS research has demonstrated
repeatedly that many people with Medicare own smartphones and tablets,
download apps, and use them all the time. According to the Pew Research
Center, as of 2016, about two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries indicate they
use the Internet daily or almost daily (65 percent). There has been a 55
percent increase in Internet use among seniors since 2000 (from 12 percent to
67 percent). and around four-in-ten of seniors (42 percent) now report owning
smartphones—compared to just 18 percent in 2013. The “What’s covered” app
anticipates that smartphone use among people with Medicare will continue to
grow. In addition, younger caregivers also use and benefit from apps to help
understand health coverage.
Questions about what
Medicare covers are some of the most frequent inquiries CMS receives. There
are approximately 15 million page views annually for coverage-related content
on Medicare.gov and 1-800 MEDICARE receives more than 3 million
coverage-related calls each year. Questions come from people with Medicare,
caregivers, clinicians, and others who engage with the Medicare program.
Critics may disparage our
efforts, but more than 230,000 people downloaded our new app in less than a
month. Before its launch, people with Medicare tested the app and told us
they found it easy to use. We’ve already released updates to address feedback
and plan to offer more features in future versions.
The eMedicare initiative
expands and improves on current consumer service options. It doesn’t replace
them. If beneficiaries like the convenience of apps, we now have one. If they
prefer to search online, Medicare.gov has tons of content. If they prefer to
leaf through a book, the Medicare & You handbook continues to be a great
resource. And if they want to talk to a person, our 1-800-MEDICARE call
center is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Our goal is to continue
our efforts to empower patients and unleash innovation to deliver results. We
are developing eMedicare tools that will help people select their best
coverage and evaluate the quality of providers. We will continue to
anticipate the needs of Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers to help them
take greater control of their healthcare. This is how we are putting patients
first and strengthening Medicare.
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