From Kaiser Health News:  A debt reduction task force that was created by the Bipartisan Policy Center recently made recommendations for reducing government spending. The task force, made up of Republicans and Democrats, targets Medicare as too generous a program for seniors.  I’ve posted excerpts from the article below.

Offering the latest tough-love strategy to reduce the nation’s debt, a panel of high-profile Republicans and Democrats on Wednesday recommended that Medicare beneficiaries pick up far more of their health care costs and the government substantially curb the amount both Medicare and Medicaid programs can grow in future years.

…The debt reduction task force was created by the Bipartisan Policy Center, established by former congressional leaders of both parties. Its recommendations come a week after the chairmen of President Barack Obama’s commission on controlling the national debt proposed increasing the age at which people qualify for Social Security to 68 by 2050.

…Right now, premiums account for 25 percent of the cost of Part B, or the physician component of the program, with the government paying the balance. The task force would increase beneficiaries’ share to 35 percent. [This means a much higher Part B premium from the current $96.40/month or $110.50/month.]

In addition, starting in 2018, traditional Medicare would be turned into a “premium support” program that would limit the rate of increase of federal spending per beneficiary to one percent above the growth rate of the economy. Under such a plan, beneficiaries likely would pay more to stay in traditional fee-for-service Medicare though they could save money by getting coverage though private health plans that would compete against each other for business.

“I think the premium support is a feasible way of controlling costs,” Rivlin said Wednesday at a press briefing.

…AARP Executive Vice President John Rother said his group would oppose premium support. Of the overall task force report, he said it “raises lots of questions because of how it shifts more costs to individuals.”

You can read the full article here.

The race is on!  People on Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans have until the end of the year to change their coverage.  Medicare Advantage plans are mailing marketing materials to seniors, inviting them to seminars, and selling the benefits of their Medicare Advantage plans.

Yesterday I met with a man who was my first client when I became an independent broker representing all the Medicare Advantage plans in Tucson and several Medicare Supplement companies.  When Roy turned 65 his wife wanted him to get a Medicare Supplement, but he wanted the lower cost Medicare Advantage option.  Roy has some health issues and he spends summers in Minnesota, so I told him he should get a Medicare Supplement.  His wife agreed, so he signed up for a Medicare Supplement and a stand-alone Part D plan.

Our meeting yesterday was an annual event:  Every November, Roy calls me up to ask me to meet with him and his wife.  As we sit at the kitchen table, Roy says he wants to consider moving to Medicare  Advantage… and I tell him he shouldn’t do it.  I remind him of the benefits of his Plan F Medicare Supplement and he complains that the premium went up again.  I say, “I could make some more money off you by enrolling you in a Medicare Advantage plan, but I don’t really want to do that.  But it’s your decision”.   We talk for a while and Roy agrees that he should stay with his Medicare Supplement.  His wife is happy.

As I was leaving his house, I joked about our annual get-together, and  Roy said, “See you next November!”

On Friday I participated in a conference call with the Head of CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid) and I got to ask a question as well as offer some advice about the Medicare.gov Plan Finder.

First, I pointed out to the top administrator of Medicare, Dr. Don Berwick, and his assistants on the call that Medicare.gov Plan Finder is not working properly.  I told them the largest Medicare Advantage plans in Pima and Maricopa counties are not showing up on the Plan Finder list.  One of the assistants said they’d look into that problem – and I will be watching to see if they indeed put some techie on this project as quickly as possible.

Second, I informed Dr. Berwick and his assistants that they were using the wrong terminology for the period of November 15 to December 31.  They kept calling this period the “Open Enrollment Period”.  This label was even used in their press release announcing the conference call.  I informed them that the proper term for November 15 – December 31 is the “Annual Election Period” and that the “Open Enrollment Period” (OEP) referred to January through March. I pointed out that the  OEP has been terminated and does not exist for 2012.

I asked Dr. Berwick and his assistants about the cancellation of OEP and what will happen when a person decides on February 1st that he doesn’t like his Medicare Advantage plan.  His only choice will be to dis-enroll from the Advantage plan and go back to Medicare. He can enroll in a stand-alone Part D.  But I asked the question, “Can that person get a Medicare Supplement with guaranteed issue?”  Well, I have a feeling these bureaucrats had no idea what I was talking about.  One of the assistants said, “Of course a person can get a Medicare Supplement”.  So I clarified, “But what if that 75-year old has health issues that might cause him to be refused/declined by the Medicare Supplement company?” The assistant mumbled a bit and said he’d get back to me on that.

Part of the assistant’s answer about the cancellation of OEP (January – March) was that “consumer advocates”  pushed for this change because of what they saw as “unnecessary marketing” by Advantage plans to seniors. The “consumer advocates” think seniors need only 45 days (with two holidays in this period) to choose their Medicare coverage for the entire next year.

I was fortunate to talk to the top administrator of Medicare and his assistants as they only took about ten questions at the end of the conference call. The Denver Post and Wall Street Journal were on the call and their questions were more about politics than process.  I will be  watching and waiting to see if the Plan Finder gets fixed and if I hear back on my question about seniors getting Medicare Supplements during OEP-D (disenroll).

Follow-up:

I did hear back about my Medicare Supplement guaranteed issue question. As I thought would be the case, a person who drops their Medicare Advantage plan in February is not guaranteed a Medicare Supplement.  If a person answers “yes” to any questions on a Medicare Supplement application he will be turned down.  So before anybody thinks about dis-enrolling from their Medicare Advantage, plan they need to be sure they can get  Medicare Supplement.

As of today, Tuesday, the Plan Finder was still broken.