America's Benefit Specialist December 2023

MEDICARE MATTERS

brokers and agents, as well as startups and venture capital helping people not just age gracefully but afford to do so. Brewton and Medicare Answers Now will play an instru mental role in helping shape the Agent Symposium at Medi carians Vegas 2024. The Agent Symposium is a dedicated Kick-Off Summit for agency and agency principals, and one of the many agent-centric opportunities available at Medicar ians Vegas 2024. Upwards of 1,000 agents will participate at Medicarians Vegas 2024 to discuss pressing issues around compliance,

marketing, technological enablement and more. Agents and agency principals will have the opportunity to purchase a ticket to Medicarians Vegas, or they can apply to become part of Medicarians’ Hosted Agent Program, in which qualifying agents and agency principals may attend the Agent Sympo sium and all of Medicarians Vegas 2024 at no charge. Learn more at https://medicarians.com/hosted-agent-program. Enter AMANDA as the referral code.

MEDICARE PRODUCT NEWS

New Plans and Benefit Highlights for 2024 • The new HMO-POS Giveback plan offers a $105 Part B giveback that puts money back in members’ pockets. • Two new PPO plans offer the same affordable copays in and out of network for covered services. • The new D-SNP Dual Pearl plan features dental implant coverage • All PPO and HMO-POS plans offer Select Care Drugs (Tier 6 in formulary) with a $0 copay, including gap coverage for top-selling diabetic brand drugs. • All plans include new Flex Card benefits that offer addi tional dental, hearing and vision spending (HMO-POS and PPO) or additional credit for food and utilities (D-SNP). FARM BUREAU HEALTH PLANS ANNOUNCES MA PROVIDER NETWORK EXPANSION Farm Bureau Health Plans has announced the addition of Ascension Saint Thomas to its Medicare Advantage provid er network. The addition of Ascension means over 750 new providers will be added to FBHP’s 14,500+ provider network across Tennessee. Members will have access to an additional 41 facilities and ancillary locations, which include hospi tals, in-patient rehabilitation, home health, an ambulatory surgery center, outpatient diagnostic imaging, sleep centers and rural health clinics. “This addition will provide our members with greater ac cess to care in middle Tennessee,” said Anthony Kimbrough, Farm Bureau Health Plans CEO. Farm Bureau Advantage HMO is a Medicare Advantage plan available in 66 counties across Tennessee. ALIGNMENT HEALTHCARE AND WALGREENS TO INTRODUCE CO-BRANDED MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS IN SELECT MARKETS IN 2024 Alignment Healthcare Inc. and Walgreens have signed an agreement to offer new $0-premium co-branded Medicare

MUTUAL OF OMAHA AND WELLCARE TO OFFER CO-BRANDED MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS FOR 2024 PLAN YEAR Mutual of Omaha has formed a strategic alliance with Wellcare, the Medicare Advantage brand and wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, to offer jointly designed Medicare Advantage plans for the 2024 plan year. These plans will be offered in Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina and Washington state, as well as in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston markets in Texas. “These co-branded PPO-based plans will enhance con sumer choice and offer peace of mind to Medicare benefi ciaries through innovative design features backed by Mutual of Omaha’s trusted brand and Wellcare’s sophisticated health-management capabilities,” said Mutual of Omaha Executive Vice President of Senior Solutions Brad Buechler. Mutual of Omaha is the nation’s second-largest provider of Medicare Supplement plans. Its senior health solutions portfolio includes prescription drug (Part D), dental and vision coverages. Wellcare currently provides healthcare to more than 1.3 million Medicare Advantage members in 36 states and is the second-largest prescription drug plan in the nation, covering 4.5 million lives across 50 states. JEFFERSON HEALTH PLANS EXPANDS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE OFFERINGS Jefferson Health Plans (Philadelphia, PA), formerly known as Health Partners Plans, recently announced its expanded 2024 Medicare Advantage offerings, which provide more savings and benefits, a larger network of doctors and more flexibility with two new PPO plans. Jefferson Health Plans’ Pennsylvania coverage area in cludes Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Cumberland, Dau phin, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Philadelphia and Schuylkill counties, and the New Jersey coverage area includes Atlantic, Burling ton, Camden, Gloucester and Mercer counties.

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