America's Benefit Specialist November 2022

MEDICARE MATTERS

PLAN UPDATES

a CarePlus Medicare Advantage plan during Medicare’s AEP. “We are thrilled to be able to reach addi tional Floridians by offering our CarePlus Medicare Advantage plans, designed to provide robust coverage for high quality healthcare, in a total of 21 counties across the state for coverage starting in 2023,” said Bruno Piquin, CarePlus president. “We’re also excited to introduce new plan offerings and features, which we believe will add value and lower costs for members, many of whom are being impacted by the challeng ing economic times.” In Flagler, St. Johns and Hernando coun ties, CarePlus is offering up to nine Medi care Advantage plans to help meet different health and budget needs for area residents. In all the counties CarePlus will now serve, options include special plans for people living with certain chronic conditions (Chronic Condition Special Needs plans) and for people who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare (Dual Special Needs plans), as well as plans broadly available to all Medicare beneficiaries. In Hernando County, several of the plans for chronic con ditions include out-of-network coverage to help give members an even broader choice of hospitals and specialists. CarePlus is also announcing a major ex pansion of its CareSalute Medicare Advan tage HMO plan option in Florida as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to the health and well-being of veterans and their families. CareSalute was created to comple ment VA healthcare by covering services at non-VA (civilian) facilities and includes features such as dental coverage, transporta tion, and fitness classes that help provide a comprehensive approach to healthcare. Be cause some veterans may prefer prescription drug coverage through their VA benefits, the CareSalute plan does not include prescrip tion drug coverage. Veterans can select from any Medicare Advantage plan available in

Qualifying members of select Individu al Aetna MA plans can receive a produce box containing fresh fruits and vegetables delivered to their homes either biweekly, monthly or quarterly. In 2023, 95% of Aetna’s MA plans will include a comprehensive dental benefit. Aetna will expand the Total Choice dental benefit introduced in 2022 to additional Individual MA HMO-POS and PPO plans. This benefit provides coverage of preven tive and comprehensive dental services up to a benefit maximum and allows the member to choose any licensed dentist, in or out of network. In 2023, 96% of Aetna’s MA plans will include an eyewear benefit and 93% will include a hearing aid benefit. All Aetna MA plans will continue to cover telehealth visits for primary care, urgent care and specialty care provided by a doctor, including mental health services. In 2023, additional telehealth services will be available including physical, occupational, and speech therapy, substance abuse and opioid treatment, kidney disease education and diabetes self-management training ser vices. Depending on location, members will be able to schedule telehealth visits 24/7 via MinuteClinic, Teladoc or another network provider offering this service. In 2023, 85% of MA plans will include home-delivered meals after an inpatient stay. Aetna is making its OTC benefit offered through OTC Health Solutions, a CVS Health company, available to more members and increasing the OTC allowance amount on many MA plans. With the OTC benefit, members can choose certain health care products by phone, catalog or online for home delivery. They’ll also be able to present their ID cards to receive items directly from 3,800 select CVS Pharmacy or Navarro Discount Pharmacy locations across 39 states. Select Aetna plans will offer an OTC kit mailed directly to the member’s home.

These kits contain curated OTC items that help support members’ health. To ensure important services are afford able, Aetna continues to expand services available at no extra cost to the member. Most MA plans will have $0 copay for primary care visits and many plans will offer labs at no cost to the member. All Aetna MA plans include maximum out-of-pocket cost protection for covered plan services. Aetna will keep member in-network maximum out-of-pocket costs limits the same or decrease them in 82% of its Individual MA plans for 2023. Aetna continues to expand its fall-preven tion benefit through CVS Pharmacy to ad ditional states and plans. In select MA plans, eligible members will receive an annual allowance for certain clinically appropriate safety items that help lower the risk of injury from falls in the home. Some members may need extra support at critical points in their lives so Aetna is expanding the number of plans that offer Compassionate Care Transitions program. On select MA plans in Ohio and Pennsylva nia, Aetna will be responsible for members’ full medical coverage and hospice services. Members enrolled in this program will have access to supplemental benefits to support their end-of-life journey. These benefits in clude extra transportation, additional meals, in-home support and access to a personal emergency response system. Visit AetnaMedicare.com to learn more. CAREPLUS EXPANDS AFFORDABLE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE OPTIONS IN FLORIDA CarePlus Health Plans Inc. is expanding both its footprint in Florida as well as the variety of plan offerings that will be available to Medicare beneficiaries in the state en rolling in 2023 plans. For the first time, this year residents of three Florida counties— Flagler, Hernando and St. Johns—can select

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