Dear MIPPA Network,

I hope this message finds you well! First and foremost, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to each of you on successfully concluding the 2024 Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). Your hard work and dedication have undoubtedly made a significant impact on the individuals and communities you serve. As we close the chapter on this busy season, we look forward with great anticipation to the exciting work ahead in 2025!

We are thrilled to share several new updates and initiatives for the coming year that we believe will further enhance our collective efforts:

  1. 2024 MIPPA Leads Survey: We will soon be launching this survey to gather important insights about your experiences and challenges this past year. Your feedback is invaluable in shaping our future strategies and ensuring we continue to meet the evolving needs of Medicare beneficiaries. This will be distributed on January 6, 2025, to the MIPPA Leads for completion by or before January 24, 2025. We estimate that this survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and would appreciate full participation as we strive to continue improving those calls for you all.

 

  1. Technical Assistance Training Calendar: A new, comprehensive training calendar will be available to support you in navigating the latest developments and challenges related to Medicare. These trainings will be designed to offer practical solutions and ensure that you have the resources necessary to excel in your work. A copy of this calendar is attached to this message

 

  1. NEW MIPPA Director Training: We’re excited to introduce a fresh training program specifically tailored for new MIPPA Directors. This quarterly training will provide an in-depth look at policies, performance, effective strategies for outreach, and NCOA resources as the MIPPA Resource Center. If you all would please provide me with a list of anyone who may be new or interested in attending in January or April, as well as whether these same people have also received STARS Orientation too. I will be working on finalizing those invites over the next few weeks so please return that information to me by the end of day Friday December 20, 2024.

 

  1. Important Email from Matthew: Lastly, Matthew Hubbard, Policy Analyst with NCOA is working on comments regarding Parts C & D Changes in 2025 and Proposed 2026 rules. We would value all your input on these for us to better prepare to comment on all proposed rules and ask anyone in the network who is willing to provide responses to some questions from him.  Those questions are in the attached PowerPoint regarding the Parts C & D Changes in 2025 and Proposed 2026 rules and below, for your convenience. Any and all questions each of you would be willing to answer would be greatly appreciated. Please return any responses to Matthew, xxxxxx@ncoa.org, by or before January 13, 2025.

Questions:

Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (M3P)

1)      Is allowing for passive re-enrollment in the aggregate a plus or negative for beneficiaries? How so?

2)      What can CMS do to better educate beneficiaries around passive re-enrollment into M3P – should this provision be finalized?

3)      Based on your experience during the recent open enrollment period for the 2025 plan year, are there things CMS could do to help enrollees better understand M3P?

 

Provider directories on Plan Finder

4)      Can you point to any examples of when beneficiaries would have liked to have had access to provider directories when shopping for a plan, on Plan Finder?

 

Plan brokers

5)      Would it be helpful for beneficiaries to hear from brokers about their options via LIS, MSP, and Medigap plans? Why?

 

Plan marketing

6)      Should CMS provide more rules around how plans market themselves? Why?

7)      Can you recall any misleading plan marketing materials that caused beneficiary confusion?

 

In-network pharmacies

8)      Have you heard about pharmacies not knowing whether they’re within a plan’s network?

 

Supplemental benefits available via debit cards

9)      Are beneficiaries confused about when, how, and in what manner flex / debit cards can be used? If so, could you give examples?

 

D-SNPs

10) Is it difficult for dually-eligible beneficiaries to know if they’re eligible for D-SNP plans? If so, why?

We are excited for the opportunity to collaborate with you in 2025 as we continue to support the MIPPA mission and adapt to the changing landscape of Medicare. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need additional information on the upcoming initiatives.

Once again, congratulations on a successful AEP, and thank you for all the important work you do. We look forward to an exciting and productive year ahead!

With Appreciation,

 

 

Ryan Ramsey (he/him/his)

Associate Director, Health Coverage and Benefits

571-527-3964
www.ncoa.org | @NCOAging

 

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