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Information and resources for your Medicare-eligible patients

May 1, 2012

Medicare coverage can be a confusing and intimidating subject for patients approaching Medicare eligibility. It?s important that patients are well-informed and take the right steps to get the Medicare coverage they need. When you and your patients discuss Medicare, please keep in mind that a patient who inquires about IBC coverage can be provided with information and resources related to IBC?s Medicare coverage options.

Medicare information for your patients

IBC?s Medicare website, www.ibxmedicare.com, is available to help patients understand Medicare and guide them through the process of enrolling in IBC?s Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and prescription drug plans. The website features plan details, prescription drug information, enrollment forms, and a helpful New to Medicare? section that includes easy-to-understand instructional videos and general Medicare information. Patients can also call 1-877-393-6733 (for the hearing-impaired: 1-877-219-5457) for information.

IBC plans

IBC has provided Medicare coverage since its inceptionin 1965. Between our Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and prescription drug plans, we providehealth care coverage for more than 160,000 Medicare members. We take pride in being a local plan that ourmembers know and trust. Medicare Advantage plans. Currently, we offer two Medicare Advantage plan options: Keystone 65 HMO (consisting of both our Select and Preferred plans) and Personal Choice 65SM PPO.* With each plan, patients can choose between options that offer coverage for medical expenses only or coverage for both medical and Part D prescription drug coverage. These plans cover all of the benefits of Original Medicare, plus more. Medicare Supplement plans. Medicare Supplement (or Medigap) plans provide coverage for out-of-pocket expenses or "gaps" in Original Medicare, helping to lower out-of-pocket costs. With a Medicare Supplement plan, patients can go to any hospital and see any doctor. Medicare Supplement plans do not include prescription drug coverage, but add-on prescription drug plans are available. The Medicare Supplement plan offered by IBC is called MedigapSecurity. With MedigapSecurity, there are five standardized plans to choose from: plan A, B, C, F, or N. Note: There are different eligibility requirements and enrollment periods for Medicare and MediGap that vary with each individual?s circumstance. To determine when they are eligible to enroll, patients can call Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (for the hearing-impaired: 1-877-486-2048) or visit www.medicare.gov. As per Medicare rules, patients are allowed to be enrolled in only one Medicare Advantage or Medicare prescription drug plan. Enrollment in a new plan will cause disenrollment from any other existing Medicare plan.

Medicare information for providers

To help you easily locate and disseminate IBC information related to our Medicare coverage, we recently added several resources for providers within the Administrative Tools & Resources section of NaviNet® Plan Central to assist your Medicare-eligible patients. These resources include: Keystone 65 HMO enrollment form; Personal Choice 65 PPO enrollment form; a link to ibxmedicare.com; a link to the updated Medicare Advantage Drug Formulary. If you are not yet NaviNet-enabled at your office location, register by going to NaviNet and selecting Sign up from the top right. Providers without access to NaviNet can obtain paper copies of the Medicare enrollment forms by calling Customer Service at 1-800-ASK-BLUE.

*Personal Choice 65 PPO is available in Philadelphia and Bucks counties only.

NaviNet® is a registered trademark of NaviNet, Inc., an independent company.


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