Excellus BCBS Medicare Broker News - Vol. 4 No. 3

Open Enrollment Period Ends March 31!

The Medicare Open Enrollment Period (OEP) is still applicable and runs through March 31.

The OEP applies to:

• Beneficiaries who are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan as of January 1. These enrollees can use the OEP to enroll in another MA plan or disenroll from their MA plan to return to Original Medicare.
• Dual-eligible and Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) beneficiaries who, in general, may make changes once per calendar quarter.
• The OEP gives beneficiaries who are currently enrolled in an MA plan some options.
• After OEP is Over, Special Enrollment Periods (SEPs) Can Still Apply
  

5 Star SEP

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s 5-star HMO plans allow Medicare members to qualify for the 5-star SEP. The Medicare 5-Star SEP runs from December 8, 2021 to November 30, 2022, which gives members almost an entire year to make the switch from a lower-rated plan to one of our 5-star HMO plans. This applies to the following Excellus BCBS Medicare plans:

• Medicare Blue Choice® Select (HMO)
• Medicare Blue Choice® Value (HMO)
• Medicare Blue Choice® Value Plus (HMO-POS)
• Medicare Blue Choice® Optimum (HMO-POS)
• Medicare Blue Choice® Advanced (HMO-POS)
• Medicare Blue Choice® Platinum (HMO-POS)
• Medicare Bassett (HMO-POS)
• Other SEPs
  

For your Medicare-eligible clients that may reside in regions where our HMO plans are not currently offered, they may be able to join or switch MA plans under other special circumstances that also qualify as SEPs, such as:

• Losing EPIC eligibility
• Losing employer-sponsored coverage
• Dual eligibility (Medicare and Medicaid eligible)
• Approved for Low Income Subsidy (LIS)
• Involuntarily losing creditable drug coverage

View a comprehensive list of SEPs and associated details, requirements, and timelines below.

SEP Details, Requirements, And Timelines (PDF)