Excellus BCBS Medicare Broker News Vol. 6 No. 9

Provider Contract Updates

As you may have noticed, there has been an increase in discussions surrounding contract negotiations, both locally and nationally. Providers and hospitals are more frequently going public about these discussions, which may create uncertainty. It’s essential that there is a priority on keeping everyone informed throughout this process.

To assist in this effort, Excellus BCBS has established two dedicated websites that serve as valuable resources. These platforms will provide ongoing updates and insights into the contracting negotiations, ensuring you and your members are well-informed.

You can access these sites here:

Provider Contract Updates →

Making Health Care as Affordable as Possible →

Excellus will be regularly updating both websites and will share links to keep everyone informed and educated. Please know that these discussions are approached in good faith, striving to reach an agreement that is fair for all parties involved.

If you have any further questions, please contact your account consultant.

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Answering your Medicare Prescription Payment Plan and Part D Questions

One of the biggest takeaways from the First Look events in August was the need for more information on the 2025 Part D changes, specifically the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. You asked a lot of great questions and provided invaluable insight to the pharmacy team on this new program. To assist you this AEP, Excellus has put together a couple resources:

• Part D & TrOOP Broker FAQ – Excellus has compiled some of the most common questions from the broker community on the 2025 Part D changes and provided answers from our team of pharmacy experts.
• A Medicare Prescription Payment Plan Overview – This is a resource created for brokers that outlines who is Likely To Benefit, defines the role of the broker in enrollment, and includes a link to take Medicare Prescription Payment Plan e-Learning. You can also access this self-guided training by logging into Sales Hub.

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Medicare Recognizes Excellus BlueCross BlueShield For Quality

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its 2025 quality ratings, and again this year recognized Excellus BlueCross BlueShield for its Medicare Advantage plans. This is the 12th consecutive year the health plan has ranked above average or higher for its Medicare Advantage plans for member satisfaction and quality performance in clinical care. Recognition from CMS comes in the form of Medicare Star ratings.

CMS awarded the Excellus BCBS Medicare Advantage PPO plan 4 out of 5 stars, the Medicare HMO plan 4 out of 5 stars, and the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Read More About Star Ratings

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HMO Annual Notice Of Change (ANOC) Correction

Please note that an error an was found in the ANOCs for the Medicare Blue Choice® Select, Medicare Blue Choice® Extra, and Medicare BlueActive plans.

For Medicare Blue Choice® Select and Medicare Blue Choice® Extra, the ANOC incorrectly stated that these plans do not include Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. However, these plans do include Medicare Part D coverage. Impacted members will receive an errata letter notifying them of this error.  

For Medicare BlueActive, the annual eyewear allowance was incorrectly listed at $100 in ANOC. It is $200 in 2025.

Please ensure you provide the correct information to clients. You can log into the Sales Hub to view and download the corrected ANOCs.

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