With December upon us, the deadline for Medicare Open Enrollment is very quickly approaching on December 7, 2019. Likewise, Open Enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is also underway, with a December 15, 2019 deadline for 2020. If you are a woman 65 or older and have not done so yet, act now to enroll in Medicare for 2020 with Healthmarkets. On the flip side, perhaps you don’t qualify for Medicare just yet as a woman over 50, but you help care for an aging parent or family member who does. Again, this is the last week to get that individual enrolled in Medicare.
Ensuring you or your family members have ample Medicare coverage is key, and the various parts and nuances of Medicare can be confusing and often change from year to year. Likewise, an individual’s health needs and budget can also vary year to year.
But not having the right coverage can be even more costly. In July 2019, HealthMarkets conducted a survey whereby more than 1,700 people of various ages, locations, and backgrounds throughout the United States to learn more about their health insurance plans and the coverage provided.
According to the survey results, while Medicare and Medicaid recipients were the least likely to have to pay for emergency costs when they did, they were the least able to afford it out of the insured population surveyed. Those on Medicare or Medicaid were two times more likely not to be able to afford emergency costs compare to those with employer-provided insurance plans.
HealthMarkets
Knowing this is a stressful and confusing time, and armed with these survey results, HealthMarkets, one of the largest independent health insurance agencies in the United States that distribute health, Medicare, life and supplemental insurance products from more than 200 companies, recently debuted FitScore.
FitScore is an online tool to help consumers do an annual insurance checkup to see if their plans are still the right fit for their individual health needs. The tool provides a quick, easy way to maximize your benefits and save money. By answering a few short questions, HealthMarkets searches thousands of plans from leading insurance companies and Medicare providers throughout the country to provide a customized list of options for you.
“The insurance enrollment period can be confusing and hectic,” said Michael Stahl, executive vice president, and chief marketing officer at HealthMarkets. “We developed the FitScore because we believe it can dramatically simplify decision making, reduce stress and arm consumers with the knowledge they need about their insurance plan options.”
Higher FitScores
The higher the FitScore, the closer the plan is to your ideal match in terms of coverage needs and budget. Furthermore, you can enroll in multiple plans at once, as opposed to having to go through the process multiple times for different family members. If you’re a caregiver and need to assist an aging parent or relative with the Medicare enrollment process, the FitScore can certainly help save you time and money.
“We are always committed to giving consumers choice – choice in terms of how they want to purchase their insurance, when and from whom,” Stahl continued. “This tool truly empowers the customer to quickly review available options and confidently choose how they want to move forward with the enrollment process.”
An additional benefit of FitScore is a low-income subsidy (LIS) built-in calculator within the tool, which allows consumers to determine if they qualify for even more savings on prescription drug costs through Medicare’s Extra Help program. Data shows that more than 50 percent of individuals who have applied for the Medicare Extra Help program through the government are eligible!
By answering a few quick questions about your income and resources (or that of the individual you care for), you may uncover additional savings on your prescription drug program premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance that can help decrease your overall healthcare spend.
Whether you are enrolling yourself, a spouse or assisting in the enrollment of another family member, be sure to check out the FitScore to find insurance coverage and hopefully savings too!