HealthPlus Launches New Medicare Advantage Plans

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 01 Dec 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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HealthPlus of Michigan announced the launch of two new HealthPlus MedicarePlus plans designed for Medicare-eligible people looking for affordable benefit choices and convenient access to quality health care.

HealthPlus Medicare plans are the highest-ranked Medicare plans in Michigan, according to the "America's Best Health Insurance Plans 2009-10" rankings by U.S. News & World Report and the National Committee on Quality Assurance.

"We are very pleased to offer a wider variety of competitively-priced health plans to those eligible for Medicare," says Nancy Jenkins, vice president of membership growth. "Our Medicare products offer the same great service and benefits that earned us the highest ranking in the state, as well as new features to help meet the needs of Medicare beneficiaries today."

The new Medicare Advantage-type plans from HealthPlus come in PPO and HMO varieties:

HealthPlus MedicarePlus AdvantageHMO is offered as Option 1 at a monthly premium of $72, or Option 2 at $102. Both plans offer prescription coverage, but only Option 2 extends drug coverage through the Rx gap ("donut hole") and then just for generic medications. Option 2 has lower co-payments than Option 1 for most health-care services.

Residents of the following counties can enroll in the MedicarePlus AdvantageHMO plans offered by HealthPlus of Michigan: Arenac, Bay, Genesee, Lapeer, Oakland, Saginaw, Shiawassee, St. Clair, and Tuscola. Generally speaking, HMO plans are most attractive to people who prefer to have a primary-care physician serve as their health advocate and coordinate all of their medical care.

HealthPlus MedicarePlus AdvantagePPO is offered both as a Basic plan at a monthly premium of $72, and as an Enhanced plan with lower co-pays for $107 monthly -- for residents of Genesee and Saginaw Counties only. These two health plans also include prescription coverage, although only the Enhanced version extends coverage through the Rx gap, and only for generic drugs. PPO plans are most appealing to people who prefer the freedom and choice to see any doctor in or out of a preferred-provider network. HealthPlus MedicarePlus AdvantagePPO is offered by HealthPlus Insurance Company.

All four new HealthPlus MedicarePlus Advantage plans include emergency care worldwide, and all require Medicare beneficiaries to continue paying their Part B Medicare premium in order to qualify.

HealthPlus of Michigan -- a nonprofit health-benefits company -- along with its subsidiaries offers a comprehensive portfolio of PPO, HMO, and TPA health plans tailored to meet the needs of employers, families, individuals, and government (Medicare, Medicaid, MIChild, county health programs). Most HealthPlus benefit plans include access to extensive, online health, wellness and lifestyle resources.

HealthPlus' commercial and Medicare HMOs have ranked among "America's Best Health Plans" by U.S. News & World Report for the past five years; its commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid plans have been accredited as "Excellent" by National Committee for Quality Assurance for the past 11, 9, and 7 consecutive years, respectively.

Founded in 1979, HealthPlus -- with a staff of more than 400 at its Flint headquarters and regional offices in Saginaw and Troy -- serves more than 200,000 people statewide. To advance its vision of building healthier communities, HealthPlus contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to more than 200 nonprofit organizations in the communities it serves.

Source: HealthPlus of Michigan

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