In October's Issue:

HAP HAPpenings

• Listen Online: 2009 Plan Finder and Plan Landscapes
• Want to help your clients lower their drug costs?
• Recruiting a New Generation of SHIP Volunteers

CMS News

• This AEP, the Message is... “Review and Compare!”
• Orange Letters in the Mail from CMS
• Announcing… 2009 Medigap Annual Deductible

Interesting Items

• Landscape of Plans Shows Big Differences for 2009
• NAIC Adopts New Model Medigap Standards
• Celebrate International Volunteer Managers Day!
• FREE Online Volunteer Management Training

HAP HAPpenings

Listen Online: 2009 Plan Finder and Plan Landscapes
HAP’s call leading up to the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) focused on new features in the plan finder and plan landscapes, which show that 2009 Part D plans will have significant differences from plans in the past.

As you gear up for AEP, listen online to your SHIP colleagues as they share their preparations for this hectic time and techniques they use to streamline the counseling process.

Recruiting a New Generation of SHIP Volunteers
Want to recruit a new generation of volunteers for your SHIP? Research shows that today's volunteers, particularly baby boomers, want flexible opportunities that allow them to use their professional talents while also learning new skills. One effective way to tap into this new generation of experienced volunteers is by advertising volunteer opportunities through the media.

HAP has created a series of media recruitment templates that can be customized and used to recruit a new generation of volunteers for your SHIP!

• Advertisement
• Letter to the Editor
• Press Release
• Public Service Announcements (PSA) — 3 Options

Read more about how these tools were developed during the 2008-2009 Collaborative State Projects in the October 13, 2008 issue of the SHIP Weekly Digest. 

Change in Extra Help Letters

Mailing schedule

Landscape of Plans Shows Big Differences for 2009
On October 7, Avalere Health presented an analysis of CMS’s Landscape of Plans for 2009. The study identified several key findings:

• Approximately 1.3 million beneficiaries with LIS will be reassigned to new plans for the upcoming plan year.
• Nearly two hundred fewer LIS-qualified plans will be available nationwide in 2009 (308) than in 2008 (495).
• Several states will have no more than five LIS-qualified plans; Nevada will have only one qualified plan, and Arizona will only have two such plans.

This study highlights the impact the changes in plan availability will make on Medicare beneficiaries, especially on those with limited income. This news release comes on the heels of a recent announcement by Humana that their plans will no longer have monthly premiums below the regional LIS benchmarks.

Celebrate International Volunteer Managers Day!
November 1 is a day to thank volunteer managers for all they do to enhance and enable the spirit of volunteerism. Whether you are an administrator, a volunteer, a community leader, or someone who receives the benefit of volunteer help, take a minute to give volunteer leaders the recognition they deserve!

Explore HAP's compilation of simple and low cost appreciation ideas for ways to celebrate your volunteers and volunteer managers today and every day. For more information on International Volunteer Managers Day (IVMD), including a list of events scheduled around the world, visit the IVMD Web Site.

NAIC Adopts New Model Medigap Standards
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners recently announced the adoption of a revised regulation.

This regulation implements major changes to states’ Medigap insurance minimum standard laws and also includes a set of materials to help states in the implementation process.

The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) authorized states to adopt the new NAIC model for their standard Medigap policies, which NAIC’s Senior Issues Task Force had been developing since 2005.

During 2009, states must begin implementing the new model standards either by enacting legislation or adopting regulations. Starting June 1, 2010, insurance companies must offer Medigap policies that comply with the new standards.

After June 2010, companies can no longer sell Medigap Plans H, I, J, and high-deductible Plan J. The new standards also end the at-home recovery, preventive care, and 80 percent of excess charges benefits.

Two new Medigap policies—Plans M and N—will join Plans A, B, C, D, F, high deductible F, G, K, and L.

• Plan M will include the basic benefit—50 percent coverage for the Part A deductible, full coverage for the Part B coinsurance charge, and foreign travel emergency coverage.
  
• Plan N will include the basic benefit, full coverage for the Part A deductible, coverage for the Part B coinsurance charge (except for a $20 co-payment for office visits), a $50 co-payment for emergency room visits, and foreign travel emergency coverage.