HAP’s eNewsletter: September 2008

I. HAP HAPpenings
Welcome Seemin Pasha
HAP is excited to announce the addition of Seemin Pasha to our team. Seemin is the Director of Outreach and Communications, a new role that will further HAP’s efforts to build and support a unified SHIP community where SHIPs can discuss ideas, work together to inform Medicare regulations and policy, and share proven strategies and successes.

Seemin brings to HAP experience in constituent outreach, policy and advocacy, and building communities of collaboration among prominent organizations such as the international public health organization OneWorld Health, the Council for Biotechnology Information, and the American Public Health Association.

Take Part in Our Makeover
HAP wants to know how our newsletter can better meet your needs. We hope you can take a few minutes to complete our short survey. Your input will be used to shape HAP’s newsletters beginning in October.

What to Expect from the New Medicare Law
Join us on Wednesday, September 17 at 3:00 PM ET to discuss the upcoming changes expected as a result of the passage of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) on July 15, 2008. In addition to an increase in SHIP funding for Fiscal Year 2009, the law also improves access to low-income benefits.

The call will feature two guest speakers, Vicki Gottlich from the Center for Medicare Advocacy and Marc Steinberg from Families USA.

New and Improved Part D Counseling Tool
This summer, a member of the SHIP network requested updates to a tool HAP created in 2005. Our Should I Enroll in a Part D Plan flowchart is designed to help SHIPs assist those new to Medicare in deciding about their enrollment in Medicare drug coverage. We are pleased to share HAP's new and improved flowchart.

Is it easier to use? Please let us know how we can improve this or other tools by emailing us at SHIPhelp@hapnetwork.org.

An Opportunity to Celebrate: National Senior Center Month
September is National Senior Center Month and what better time to give thanks to the Senior Centers that work hard to support the seniors in our communities. HAP has a list of easy and low cost ways to show your appreciation and to acknowledge the staff and volunteers at the Senior Centers for all their hard work and dedication.

If your SHIP is already involved in celebratory Senior Center activities, please share these ideas with the rest of the SHIP community by emailing us at SHIPhelp@hapnetwork.org.

Volunteer Recruitment Crunch Time
For those of you making one final push to recruit volunteers who can support your program during the Annual Enrollment Period, look no further than HAP’s new Volunteer Recruitment Toolkit developed collaboratively with several SHIP programs.

The toolkit contains three planning tools and three sets of recruitment materials that can be easily modified and used for your unique program needs. If you have suggestions for additional materials needed or questions about replicating this toolkit in your program, please contact us at SHIPhelp@hapnetwork.org.

HAP’s Online Tool Now Tracks All That You Do
SHIPTools, HAP's web-based management system, recently launched an "activity log" feature, which allows volunteers, SHIP staff, and state directors to track the time spent on activities such as distributing materials, recruiting SHIP volunteers, counseling clients, and more.

The activity log is one more way SHIPTools enables SHIP programs to make informed decisions about the resources required to run their program. If you have questions about bringing SHIPTools to your state, please contact us at SHIPhelp@hapnetwork.org.

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II. Highlights from CMS
Prepare Your SHIP for the Redetermination Process
Each year the Social Security Administration (SSA) must review the eligibility of beneficiaries with Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS). As you may remember, SSA conducts two types of redeterminations—initial and cyclical. The initial redetermination is for those new to LIS (receiving the subsidy within the past year) who SSA believes have experienced a subsidy-changing event (e.g., marriage, divorce, smaller household size, etc.). Each year SSA also selects a random group of extra help recipients for a cyclical redetermination. The randomized, cyclical redetermination process is designed to make sure that only eligible beneficiaries are receiving the low-income subsidy for Part D.

SSA follows the same process for review whether it is an initial or cyclical redetermination. SSA mails SSA Review of Your Eligibility for Extra Help notices to those beneficiaries selected for redetermination. By Tuesday, September 2, 2008 approximately 253,000 beneficiaries will begin receiving this mailing. They must complete the enclosed form within 30 days and submit it as requested. If a beneficiary does not complete and return the form, eligibility for Extra Help may be terminated effective January 1, 2009. SSA has a sample of the cover letter and form available online.

Last year SHIPs played an important role in assisting beneficiaries through the redetermination process and this year will be no exception. HAP’s Medicare Drug Coverage resource center has updated information about the process for LIS redetermination.

Grey Letters from CMS in the Mail
In mid-September, CMS is mailing the Loss of Deemed Status letter, which is printed on grey paper, to beneficiaries who will no longer be deemed eligible for LIS in 2009. Those who have Medicare and Medicaid, those who are in Medicare Savings Programs, and those who receive SSI automatically qualify for LIS by being “deemed” for the extra help. As you know, those who receive the grey letter may still qualify for LIS, but they must re-apply in order to receive the subsidy.

This grey letter refers people to their SHIPs, among other resources, for assistance. It is the first of several notices printed on colored paper to be mailed this fall. CMS has the schedule of mailings available online.

Like last year, CMS will release numbers of those affected, by state, county, and zip code. These figures will be available on the CMS's LIS webpages and can help SHIPs with LIS outreach efforts.

Part D Plans’ Premiums for 2009 Better than Expected
CMS recently announced that its estimates for the average Part D plan premiums in 2009 ($28) are now lower than the original 2003 prediction of $44.12 made during the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) implementation.

Though lower than previously estimated, the average premium will still be on average $3 higher than plan premiums in 2008 due to trends in drug costs, the need for plans to accommodate the projected increase in catastrophic coverage, and the phasing out of CMS’s bidding calculation demonstration project. Though CMS has not yet announced them, benchmark amounts will be forthcoming.

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III. Items of Interest
Volunteers Burdened by High Gas Prices May Soon Have Help
Relief may soon be on the way. The Giving Incentives to Volunteers Everywhere (GIVE) Act (S 3429) has been introduced by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and John Ensign (R-NV) to offer relief to volunteers by raising the charitable mileage deduction from 14 cents to 41 cents, among other provisions. 

If you don’t do so already, now is the time to educate your Senators and Representatives about the critical role SHIPs and their volunteers play in helping Medicare beneficiaries access necessary health care services. 

Part D Marketing Still Problematic, Tool Helps Beneficiaries Be Aware
A recent report takes a closer look at CMS’s oversight of marketing materials, including advertisements, formulary information, enrollment forms, pharmacy directories, and summaries of benefits used for stand alone Medicare prescription drug plans. The audit, issued by the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), found that 85 percent of the marketing materials used by private health insurance organizations do not fully meet CMS’s internal guidelines. 

Medicare beneficiaries need to have access to objective and complete information in order to make truly informed decisions. SHIP staff and volunteers play a critical role in providing that information. HAP’s series Making Informed Decisions:  Navigating Medicare Advantage aims to support SHIPs efforts by providing a tool that counselors can give to beneficiaries to use as they are considering their coverage options.

Who Is Volunteering in Your Community?
Learn which volunteers donate the most time, what types of agencies they volunteer for, and much more. Then, use this information to target your volunteer recruitment activities in your city or state!

Develop Your Volunteer Management Skills
Take 60 minutes for yourself with convenient online training sessions from the Points of Light Institute and Hands On Network. Learn from international experts, right at your desk!
 
Learn more about upcoming trainings online, including:

• Volunteers as Leaders: Setting the Stage for Success
• What Volunteer Managers Really Think
• Using the Internet for Online Recruitment
• The Certified in Volunteer Administration (CVA) Credential: A Mark of Excellence

The sessions are free for members and $25 for non-members.
 
New Medicare Law May Increase LIS Enrollment Rates
A recent GAO report, Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy: Assets and Income Are Both Important in Subsidy Denials, and Access to State and Manufacturer Drug Programs Is Uneven, found that both assets and income contribute to denial rates for the Low-Income Subsidy. Two key provisions of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) should increase the number of beneficiaries found eligible for the Low-Income Subsidy. These provisions are:  

• Elimination of life insurance as a countable asset: Beneficiaries will no longer have to contact their life insurance company to find out the cash value of their policies; and
• Elimination of in-kind support as countable income: Beneficiaries will no longer have to report help from children or friends as income.

These changes are effective January 1, 2010.

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