| Dear Allwell Broker
Thank you for all that you do to transform the health of our communities and your dedication to our under served and vulnerable populations, particularly in this time of uncertainty.
Our teammates and partners are the heart and soul of this organization. The health and safety of our employees, partners, members, and communities is our uncompromising priority. We are closely monitoring the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and are engaging regularly with medical professionals, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and other government agencies as the situation evolves.
Company leadership, our business resilience teams, and representatives from across our businesses are engaging daily to monitor the situation as it evolves and are taking measures to keep employees and partners safe, minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19, and ensure that we can continue to provide the services that our members rely on for their health and well-being. That said, Centene would like to offer some options on how to keep you and your clients safe while still making sure business is being conducted.
Telephonic MAPD Marketing Appointments
Due to the current state of COVID-19 as of 3/16/2019, Centene will allow agents to conduct telephonic MAPD sales appointments with beneficiaries.
Remember, when conducting telephonic MAPD marketing appointments with Medicare prospects seeking only MAPD information; all current CMS Medicare Marketing Guidelines, Centene policies, etc. must be followed including consent to contact and documented Scope of Appointment. The Scope of Appointment (SOA) can be initiated via email or text through the Ascend application and must be in an ‘accepted’ status prior to discussing any plan information. If your client does not have access to email or a method of texting traditional paper SOA forms are required.
After all CMS requirements are met, an agent may proceed with a telephonic MAPD marketing appointment and assist with a discussion of plan details and formulary/physician searches. Please use the presentation checklist as a way to ensure that all important topics are covered.
If your client agrees to enroll, the agent may:
· Use Remote Agent Telephonic Enrollment (RATE) within the Ascend Online Enrollment Platform (must be an enrolled Ascend user)
· Provide their Ascend PURL information to the client; or
· Send a plan Enrollment Guide which includes a paper application (and all required documents) to be completed by their client
Remote Agent Telephonic Enrollment (RATE)
RATE is a powerful enrollment tool within the Ascend Mobile Application (AMA) that enables you to enroll your clients by phone. The platform will allow you to enroll your clients and still initiate a Value Based Enrollment (VBE).
Some important things you should know are:
· RATE is only available with an iPad and runs on iOS technology.
· Check that you have the latest version of iOS installed on your iPad.
· You must have the latest version of Ascend – you can do this by logging into Ascend and it will ask you to download the latest version.
· Verify that your Ascend Resources are up to date. You can check this by clicking on “Resources” and confirming that “Resources are up to date” in the top right-hand corner of the application.
· Once in the Ascend Mobile Application (AMA) make sure that you click the drop-down menu under your name in the top right-hand corner of the application and choose “Accepting Calls.”
· Disregard the “Unavailable” section in the drop down menu.
· Telephonic sales must be done using RATE only.
· Confirm that your RATE access is functional and that you have your unique 1-800 number found in the same drop-down menu next to “My Number.”
· If you are conducting a telephonic sale, appointments must get a documented Scope of Appointment (SOA) prior to starting the appointment.
· You can NOT initiate or accept a RATE call if you are already in a scheduled meeting.
· Your iPad should be used in landscape mode, this will ensure that you can view the “Start Meeting” button.
· You MUST follow the approved RATE script – all phone calls are recorded.
· The RATE script should be downloaded to another device or printed out as the script cannot be viewed on the same iPad screen.
· Agents should review the entire RATE script prior to using RATE for the first time and be aware of all statements that must be covered including those that MUST be read verbatim.
· You can NOT initiate Blue Button using RATE.
· Make sure that the enrollment is complete prior to initiating the VBE. If selecting “Call Now” for VBE, ensure that you have wrapped up conversations with your client as they will be called immediately after clicking “Call Now”.
· Once your RATE enrollment is complete send an enrollment guide to your client to ensure they have access to important and required documents.
For further information on RATE please download the following documents
RATE Training
RATE Best Practices
RATE Approved Script ENGLISH
RATE Approved Script SPANISH
RATE Tutorial Video
Personalized URL
Every agent who is registered to use Ascend has a Personal URL (PURL) that you can use to connect your client with the Ascend online enrollment tool if you are not able to do a face to face meeting.
The PURL can be found in the Agent Portal (tile on the home screen of AMA) and accessed with the same Ascend credentials. Your PURL can be sent electronically to your client who wish to do an online enrollment on their own.
Some important things you should know are:
· Your PURL is unique to you and is created on your first login to the agent portal (once you login click on “View Enrollments” and the PURL will be at the top of the page).
· The PURL is attached to your writing numbers so that you will get credited for the sale when an enrollment is made through the tool.
· The Ascend Quote and Enrollment tool will look the same for the agent as it would in the AMA, however, lead information and other items like Scope of Appointment will not be merged into the application.
· VBE and Blue Button are NOT options when using your PURL.
While we are in unprecedented times it is important that to take precautionary measures to keep yourself and your loved ones safe so please use the alternative enrollment options whenever possible.
Paper Application
If you are sending an Enrollment Guide with a paper application, make sure that you complete the Office Use Only section including your name and NPN. Do not fill out the received date.
Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for Beneficiaries affected by COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
The COVID-19 pandemic is declared a national emergency with incidents declared on the FEMA website for all US states. Therefore CMS guidelines surrounding Special Enrollment Periods will be in effect. If your client or client’s authorized representative has been affected by COVID-19 as documented by FEMA and were not able to enroll, dis-enroll, or switch their Medicare health or prescription drug plan during another valid election period due to the national emergency, they will have a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that is currently available.
For more information about COVID-19 SEP please visit: https://www.fema.gov/disasters
Hours of Operation:
As of now, all call centers will be operating business as usual. As our country continues to prepare and execute safety measures, we will continue to evaluate business processes that will ensure the safety of all partners.
Protecting our members, employees, and partners conducting home visits:
Centene is taking steps to cover COVID-19 testing and screening services for Medicaid, Medicare, and Marketplace members and is waiving all associated member cost share amounts for COVID-19 testing and screening.
We will not require prior authorization, prior certification, prior notification, or step therapy protocols for COVID-19 testing and screening.
Enhanced protocols have also been created to ensure our pharmaceutical services continue to be available for members through supply chain management.
To lower the risk of transmission of illness we suggest taking precautions, such as reaching out by telephone prior to home visits to ensure that those being visited are not experiencing any symptoms related to COVID-19. As always, please ensure to adhere to all CMS guidelines.
We encourage you to reference the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website as well as local government guidance for current updates. Further, ensure to use the following precautionary measures to support a safe and healthy environment:
· Thorough hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds — hand hygiene is the most effective method to control the spread of many viral illnesses.
· Using alcohol-based (containing at least 60 percent) hand sanitizer.
· Covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze by coughing and sneezing into a tissue and then disposing of the tissue in a wastebasket.
· Thoroughly cleaning surfaces that may be contaminated.
· Avoiding shaking hands and close contact with people who are sick.
We appreciate your cooperation and support in serving our members and communities in this time of need and uncertainty. As the situation evolves, please know that additional measures will be taken with a local-oriented approach, and we will continue to ensure our employees and partners are supported and safe.
If you have any questions regarding the above information please reach out to your local Account Executive or to our Broker Services team at 1-844-202-6811 Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm all time zones.
Thank you for your continued support.
Allwell
Approval ID: SCApproved-320-EFT-20200320
Disclaimer: For Agent use only – Not approved for presentation or distribution to Medicare beneficiaries |
