SureBridge: Brand change coming soon – what you need to know

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Sourced from Agent Communication from SureBridge on 3/14/23:

UnitedHealthcare brand replacing SureBridge on Chesapeake supplemental products

The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company will debut it’s new UnitedHealthcare brand association on March 24, 2023, starting with the release of its newest product AccidentWise. The UnitedHealthcare brand will replace the SureBridge brand on all Chesapeake products over the coming months. The new brand experience is expected to create a stronger presence in the market with a more recognizable name, allowing for better positioning of Chesapeake’s supplemental products offering.

Noticeable changes on March 24
The first step of the brand transition began last fall with the introduction of the new customer website, UHC Member Hub.

Here are other changes you will see later this month:

• The broker quote and apply tool (POS) will display the new UnitedHealthcare underwritten by The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company logo.

• A brand-transition message will appear on the quote & apply tool and on customer communications to help explain some products will show the SureBridge brand and other products the UnitedHealthcare brand until the brand transition is complete.

• Bank/credit card statements will show payment transaction being made to Chesapeake-UHC. Be sure to let your customers know this.

When will other changes happen?
Additional updates will happen over the next several months with the goal of being fully transitioned by end of September 2023.

We will keep you informed of our progress but here are some other things to expect in the coming months:

• Email addresses, websites and other contact info that features SureBridge brand will eventually be transitioned to UnitedHealthcare brand (where appropriate).
• Current products in the Chesapeake portfolio are being evaluated and prioritized for rebranding.

• As other new products are introduced with the UnitedHealthcare brand, we’ll share new marketing materials and training with you.

Acquired in 2019 by the UnitedHealthcare company, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company is now officially welcomed into the UnitedHealthcare brand family as it makes these branding updates. Licensed agents contracted with Chesapeake can share with their clients this exciting news when presenting The Chesapeake Life Ins. Co. portfolio of supplemental and life products.

 

Anthem: Talk Desk Discontinued as of March 20, 2023

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Talk Desk is being discontinued as a tool for recording telephonic scope of appointments and voice signatures. This change comes about due to the CMS implemented requirements of recording all pre-enrollment and post-enrollment calls to prospects and current members.

Additionally, Medicare Voice Signature Services is a new tool that is now available in Producer Toolbox. This tool is only available to use during a face-to-face appointment when the applicant is unable to physically or electronically sign the SOA or enrollment application and does not have a Power of Attorney representative present. The below Quick Reference Guide provides the steps for using the Medicare Voice Signature Service.

Medicare Voice Signature Services Quick Guide – PDF

  • As a reminder, all calls with prospects and current members must be recorded and stored in a HIPAA compliant manner according to the CMS requirements implemented in October 2022. This includes all pre-enrollment calls and post-enrollment calls.
  • By recording all calls, the requirements for recording telephonic scope of appointment and voice signature during enrollment are also fulfilled. It is not necessary to record a telephonic scope of appointment or voice signature separately.
  • Talk Desk, the tool used for recording a telephonic scope of appointment and voice signature, will be discontinued as of March 20, 2023.
  • Historical Talk Desk recordings will continue to be accessible in the Portal.

 

Questions?  Please contact your CSM rep

 

Update on Anthem’s MADP Addendum – Please Read!

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Communication below sent out to all CSM agents as of Thurs. 3/2/23:

Broker Update: Anthem MAPD Addendum Update

Delay as of 3/2/23: The process to review and acknowledge the updated Anthem MAPD Addendum, noted below, is not currently available.  All agents will receive an email communication from Anthem in 2-3 days that the notification is reflecting on their profile and they can complete the required review/acknowledgement per the guidance below.  Our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

__________________________________________________________________

Please note the following action item from Anthem:

In keeping with our requirement to ensure our Third-Party Marketing Organizations (TPMOs) adhere to all applicable laws, regulations, and CMS guidelines, we have updated the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D Producer Contract Addendum (MAPD Addendum) language per 2023 CMS Final Rule requirements. TPMO required verbiage has been updated in Section A, Number 4 as well as Section 16: Materials; TPMO Requirements.

Please take a few minutes to read and acknowledge the required document(s) by doing the following:

1. Log into the Producer Toolbox https://brokerportal.anthem.com/apps/ptb/login
2. You will be presented with a dialog box.
3. Click “Sign Forms”.
4. You will be directed to the document(s) that require your acknowledgement/signature.
5. Simply follow the prompts and you’re done.

If you choose to click “cancel” in the dialog box, you will receive the prompt the next time you log in to Producer Toolbox, or once logged in, you can select Account Details > Appointments, and the “Action Required” tab, where you can then sign the required form(s).

Reach out to your Cornerstone Senior Marketing Service Team if you have questions.

Aetna’s MA Compliance Connection: Feb. 2023 Edition

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In this issue, Aetna will discuss two topics including:

  • Caution to agents: Do not steer clients based on “scheduling fees”
  • Reminder: You can only require a zip code or county, and other location details from clients to review plans

READ FULL NEWSLETTER HERE 

UHC: Ohio Network Update

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Sourced from Broker Annoucement from 2/16/23:

UnitedHealthcare’s Network is Growing in Ohio

We are excited to announce that several new providers within Agilon Health will be in-network for all UnitedHealthcare® Medicare Advantage (MA) and Dual Special Needs Plan (DSNP) members of Jan. 1, 2023.

For more information on Agilon Health providers visit:

Central Ohio Primary Care

Pioneer Physicians Network

Community Health Care

Primed Physicians

The Toledo Clinic

Wood County Hospital/Bowling Green Hospital

*This does not apply to Medicare Supplement plans which do not require the use of a network.

Anthem Ohio Network Alert: Christ Hospital Health

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Sourced from Anthem’s Producer Newsletter on 2/9/2023:

February 9, 2023

We’ve worked closely with The Christ Hospital Health Network for several months, but we haven’t reached an agreement to keep them in your clients’ plans.

This means that starting April 1, 2023, your clients may pay more for care they receive from Christ Hospital’s facilities, and May 1, 2023 for care they receive from Christ Hospital’s doctors. This includes care your clients received at the following Christ Hospital facilities:

  • The Christ Hospital
  • The Christ Hospital Medical Center – Liberty Township
  • The Christ Hospital Outpatient Centers
  • The Christ Hospital Urgent Cares
  • The Christ Hospital Surgery Centers
  • The Christ Hospital Outpatient Imaging Centers
  • The Christ Hospital Lab Draw and Pre-Surgical Testing Centers
  • The Christ Hospital Cardiovascular Testing Centers
  • The Christ Hospital Health Network Physical and Occupational Therapy Centers
  • The Christ Hospital Sleep Centers
  • The Christ Hospital Outpatient Clinics
  • The Christ Hospital Wound & Ostomy Care Centers
  • The Christ Hospital Medical Associates (physician practices)

We will be sending a notice to your clients letting them know. Unless we reach an agreement, Christ Hospital won’t be in your plan’s network starting April 1, 2023 for Christ Hospital facilities, and May 1, 2023 for Christ Hospital doctors.

Clients may pay more if they decide to keep seeing a Christ Hospital doctor or receiving care at these facilities
If the client decides to keep seeing this doctor or receiving care at these facilities after April 1, 2023 or seeing this doctor after May 1, 2023, they may pay more or all of the costs for the care. Some plans only cover care from doctors and care facilities in the plan’s network, except in emergencies. Employees can check their plan documents to learn more.

There may be exceptions
A client may be able to stay with Christ Hospital’s doctors and facilities for a limited time if they are in treatment for a serious and complex condition, in the hospital, scheduled for nonelective surgery, pregnant, or terminally ill. Their plan documents include more information about continuity of care.

We will continue to negotiate with Christ Hospital and hope to reach an agreement that keeps them in our plan’s networks.

 

UHC Ohio Medicaid Updates: Verification & Emergency Assistance Changes

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Ohio Medicaid Verification Update via PHD, Jarvis, Mira
UnitedHealthcare has recently learned that the state of Ohio Medicaid verification system is undergoing a transitional stage that will prevent agents from verifying Medicaid in our state. Jarvis, Mira and the Producer Help Desk (PHD) are impacted by this change and currently do not have a workaround to verify eligibility.

What you need to know:

• The state system will likely go down at 5 pm tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 31. This outage could potentially last for several days.
• You are able to continue writing new business during the outage, but you may need to ask additional questions of your prospects to verify their status & eligibility (ask if or who’s paying their Part B premium, are they part of MyCareOhio, do they have a local JFS office case worker they work with re their benefits, etc.)
• Please submit enrollment applications as soon as possible before the blackout window to avoid any potential delays.
• There may be a delay for applications being approved for Feb. 1 and March 1 effective dates.

At this time, UHC is unable to determine how long this outage will be. UHC will keep brokers updated as they receive additional information. UHC is working with the state of Ohio to get this resolved as quickly as possible.

 

Ohio Medicaid – Emergency Assistance Changes

Beginning in April, Medicaid expansion is set to begin unwinding across each state that took part in the COVID pandemic related Medicaid coverage increases. This will result in a county by county effort by local JFS offices to contact over 1 million Ohio Medicaid recipients letting each person know they need to reenroll.

 

This is very likely to cause confusion & frustration among clients & prospects at the low income venues and organizations you partner with. At the same time, this becomes an OPPORTUNITY for each of you to provide additional service and assistance and value to the locations you visit each week.

 

For additional information, please see this recent local TV video report from the local Columbus NBC station: Changes approaching for Medicaid recipients | NBC4 WCMH-TV (nbc4i.com)

 

The Health Plan: New OTC Vendor – InComm

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Sourced from THP Broker Communication from 1/19/23:

The Health Plan has a new OTC vendor, InComm.  Enclosed is an instructional video “How to Access and Navigate My Benefits Center” that may help you communicate this benefit to your THP Medicare Advantage members.

Please advise your members that this benefit / Visa Card is already activated upon receipt and ready-to-use for their OTC purchase needs.  DSNP plan members can also use it for healthy foods and utility bill assistance, as instructed in the video. Every member who earns rewards & incentives for getting their annual physical, mammogram and / or colonoscopy will access their rewards through this card as well.

Click here to view the instructional video.

Please direct your members to contact The Health Plan’s Customer Service department with any questions at: 1-877-847-7907, M-F 8:00 am – 8:00 pm

If you have any questions, please reach out to your CSM Service Rep

Mutual of Omaha 2022 1099’s Coming to SPA

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Great news, 2022 1099s will be available through Sales Professional Access (SPA) for all producers.

Please note: if the producer has a Compensation PIN assigned for SPA already, they will not be able to view their 1099 without their compensation pin. We wanted to give all of you the heads up before we send a general announcement in February.

 

READ MORE… 

SureBridge Cancelation Requests System Issue

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System Issue: Cancelation requests through the SureBridge branded Self-Service Tool not processed
1/10/23
We recently identified a system issue with the SureBridge Self-Service tool (myportal.surebridgeinsurance.com) that prevented policy cancelation requests made through the portal from being processed between Nov. 23, 2022 and Jan. 7, 2023. This issue is isolated to cancelation requests only and updates have been made to correct the issue. The tool should be working as expected again.

The policies affected are being identified and will be processed accordingly.  Any refunds that may be due could take up to 10 days to be processed.  This email is for information purposes only and requires no action by the agent.

If you have list of customer cancelation requests that were made during this timeframe and would like to check status, please email producersupport@surebridgeinsurance.com instead of calling Customer Service.

We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you and your customers.