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New Medi-Pak® Medicare supplement plans for 2020

  1. What is MACRA?

    The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is a federal law that affects coverages that can be sold to newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries. Effective January 1, 2020, newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries will not be able to purchase plans that cover the Medicare Part B deductible.

  2. Who is considered newly eligible?

    “Newly eligible” is defined as anyone who becomes eligible for Medicare benefits due to age or disability, as defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), on or after January 1, 2020.

  3. Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare supplement (Medi-Pak®) plans available effective January 1, 2020
    Medicare-eligible before January 1, 2020: Medicare-eligible on or after January 1, 2020:
    • Plan B
    • Plan C
    • Plan F
    • Plan F – High Deductible
    • Plan G
    • Plan N
    • Plan B
    • Plan G (new version)
    • Plan G – High Deductible
    • Plan N

    Note: Individuals eligible for Medicare-eligible before January 1, 2020, will not be eligible to purchase our Plan G (new version) or Plan G – High Deductible.

  4. What does MACRA mean for individuals who have or are looking to purchase Medicare supplement insurance?
    For current Medicare supplement policyholders
    • Their Medicare supplement policy does not change.
    • No action is required.
    • They may purchase a plan that covers the Part B deductible (Plans C, F and F – High Deductible).
    For those who are Medicare-eligible on or before December 31, 2019
    • Their Medicare supplement options remain the same as today.
    • They may purchase a plan that covers the Part B deductible (Plans C, F and F – High Deductible).
    For those who are Medicare-eligible on or after January 1, 2020
    • Their Medicare supplement options will change.
    • They cannot purchase a plan that covers the Part B deductible (Plans C, F and F – High Deductible).
    • The guaranteed-issue plans that will be available to them are Plans B, N, G (new version) and G – High Deductible (a new plan).
    • They are referred to as “newly eligible” under MACRA.
  5. What happens to members who have the current Plan C, F or F – High Deductible?

    No change. Plans C and F are not going away. Current policyholders may continue with their Plan C or Plan F and may continue to buy Plans C and F beyond January 1, 2020.

We will have two different kits available depending on the Medicare eligibility date. Kit orders for our new 2020 offerings will be available on September 1 through Blueprint for Agents. In the meantime, you can download a copy of our new Medi-Pak® brochure and Medi-Pak application for individuals eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. Also feel free to download our new 2020 rates for our current Medi-Pak plans (Plans B, C, F, HD-F, G and N).

Questions? Good news, we have a Medicare supplement quick-reference guide available for you and knowledgeable Individual Product Representatives available to answer your questions. Also, we will discuss these changes in detail in our September face-to-face trainings.