July 29, 2020
The live-streamed virtual event will take place Sept. 9-11 and features presentations from leading experts in risk adjustment, quality performance, documentation, HCC coding practices, member engagement, payer-provider collaboration, and social determinants of health. Take a look at the sessions we’ve planned.
July 22, 2020
The global pandemic has drastically limited in-person interactions and triggered the need for Medicare Advantage health plans to embrace a virtual world to connect with existing and prospective members. Here’s how one Florida health plan has maintained member connection, acquisition, and retention during this unsettling time.
July 20, 2020
Although the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the upcoming presidential election, may limit health plans’ reach, there are still opportunities to connect with prospective members and engage with your current members.
July 20, 2020
Deft Research’s new Age-in Study takes a deep dive into how the global pandemic recession has affected consumers as they move from commercial group or Affordable Care Act coverage into Medicare.
July 17, 2020
Many variables can impact the member/patient experience—but some are more controllable than others.
July 17, 2020
RISE reviews the latest headlines that have an impact on Medicare and Medicaid.
July 16, 2020
The report, released by the Better Medicare Alliance (BMA), a research and advocacy organization that supports Medicare Advantage (MA), looks at beneficiary demographics, consumer satisfaction, health outcomes, and projections for the future.
July 15, 2020
The Medicare Member Acquisition & Experience Community (MMA&E) offers a multitude of member benefits including conference discounts, live webinars, user group meetings, and more. Here are some recommended tips to make the most of your online community.
July 15, 2020
Whether agents and brokers need to present Medicare Advantage (MA) insurance options to beneficiaries over the phone or online, health plans must now accommodate telephonic or telehealth videoconference presentations.
July 14, 2020
A new study by EmblemHealth, one of the largest nonprofit health insurers in the United States, reveals ownership of electronic devices, access to internet services, and overall lack of technology impinge on access to telehealth.
July 08, 2020
The analysis measures member satisfaction with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans based on coverage and benefits, provider choice, cost, customer service, information and communication, and billing and payment. The result: Information and communication is a weakness for member satisfaction, which drives a general lack of engagement among consumers and increases the likelihood of health plan members switching plans.
June 24, 2020
Learn about the strategies BlueCross BlueShield NC uses to build positive relationships, goal alignment, and a problem-solving approach among the three departments.
June 09, 2020
Here’s how Indiana University (IU) Health Plans elevated customer service and member communications when COVID-19 hit.
June 04, 2020
Industry-leading experts in the AEP and Medicare Advantage space joined RISE for this week’s virtual AEP Medicare Readiness Summit 2020 to share best practices, strategies, and tips to navigate member needs amid a global pandemic. Here’s an inside-look at one Medicare sales manager’s recommended steps for annual election period (AEP) planning in such an uncertain time.
May 28, 2020
The poll, conducted by Morning Consult and sponsored by the Better Medicare Alliance, surveyed 1,020 seniors in mid-May on Medicare Advantage. Here are the key findings.
May 21, 2020
Larry Baca, vice president, sales & marketing, for Inter Valley Health Plan will be a featured speaker at RISE’s upcoming virtual event, AEP Medicare Readiness Summit 2020, June 2-3.
May 13, 2020
Thousands of Medicare beneficiaries are at extreme risk for opioid use disorder. A federal report urges the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to do more to ensure they receive treatment.
April 30, 2020
Join Kevin Mowll, executive director, RISE Association, and Kathleen Ellmore, managing director, Engagys, for a deep dive into the results of a RISE-Engagys survey that uncovers how health plans are communicating with members during the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar, COVID-19 Communications Response Survey: Addressing Near and Long-Term Member Communication Strategies, will take place at 1:30 p.m. EST, Tuesday, May 5.
April 27, 2020
User group members discussed the impact of COVID-19 on Medicare sales strategies, the annual election period (AEP), and broker loyalty.
April 23, 2020
Here are five findings from the latest Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) report.
April 17, 2020
RISE’s Medicare Member Acquisition Experience Community held its first user group meeting in March. Kathleen Ellmore, managing director of Engagys, and Renee Mezzanotte, EVP of client engagement at DMW, served as co-chairs. Here are highlights from the discussion.
April 16, 2020
DMW staff offer their impressions from RISE’s 13th annual Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit in February.
April 16, 2020
The ability to offer telehealth services not only addresses a critical need at this time, it also signals to your members that you are their partner in health care and will provide support through a strenuous time.
April 07, 2020
As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds, Medicare marketers across the country find themselves in a unique position to aid a group of individuals who they serve and who need their immediate help.
March 27, 2020
Please take this short survey developed by RISE and Engagys that looks at member communication strategies in response to COVID-19.
March 24, 2020
The states are allowing new enrollments this month to help ease consumers’ concerns about the cost of health care so that the sick will not be deterred from seeking medical attention and inadvertently spread the virus.
March 18, 2020
RISE looks at recent headlines concerning social determinants of health (SDoH), including the impact social distancing has on those already most vulnerable.
March 17, 2020
The coronavirus is spreading so quickly throughout the United States and the rest of the world that the response to the outbreak seems to change by the hour. Make sure your organization is in the best position to keep operations running smoothly and ensure that your members—who are among those at higher risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus—know they can rely on you for helpful, accurate, and the most up-to-date information.
March 17, 2020
A new blog post from Deft Research looks at the link between non-medical circumstances and the use of the emergency room for non-emergency and routine medical care.
February 25, 2020
The new Medicare Member Acquisition & Experience Community will help local and regional Medicare Advantage health plans grow and retain their membership base.
February 13, 2020
Unable to attend RISE’s January webinar that examined the 2020 Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) and emerging trends in the Medicare Advantage (MA) marketplace? We have you covered. Here’s a summary of what we learned.
February 12, 2020
Deft Research recently surveyed more than 3,200 seniors to better understand their shopping and switching behavior during the annual election period (AEP). An executive research brief about the survey focuses on one of the findings: how the growth of $0 Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO) have permanently changed the Medicare landscape.
January 10, 2020
What does the future hold for the Medicare market in the upcoming year? We asked Tim Brousseau, vice president client services, Deft Research, a member of the RISE Medicare Market Advisory Board, and Rachel Silva, vice president, strategy and Innovation for DMW, for their thoughts on emerging trends that will impact health plans in 2020.
January 06, 2020
Here is a six-point checklist for 2020 election planning throughout the year.
January 03, 2020
Members of RISE’s Medicare Member Acquisition & Experience Advisory Board will join Kevin Mowll, executive director of the RISE Association, during a January 30th webinar to discuss trends in the Medicare Advantage (MA) marketplace that emerged from the 2020 Annual Enrollment Period. In this article, RISE talks to Mowll about some of the factors that have changed the MA landscape in recent years.
December 18, 2019
A new study from the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy looks at early trends on Medicare Advantage (MA) offerings of supplemental benefits for patient populations with serious illnesses. Among the findings: Only a small number of plans have added new benefits in the first two years that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided MA plans the flexibility to offer members new benefits outside of traditional medical services. The report looks at the barriers to implementation and strategies to promote greater adoption.
December 12, 2019
Find out what’s in store when marketing, sales, and product development professionals from local and regional Medicare Advantage health plans gather at The Venetian in Las Vegas for the annual Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit on Feb. 25-26, 2020.
December 06, 2019
Members of Congress and others complain Medicare’s revamped Plan Finder had problems. Federal officials say they can help consumers who got bad information change their plans next year. But details about how switching will work are yet to come.
November 12, 2019
One of the mistakes that Medicare Advantage plans make when prioritizing efforts to improve their star ratings is focusing only on quality measures, says Malik Abdur-Razzaq, MPH, the chair of this year’s RISE’s Star Ratings Master Class in December.
November 07, 2019
A new independent study finds that Medicare Advantage plans are incorporating new benefits in 2020 to care for the whole person and address social determinants of health.
November 04, 2019
RISE and Engagys, a health care consumer engagement consultancy, are set to launch their fourth annual survey on the state of health care consumer engagement and need your input. Results will be revealed at 10th annual Star Ratings Master Class, December 12-13 in Carlsbad, Calif.
August 06, 2019
The return of the Medicare Open Enrollment Period (OEP) was fraught with uncertainty. No one knew how many Medicare Advantage (MA) members would use this year’s January 1-March 31 time period to switch plans or insurers, but now health plans can use the results of what happened to determine what to do during next year’s OEP as well as the traditional annual enrollment period (AEP). Here is what we’ve learned.
July 22, 2019
The Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued its final Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D plan payment policies and Final Call Letter for the 2020 plan year. This final notice continues the Trump administration’s efforts to introduce significant program changes with new plan option initiatives for the Medicare program.
July 16, 2019
Powell, voted one of the Top 15 Business Growth Experts to watch by Currency Fair, will share strategies that attendees can use to turn uncertainty into a competitive advantage.
July 01, 2019
Deft Research has announced the update of its 2019 Medicare Consumer List Scoring algorithms timed to coincide with marketing planning for Medicare’s fall Annual Election Period (AEP) and the rest of the year.
June 20, 2019
Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment has nearly doubled over the past decade, and it is showing no signs of slowing down. Indeed, a new report from L.E.K. Consulting finds that MA penetration will continue to rise as high as 70 percent between 2030 and 2040.
June 19, 2019
The average Medicare Advantage (MA) plan turns over about 10 percent of its members in voluntary disenrollment every year. For a plan with 100K members, this equates to approximately $110M in lost premium reimbursements.
June 19, 2019
Most health plans are not satisfied with the proportion of their former commercial members who convert into Medicare members. This under-performance is called the age-in conversion problem. And it challenges Medicare plans trying to enroll their own individual and employer-sponsored health plan customers.
June 14, 2019
Sixty-eight days. As Medicare marketers, we all know the timeframe challenge that comes with every Annual Election Period (AEP). And we all play by the same rules imposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). So, how can you gain a competitive edge given all the marketing restrictions? Simple: preheat the market.
June 12, 2019
Deft Research’s latest national market research report examines the age-in conversions of current commercial members, the factors that drive enrollment with consumers after the age of 65, and the key times that seniors shop for Medicare coverage. Here are three findings from the executive summary of the 2019 Age-In Study, which surveyed 2,400 seniors who are eligible for Medicare.
May 31, 2019
Only 32 percent of the 800 Medicare Advantage (MA) plan members with chronic conditions are familiar with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) star ratings systems, according to a HealthMine survey. Of those, nearly half said they used the grading system to help them choose a plan for 2019 enrollment.
May 29, 2019
LAS VEGAS — One of most anticipated sessions at RISE’s 12th Annual Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit in February was a town hall discussion about the Medicare Advantage (MA) market. The panel was moderated by Hank Osowski, managing partner, Strategic Health Group, LLC, and included executives from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC), Scan Health Plan in California, and MediGold in Ohio, who discussed the inclusion of supplemental benefits into health plan offerings in 2019, how those offerings might change in 2020, and how they are able to stand out in an increasingly competitive market. Here is what we learned.
May 13, 2019
RISE will examine what happened during the 2019 Medicare Open Enrollment Period (OEP) and what actions health plans should take to prepare for next year’s OEP during a webinar on June 11 at 1:30 p.m. EST. The webinar will feature speakers from Deft Research, a Blue Cross plan, a field marketing organization, and an agency. In this article we talk to one of the webinar speakers, Renée Mezzanotte, EVP/client engagement, DMW, about the OEP and the current state of Medicare.
May 01, 2019
LAS VEGAS—One session at RISE’s Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit made us rethink our digital marketing campaign strategies. Justin Stauffer, vice president of integrated marketing at DMW, an agency that specializes in marketing for the health insurance industry, spelled out the six most common mistakes that organizations make and how to fix them. In this article, we examine four of the biggest blunders, and what marketing, sales, and product development professionals can do to avoid them in the future.
April 30, 2019
A new study in Health Affairs paints a bleak picture for the future of middle-income seniors. Fifty-two percent of U.S. seniors who will be 75-years-old and older in the next 10 years will be unlikely to qualify for Medicaid long-term care but won’t have the financial means to cover the costs for assisting living rent and out-of-pocked medical costs. Researchers refer to this growing population as “the forgotten middle.”
April 30, 2019
A California-based health insurance agency was fined $50,000 and ordered to cease and desist from mailing misleading marketing materials to elderly residents in Minnesota.
April 30, 2019
Nearly 2,000 Highmark Medicare Advantage (MA) members in western Pennsylvania switched insurers during this year’s extended open enrollment period. Most members signed up with big-name national carriers to ensure they would have in-network access to University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) hospitals and physicians.
April 30, 2019
The Medicare Board of Trustees has been sounding the alarm about the future of the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund for years. Its latest report warns that the trust fund, which supports Medicare Part A, won’t be able to pay full benefits after 2026. It also projected that overall Medicare costs will continue to grow at a faster pace than the economy and put a strain on the federal budget unless lawmakers act now. Officials from the Trump administration have jumped on the findings, using the latest figures to push back against some Democratic lawmakers’ calls for a Medicare-for-All program.
April 26, 2019
The number of provider-sponsored health insurance plans entering the market is growing exponentially. Why? Because it can be profitable for both health systems and physician groups. But this endeavor is vastly more difficult than launching a new plan from an established brand. There are essential elements for planning, designing, launching, and sustaining a totally new Medicare plan and brand. Plans new to the market need even more of an edge to compete against the incumbents. Therefore, it is imperative to follow these three mission-critical stages of a plan launch.
April 25, 2019
The introduction of a Five-Star Quality Rating System from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans has resulted in opportunities for high-performing organizations to reap significant financial compensation and the ability to offer supplemental benefits while underperforming organizations risk fines, notices to their current members, potential removal of contract, and other punitive actions.
April 22, 2019
A new study that looks at how 4,700 consumers under the age of 65 bought insurance in 2019 provides insights into what prompted them to shop plans. The research, conducted and published by Deft Research, may help marketing, sales, and product development professionals better compete for members in 2020. Here are four findings from the market research firm’s Individual and Family Plan Shopping and Switching Study.
April 11, 2019
Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have another new benefit to offer their members in 2020: telehealth services. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced it has finalized changes that would allow MA beneficiaries to access health care services from places like their homes, rather than require them to go to a health care facility for treatment.
March 22, 2019
Expect collaboration to reshape the Medicare Advantage landscape in 2019-20. Strategic alliances, partnerships, and affiliations are becoming a key component of successful MA programs as they coalesce around three key areas: Product, Care Delivery, & Distribution.
March 22, 2019
When it comes to health insurance sales, the process doesn’t end once members sign their enrollment applications. Onboarding and care transition are key to member satisfaction and retention. When members have a positive experience with their new plan from the very beginning, it sets the stage for a successful, long-lasting relationship. In other words, the enrollment and onboarding process is an interaction, not just a transaction.
March 20, 2019
New research shows seniors want more health and well-being support from Medicare plans
March 15, 2019
Health insurers that have a low conversion of commercial to Medicare members may have an awareness issue. Challenges on increasing awareness include siloism among commercial and Medicare departments within health insurer corporations. Opportunities include creating strategies to encourage collaboration and incentives to provide the motivation for these groups to work together and provide the right Medicare plan to their commercial members.
March 11, 2019
Warning: Many insurance carriers have recently issued alerts about a genetic testing program enticing agents with a generous commission for each client who provides a swab for the cancer screening. The agents are told that the program is legal because the test has been approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Jameson Keller, vice president of strategic development for AgencyRM, says the program is a potential scam to get agents to “pay to play and to gain beneficiary Medicare information.”
March 08, 2019
LAS VEGAS—Senior citizens typically don’t want to shop for insurance products. But this year 1 out of 3 seniors either switched health plans or felt compelled to at least look at other options, according to George Dippel, senior vice president of client services, Deft Research, LLC. And about half of those who switched plans did so even though they were happy with the coverage they had in 2018.
March 01, 2019
Las Vegas—John Moore, the keynote speaker at RISE’s 12th Annual Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit, offered attendees a jolt of “espresso shots of business wisdom” that he has gleaned over his long career as a marketing strategist, including his role that turned Starbucks into a global icon.
February 14, 2019
RISE’s 12th Annual Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit is less than two weeks away. If you’ve already registered for the #1 ranked conference in the industry, we’ve compiled the highlights, so you can make the most out of sessions and networking opportunities. And for those who haven’t yet registered for this premiere event for senior executives in Medicare Advantage, prescription drug plans, and health plan startups, it’s not too late—there are a few delegate spots left. Read on to learn what’s in store when we gather at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino on Feb. 25-26.
January 15, 2019
For many health insurance Marketers, a key problem is managing and improving the return on investment of their campaigns. A typical metric used is overall ROI: sales divided by marketing & sales dollars spent. Another metric capturing management’s attention is “cost-per-conversion” or marketing & sales dollars spent divided by number of sales.
January 15, 2019
One of the many highlights at this year’s RISE Star Ratings Master Class was the results of the 2018 RISE/Engagys Survey on Healthcare Consumer Engagement. The survey, now in its third year, included 140 participants who represent the top health plans, provider systems, and pharmacy benefit managers. More than 70 percent of the respondents work in risk adjustment and almost half of them said they also work on Stars and HEDIS. In addition, more participants were from regional health plans, an increase of 26 percent compared to last year. This greater representation of regional plans may indicate their increased interest in consumer engagement, according to Kathleen Ellmore, managing director of Engagys. Here are seven takeaways from the survey results.
January 14, 2019
Editor’s Note: The original version of this story, 2019 Medicare OEP: You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression, was published by RISE in July 2018, Open Enrollment Period (OEP) regulations have since changed and Wunderman has updated the article to reflect current requirements.
December 07, 2018
RISE previously reviewed the biggest changes contained in updated Medicare Communication and Marketing Guidelines, which include a new definition of marketing, the addition of the term communication, and guidance for the pre-enrollment checklist. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services relaxed its previously stringent requirements and made what many consider to be long, overdue changes, just in time for the 2019 open enrollment period. RISE Executive Director Kevin Mowll looks back at the complex history of the guidelines, questionable health plan sales practices, and why now is the right time for CMS to have released the updated guidelines.
November 05, 2018
The good news: 2019 premiums in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace are flat or falling in many parts of the country. The bad news: A Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) analysis finds that the premiums would be substantially lower still if the Trump administration didn’t make a series of changes to private insurance markets.
October 12, 2018
Medicare Open Enrollment is right around the corner. It’s formally known as the Annual Election Period, or AEP. However, in layman’s terms, the AEP is commonly known as the Open Enrollment Period. As noted below, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has expanded the OEP, which happens during the first quarter of 2019. In this article, RISE looks at what’s new for the upcoming year to make sure health plans are prepared to hold on to their existing members and attract new ones.
September 20, 2018
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) discussed its updated communications and marketing guidelines during its annual Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plan fall conference on Sept. 6. In this article, we look at the most notable changes.
July 11, 2018
Engagys conducted our second annual examination of healthcare consumer engagement practices to further understand the rate at which the techniques pioneered by consumer marketing firms have been adopted by healthcare organizations.
July 10, 2018
Starting January 1st, 2019 there will be an Open Enrollment Period (OEP) that will allow Medicare beneficiaries to make “like plan” changes until March 31st, 2019. This is not just an extension of the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) (which is between October 15th and December 7th each year); rather the OEP should be likened to a “grace period,” where Medicare beneficiaries are allowed the opportunity to disenroll from their current plan and select a new plan with their existing carrier or competitor.
April 20, 2018
Air conditioners for people with asthma, healthy groceries, rides to medical appointments and home-delivered meals may be among the new benefits added to Medicare Advantage coverage when new federal rules take effect next year.
April 11, 2018
Medicare products are expected to be the fastest growing insurance sector over the next 10-years. At the same time, Boomers are transforming care delivery, from aging-at-home services to convenience-driven alternate sites of care such as retail clinics, telemedicine and wearables to anti-aging nutraceuticals.
April 11, 2018
For the past 12 years, Deft Research has tracked Medicare consumer shopping and switching behavior during each fall’s annual enrollment period, or the fall AEP. The results of these national studies have many uses including predictive modeling, but most people first become familiar with them through the annual report Medicare Shopping and Switching.
March 05, 2018
The annual review and selection of health insurance for one’s self and family has become an American tradition. During these annual enrollment periods (AEP’s, but referred to under various names), employees, Medicare recipients, and those in the individual and family markets conduct their own variations of the due diligence necessary to assure they will be in the right plan in the coming year.
March 01, 2018
On February 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Part II of the 2019 Advance Notice and Call Letter (ANCL). The ANCL is an annual regulatory policy document that describes the agency’s proposed payment and coverage policies for Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D plans for the upcoming plan year. While normally a single document, this year’s ANCL was separated into 2 parts.