MANAGED CARE PLAN EXPANDS TO INCLUDE MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES IN MONTGOMERY, 2 OTHER ALA. COUNTIES
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved a request by VIVA Health Inc. to expand managed care coverage to Medicare beneficiaries in Montgomery County and two other counties in central Alabama .
VIVA Health, based in Birmingham , Ala. , will begin serving beneficiaries on Jan. 1 in Montgomery County in Alabama , including the city of Montgomery , and rural Autuaga and Lowndes counties. Medicare beneficiaries can sign up for the plan during the current open enrollment for Medicare Advantage, formerly known as Medicare+Choice. About 42,000 beneficiaries live in the three counties.
The company began serving Medicare beneficiaries in 1998 in Jefferson County , Ala. , then expanded in 2001 into Blount, St. Clair and Shelby counties in the Birmingham area.
"We are pleased VIVA Health Care decided to expand this health plan to include more beneficiaries in Alabama ,” HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said. "Under the Medicare reform law signed by President Bush, Medicare will provide all seniors - no matter where they live - with better health insurance options, including prescription drug coverage and preventive care. The law is achieving the President's goals of strengthening and modernizing Medicare.”
The plan gives beneficiaries in Autuaga, Lowndes and Montgomery counties another health care option to select. HealthSprings of Alabama currently operates in all three counties, while United Healthcare of Alabama is operating in Autuaga and Montgomery counties.
“We want to make sure all Medicare beneficiaries, whether in a Medicare Advantage plan or fee-for-service, are receiving the highest quality health care," said CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. "We are doing more to guarantee that beneficiaries understand the Medicare coverage options available to them. We also are reminding beneficiaries of the need to work closely with the doctors and other health care providers that give them medical care."
Since Dec. 8, 2003, when President Bush signed the Medicare Modernization Act into law, CMS has approved 41 new contracts with Medicare health plans and 56 service area expansions. There are currently 20 applications pending for new contracts and 21 service area expansions pending.
Medicare Advantage HMOs and fee-for-service plans are available where private companies choose to offer them. Currently, about 4.6 million Medicare beneficiaries -- out of a total of about 40 million aged and disabled Americans – have enrolled in Medicare HMOs. Original fee-for-service Medicare, currently chosen by more than 35 million beneficiaries, is available to all beneficiaries.
Medicare has a far-reaching consumer information program that includes a national toll-free phone number -- 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or TTY/TDD, at 877-486-2048 -- an Internet site -- www.medicare.gov -- and a coalition of more than 200 national and local organizations to provide seniors more information.