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Medicare: Medicare Part B Reimbursement Information Letter

A 2010 Medicare Reimbursement Information letter and application form were mailed on May 19 & 20, 2010, to all NYSHIP enrollees receiving Medicare Part B premium reimbursement.

The letter included an application with instructions on how to apply for the difference between the standard reimbursement amount ($96.50) and the higher amount paid ($110.50).

The letter is NOT for anyone who pays more than the $110.50. Those enrollees will be notified separately in early 2011 so they can apply for the Income Related Medicare Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) reimbursement.

 

Specialty Pharmacy Program

When taking a medication that is part of the Specialty Pharmacy Program, enrollees receive enhanced services that include disease and drug education, compliance management, side-effect management and safety management. Also included in this Program are expedited, scheduled delivery of your medications at no additional charge, refill reminder calls, and all necessary supplies such as needles and syringes applicable to the medication.

Click here to see the complete list of specialty medications included in the Specialty Pharmacy Program. Each of these drugs can be ordered through the Specialty Pharmacy Program using the Medco Pharmacy Order Form.

To request refills or to speak to a specialty-trained pharmacist or nurse regarding the Program, call The Empire Plan toll free at 1-877-7-NYSHIP (1-877-769-7447), choose The Empire Plan Prescription Drug Program, and ask to speak with Accredo, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 

Avoid Health Care Telephone Scams

There has been a reported case of a retired Empire Plan enrollee who was approached via telephone by a caller who indicated that they worked for UnitedHealthcare (UHC). This caller said that she was looking to obtain the retiree’s checking account routing number. The caller told the retiree that, with this information, she would withdraw $349 from the retiree’s checking account and then the retiree would no longer have to pay their health insurance premium. Fortunately, the retiree did not give the information and immediately contacted UnitedHealthcare’s Customer Care Staff.  This information was passed along to the Manager of UHC’s Special Investigations Unit, who then contacted the retiree to gather additional information.

If you receive any calls of this nature, please be advised that neither The Empire Plan nor UHC ever solicits bank account information from any enrollee. Under no circumstances should you provide this information if you are asked for it. Also, if you receive a call that resembles this call, try to determine the name of the company the caller represents, the address or any other information that would be useful to report to UHC’s Customer Care Staff at 1-877-7-NYSHIP (1-877-769-7447).

Progress is slow in isolating and shutting down these caller hubs, but aware and alert enrollees will know enough to avoid becoming a victim of this type of telephone scam.

The case reported involved the Empire Plan but could easily surface with other companies. If you have a different Health Insurance plan and receive a call resembling the above, contact you plan administrator immediately.

 

RPEA Fights Misinformation about Retiree Health Insurance Bill

ALBANY--- The Retired Public Employees Association, speaking on behalf of public service retirees across the State, wants to set the record straight over recently published misinformation concerning the New York State Legislature’s intent to examine health insurance issues for retired governmental employees.

Stan Winter, RPEA President, stated “both houses of the Legislature, led by Senator Farley and Assemblyman Abbate, have introduced bipartisan legislation which recognizes that adequate and affordable health insurance coverage is a vital issue for over a half million retired public employees and their dependents.  These taxpaying New Yorkers dedicated their working lives to the service of the people of this State and must not be abandoned now that they are in their later years and existing on mostly fixed incomes.”

Recent articles, fostered by the NYS Association of Counties and the Manhattan Institute,  see the plight of these senior citizens as an easy opportunity for their own political ends.  They state that the legislation would guarantee perpetual free or nearly free health insurance benefits and would prevent economies at the state and local levels of government.  Mr. Winter pointed out that a reading of the bills (S6457-A/A9393-A) hardly calls for that sort of rhetoric and makes him wonder why these self anointed experts would make such a misrepresentation.

These bills simply do two things. First, they call for the establishment of a broad based and expert task force to carefully study and recommend cost effective ways of dealing with a complex issue facing governments at all levels.  Secondly, they provide a one year moratorium prohibiting diminishing the health insurance benefits provided to public service retirees or the contribution towards such coverage below that provided to active employees.  In other words, governments would not be precluded from reducing overall health insurance costs.  They would simply be required to provide fair and even handed treatment for all.

These bills clearly do not conjure up some kind of sweetheart deal such as the golden parachutes we hear of in connection with corporate executives.  They simply call for careful review, analysis and recommendations for cost effective solutions – steps that are essentially good government and that should be embraced by state and local government

officials.

 

The New York Times News about retirement, including commentary and archival articles published in http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/r/retirement/index.html

 

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State Announces New Consumer Website to Help New Yorkers Find Least Expensive Prescription Drugs- The Search NY Drug Prices website searches drug prices by zip code, city, or county; provides brand-name and generic drug prices; lists pharmacies’ addresses and phone numbers; and provides driving directions. It was developed and will be maintained by the Department of Health. http://www.rx.nyhealth.gov