Tweet tweet! Health Professionals Concerned about Musk Effect

Health Experts Hopeful Twitter Remains a Resource

Twitter has become a vital tool for many health organizations, playing a role in marketing, information dispersal, and more. It has helped transform the industry’s marketing strategies since its founding in 2006. Health systems, insurers and others use the platform to reach consumers and disperse information. Grappling with any potential changes on Twitter comes as healthcare companies and organizations have struggled to combat misinformation circulated on social media about COVID-19 and vaccinations during the pandemic.

The San Francisco Chronicle asks if COVID-19 experts will stay on Twitter after its purchase by Elon Musk, as covered by Kaiser Health News. Dive deeper.

MEDICARE

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Opportunity for brokers!

Spotlight on Medicare Advantage: An eHealth Survey
Not enough seniors are paying attention

Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) began on Oct. 15 and many seniors are already reviewing their coverage options – but not enough of them. This survey of over 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries shows significant numbers are poorly educated about AEP or unaware of changes to their current plan that may take effect next year.

Most are enrolled in the same Medicare coverage they had three years ago, though about half admit their prescription drugs needs, the doctors they see, and their personal finances have changed in the past year – good reasons to review new plan options. Link to survey here. Take a look at another eHealth survey for more Medicare consumer insights here .

For more on how older Americans view the Medicare market, dig deeper here from Thinkadvisor.com.

CMS releases 2023 star ratings for MA, Part D plans
Medicare Advantage star ratings were projected to decline this year due to CMS lifting COVID-19 guardrails and changing measures that impacted performance.

CMS recently released star ratings for 2023 Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. CMS is making it more challenging for plans to achieve the performance required to maintain or improve star ratings because outliers are more commonly found among poorly performing contracts. Fewer plans earned 5 stars in 2023 MA star ratings. Notably, 57 MA plans received five stars, 67 earned a 4.5 rating and 136 received a four-star rating, and about 72% of enrollees will be in plans with at least four stars next year, according to the CMS. Significantly, 37 plans earned only 2.5 stars, compared to just two last year, while four plans earned two stars. See the list.

Full Story: Healthcare Finance (10/6), Becker’s Payer Issues (10/6)

McKinsey & Co. authors Cara Repasky and Sonja Pedersen-Green addressed the projected decline in star ratings in an article written in September.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The bottom line is: star ratings are important to plans, not only as a way to attract new members when the results are good, but as revenue. Plans that do well get a 5% quality bonus payment. The money is used by insurers to increase extra benefit offerings, which attracts more enrollees.

Home health providers will get $125M Medicare pay boost

Home health industry groups threatened to sue the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) if it implemented a proposed $810 million reimbursement cut. In response, CMS has tossed a plan to reduce home health reimbursements by $810 million next year and will give providers a 0.7% pay increase that amounts to $125 million. CMS published the final rule setting Medicare fees for home health services next year. Read more here.

Here’s the CMS Rule: CY 2023 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update and Home Infusion Therapy Services Requirements — Final Rule (CMS-1766-F)

BROKER TOOLS

Broker to broker: A real-world TPA checklist for benefits advisors
Consider this a real-world checklist to help benefits advisors choose a TPA partner to ensure client success

By Brandon Kress, WellNet

Trust takes time to build, but maintaining it is just as valuable. Three years ago, I was searching for a third-party administrator (TPA) that would exemplify the following qualities: accessible, accountable and proactive. These three traits were hard to find within the mainstream insurance carriers and large TPAs that primarily just process claims. I was looking for someone to check all the boxes. As any advisor will tell you, the test is not the sales pitch. What really matters are those first crucial months when they start working with the client.

Consider this a real-world checklist for choosing a TPA partner to ensure client success: Read Article

FINANCE

Financial wellness has gone digital — Are your benefits keeping up?
More employees want a path to financial wellness

Financial well-being programs can provide education and tools to assist employees in budgeting, managing debt and taxes, and saving for retirement or college. Financial well-being programs can provide education and tools to assist employees in budgeting, managing debt and taxes, and saving for retirement or college.

According to ADP Research Institute’s “People at Work 2022: A Global Workforce View” study, 67% of workers are experiencing stress at least once a week. As a result of stress, 60% of Gen Z and millennials say their work is suffering. Another study by the ADP Research Institute shows 89% of employers and 85% of employees agree financial wellness is important to overall well-being. There is a greater need to help employees achieve financial stability or, in other words, build enough savings to cover emergencies and life changes.

Additionally, according to the research, 79% of employees say they want to work for an employer who cares about their financial well-being. While many employees say they want help with their personal finances, they often wait until they experience a crisis (e.g., income loss, unexpected expenses) before they seek guidance. Read Article

Are Your Clients Closer to Their Barista Than You as Their Advisor?

A notable challenge the life insurance industry faces is that the relationship between an insurer and its customer has traditionally been purely transactional. The consequence of the industry’s low touch nature makes it difficult for insurers to build strong customer relationships and brand loyalty.

Traditionally there have been two distribution channels for life insurance sales: advisor-led and direct-to-consumer. However, most consumers today use both channels when researching and purchasing life insurance. That’s an opportunity waiting to be cracked. Read Article

INDUSTRY TRENDS

What’s Next in Health Care? Here’s What Experts Think

Take a look at 11 trends presented by the AHIP podcast “The Next Big Thing in Health.” They explore the new, big ideas that will help make healthcare more affordable, more available, and more effective. Over the last few years, we’ve heard dozens of takes from experts throughout the health ecosystem on what the future holds. And the answers, unsurprisingly, vary. There is a curated a list of this year’s top predictions for the “next big thing.” Listen here for a sample: Making Trust a Non-Negotiable in Care with Dr. Jan Berger, president and CEO, Health Intelligence Partners

“I want to trust a health care system that can answer this question: that I can get care, when I need care, from somebody I can trust. I think the next great thing is going to be care delivery in the future.”

EVENTS CALENDAR

WEBINARS

Nov. 3, 11:30 to 1:30 pm PST: Women In Financial Services (WIFS) Webinar: What The Tech?
Nov 3, 11:00 AM – 12:30 pm PST: Center for Medicare Advocacy free webinar Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage and the Inflation Reduction Act. Register
Nov. 4, 10:30 am PST: White Wing Insurance National meeting. Register.
Nov. 8, 11:00 AM – 12:00 pm PST: CAHIP sponsored: Morals and Ethics for Agents, Oh My! Speaker Bobbi Kaelin. $10 Registration.
Nov. 10, 10:00 – 11:00 am PST: NAHU Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) and what makes a PEO Broker Friendly. Sponsored by JustWorks. Register.
Dec. 1, 11:30 – 1:30 pm PST: WIFS: Tax Year In Review and What’s Coming in 2023. Contact Janet Fishman: janet@wifs-losangeles.org
Dec. 6, 10 am PST: JorgensenHR free Labor Law Update webinar. Register.
Goldmine! Guardian Life + Spring Health Mental Wellness Webinar Series. Online live, and on demand. Next up: Dec. 14, 9am PST, Grief & Loss: Productively processing strong emotions. Register

2023 EVENTS

Jan. 24, 2023 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM PST, NAHU Live Virtual Corporate Wellness Certification. Register
Mar. 4, 2023, 9:00 to 1:30 PM PST, WIFS Women’s Forum 2023

CONFERENCES

Nov. 13-16, HLTH 2022 Health Innovation Expo, Las Vegas. Register
Dec. 1, EBRI 2022 Retirement Summit, Washington D.C. Online & in person. Register
Dec. 19-21, Money 2.0 Conference, White Wing CEO Joshua Schneeloch will present along with other experts. Las Vegas. Details

2023 EVENTS

March 13-15, 2023, Ellevate Women’s Leadership 2023 Summit, JW Marriott just outside Las Vegas. Register here.
May 8-10, 2023 CAHIP Capitol Summit, Sacramento. Info.