Independence Blue Cross unveiled Medicare Advantage (MA) packages that the company said will greatly enhance benefits for its MA members, including a bigger allowance for vision, dental, hearing and over-the-counter items.
The insurer comprises a network of providers (PDF) numbering over 50,000, outstripping competing health plans in the Philadelphia region, which includes the city and the surrounding suburbs of Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties.
The MA enhancements touted by IBX include reducing premiums for its Personal Choice 65 PPO, while including a Part B giveback and a bigger allowance for vision, dental, hearing and over-the-counter items. The aim of the Part B giveback is to reduce the amount members pay each month for their Medicare Part B premium and will be available in Personal Choice 65 PPO and the Keystone 65 Liberty HMO plans.
The dental coverage will include a zero copayment for routine exams and cleanings. “Additionally, some plans include a dental allowance for dentures, fillings, crowns, and much more,” IBX said in a press release.
In some plans, routine vision and hearing exams will come with zero copayment and will in addition include an allowance for glasses and fittings and evaluations for hearing aids every year. IBX will also offer some plans zero monthly premiums and zero copayments for members visiting their primary care physicians.
Kortney Cruz, senior vice president of government markets at IBX, noted in the release that the company has been “in the Philadelphia area market for 85 years and are just as invested in it today as we were on day one. Those who have Medicare Advantage plans with us are more than members, they’re part of the Independence family. As such, we make sure they have the tools they need to live a healthy life.”
IBX offers to help members re-sign or new members sign up for the first time during the annual MA enrollment period between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7. In addition to the Personal Choice 65 PPO, members will also have the choice of signing up for the “tried-and-true Keystone 65 HMO plans,” according to the press release.
IBX, which serves more than 108,000 MA members, intends to address the social determinants of health by working with community organizations to provide transportation and access to food. Its MA plans will include fitness membership to all YMCAs in the coverage area at no cost and up to $125 per quarter for over-the-counter items.
Such efforts earned IBX the National Committee for Quality Assurance's (NCQA's) Health Equity Accreditation award, recognition that only 5% of the approximately 900 NCQA-accredited plans have received. Gregory E. Deavens, IBX’s president and CEO, said in a press release last week that “NCQA’s recognition is a true testament to our commitment to address the root causes of health inequity and create healthier outcomes for every person in every community we serve.”
IBX said the NCQA recognition underscores its efforts to remove race as a factor in clinical decision tools along with long-held medical beliefs that actually lead to poorer outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities. It also honors efforts to eliminate racial disparities in maternal morbidity, diabetes control and depression screening. IBX added that it supports organizations and individuals in southeastern Pennsylvania who strive to improve access to care and education opportunities for racial and ethnic minorities.