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Medicare Tips and Reminders

Making plan changes

The Medicare Advantage open enrollment period (MA OEP) runs January 1 through March 31, 2024. This enrollment period allows those already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan to make another change if they missed their opportunity to change during AEP — or if they’re not happy with the plan they’ve chosen. To learn about additional special enrollment periods, please visit medicare.gov.

Adding comprehensive dental

All 2024 individual Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage (HMO) plans have an embedded preventive dental care benefit through Delta Dental of Washington. If your client is interested in comprehensive dental coverage — such as coverage for crowns, oral surgery, or implants — they can contact Kaiser Permanente Member Services through March 31, 2024, to add Advantage Plus, our optional supplemental benefit (OSB) Delta Dental PPO Plus PremierTM (PDF) plan for an additional $58 monthly premium. Newly enrolled clients can add the OSB dental plan within 30 days of their plan effective date anytime in the year.

For more information, please visit kp.org/advantageplus.

Nationwide Travel Benefit

With the addition of our nationwide travel benefit in 2024, members enrolled in the Key, Vital or Essential Medicare Advantage plan will be able to access routine/non-emergent medical care at in-network cost-shares in all 50 states. For a smooth billing and claims process it is recommended members use a MultiPlan provider when visiting states where Kaiser Permanente does not operate. Locate MultiPlan providers on our online provider directory  and select “MA Travel Benefit Providers”.

In states where Kaiser Permanente operates, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington, D.C, members must seek any non-emergent care from a Kaiser Permanente facility or provider. Check out Kp.org/medicaretravel/wa for FAQs and more information about this great new benefit.

Hearing Aids

For the 2024 plan year, hearing aid allowances increased from $3,000 to $4,000 on all individual Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MAPD) plans, remaining at $1500 on the Basic (MA-only) plan. This allowance will be available to members every 24 months instead of once per calendar year as in prior years. Members must use Medicare Advantage HMO network contracted hearing aid providers or a Kaiser Permanente Hear Center for hearing aid purchase.

Kaiser Permanente Hear Centers

Search “Hearing Aid” when searching for a contracted hearing aid provider on the Online provider directory. If your client used their hearing aid allowance in 2023, the benefit was reset effective January 1.

Member ID card

New members who applied during AEP will receive their ID cards within 10 days of their January 1 coverage effective date. New members who submit their enrollment after AEP using a SEP will receive ID cards within 10 days of their enrollment request being processed.

Renewing members will not receive new ID cards, with the exception of Key, Vital and Essential members who will get an updated card with the MultiPlan logo on the back to designate their new nationwide travel benefit. ID numbers for members of these plans will remain the same.

As a reminder, members use their Kaiser Permanente ID card to receive covered services from Delta Dental of Washington participating providers. Separate dental ID cards are not provided.

New members can contact the New Member Welcome Team at 206-630-0029 or 888-844-4607 (TTY 711), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for help in transitioning care, prescriptions, finding a doctor, and more.

Questions?

Contact the Medicare Sales Producer Support team at 800-581‑-8252, Monday through Friday, 8:30 ‑a.m. to 5 p.m., or kpwa.medicare@kp.org. Be sure to check out the  kp.org/wa/producer-medicare producer site for sales and plan resources and helpful links to other information.

 

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