Bravo

Bravo: Medicare Advantage

New Agent Contracting: 2011 - HealthSpring - New Agent Contracting

Broker Service: 1-866-442-7516

Customer Service: 1-800-291-0396

Website: www.bravohealth.com

Bravo News

November 28th, 2011

Health Plan Acquisitions – What Do They Mean?

In a very interesting article this morning in Health Leaders Media, Margaret Dick Tocknell discusses 5 major Health Plan acquisitions and what implications they may have.  The article also discusses the different types of acquisition models, and how they exemplify what is going on in the Health Insurance market currently.

Two of the more interesting sections revolve around carriers of interest to our agents, namely Highmark’s acquisition of the West Penn Allegheny Health System & CIGNA’s purchase of HealthSpring.  Agents involved in those markets should read the full article.

October 20th, 2011

CMS Issues Change in Enrollment Period Guidance

UnitedHealthcare has provided us critical information concerning changes in how they are dealing applications & enrollments moving forward during the AEP.  In the recently released Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 2012 enrollment and disenrollment guidance, CMS issued a change that could result in denied enrollments and affect your commissions when enrollment application forms are not completed accurately and completely.

In order for an MA organization to accept an election, a valid request must be made during an election period. It is the responsibility of the organization to determine the election period of each enrollment or disenrollment request. To make this determination, the organization may need to contact the individual directly. The plan may incorporate specific statements regarding eligibility of an election period with the enrollment or disenrollment request. However, if this information is not provided with the request, the plan must attempt to contact the individual by phone or other communication mechanism, and determine within the ten (10) day requirement if she/he is eligible to make an election at that time.

Though the CMS regulations state that the health plan has 10 days to contact the consumer and determine if they are eligible for the election period, it was later clarified and confirmed by CMS to be 7 calendar days, and the 10 day guidance was in error.

For full details on how this change could affect you, please read 2011 - CMS Change to Enrollment Timeline Guidance (89)

September 16th, 2011

Medicare Advantage Premiums Drop, Enrollment Rises

An article today in the USA Today discusses interesting items about Medicare Advantage plan enrollments and premiums, showing that in spite of the reduced reimbursements in the Health Care Reform package Medicare Advantage seems to be thriving.  The article, written by Kelly Kennedy, emphasizes “the private sector’s ability to lower costs on its own.”

You can read the whole article on USA Today’s website.

August 14th, 2011

Bravo & HealthSpring 2012 Benefits Available

Bravo & HealthSpring have released to their broker distribution their 2012 Medicare Advantage benefits.  Since the merger of Bravo & HealthSpring, these products are all available to contracted brokers.  Any brokers contracted previously with these carriers must recontract in order to sell for 2012 effective dates.

The benefits below have been filed with CMS, and are subject to change:

July 21st, 2011

Bravo/HealthSpring Issues Guidance on SoA Forms

We have received the following communication from Bravo/HealthSpring regarding Scope of Appointment forms:

Last week, the SDAC Committee (Sales Disciplinary Action Committee) reviewed a case regarding a Scope of Appointment form that was received with an application, but the prospect had checked a box on the Scope form instead of initialing.  The SDAC found the agent was in violation of a CMS requirement and issued a CMS warning letter to the agent.  The reason this was considered a CMS violation was because the form specifically states that the prospect should initial the box next to the plan type to be discussed by the agent.  This is a CMS form and must be completed as directed.  If the prospect puts a check in the box instead of his/her initials, it is the agent’s responsibility to review the form to ensure the prospect has initialed as required by CMS.  You can see an example of this form by viewing 2011 - Bravo - Scope of Appointment Example (80)

We firmly believe that the Scope of Appointment process will be closely scrutinized by CMS as we move into AEP, and we must ensure the agents are following the entire process completely. Please ensure this information is understood by the agents in your market.

Select a State

If your state is not blue on the map, Bravo does not have currently have plans available in your state.
You can also view non-state specific documents

About Bravo

At Bravo Health, we understand that people with Medicare today are more active in managing their own health than prior generations. Health care is changing, and more educated consumers of health care are at the front of that change. That's why we offer a variety of Medicare Advantage and Part D Prescription Drug plans that provide choice, as well as exceptional value.

Through these plans, Bravo Health currently serves a total of 200,000 members. We offer Medicare Advantage Plans and Part D Prescription Plans to members in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, D.C. We also offer Part D Prescription Drug Plans in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia.