Neishloss& Fleming Inc.

The AARP® Prescription Discount Program provided by Walgreens will no longer be offered as a value-added service unique to AARP® Medicare Supplement insurance plan holders as of March 31, 2012. Beginning April 1, 2012, a new prescription discount program – administered by Catalyst Rx – will be available to all AARP® members as a membership benefit.

This new program will enable AARP members to take advantage of exclusive discounts on FDA-approved prescription medications and specialty drugs at more than 55,000 participating retail pharmacies and via mail order.

Current plan holders who used the prescription discount program in the last year will receive a letter in the mail explaining this transition as well as a prescription ID card for the new discount program.

For more information regarding this new program please read: 2012 - UHC - New AARP Rx Discount Program (1)

UnitedHealthcare now has available a new, updated Medicare Solutions FMO Agent Guide.  The updated guide features expanded sections on educational and marketing/sales events and activities as well as expected performance standards, including:

• How to conduct educational and marketing/sales activities
• Compliance and ethics
• Complaints and allegations of agent misconduct

This guide is designed to be a one-stop, comprehensive document that outlines UnitedHealthcare’s rules, policies and procedures and provides you with resources on how to conduct business in an efficient, compliant manner.  As agent, you will find there is a lot of useful information in the guide to help you maintain a successful, compliant relationship with UnitedHealthcare. In it, you will find information on certification and training, brand and logo usage, and agent performance standards. Be sure to discard any previous versions of the Agent Guide. The updated guide became effective Feb. 24, 2012.

The updated UnitedHealthcare Medicare Solutions FMO Agent Guide is now available here:

UnitedHealthcare has in place a very beneficial program for those agents selling AARP® Medicare Supplements. The Authorized to Offer (A2O) Program recognizes agents who have met and continue to meet all certification standards, demonstrate competency on AARP® Medicare Plans and serve AARP members’ best interests. The A2O Program offers two levels:

• Level 1 – Agents who have an A2O Level 1 status have access to marketing and enrollment materials for the product(s) they are certified to sell.
• Level 2 – Agents who have an A2O Level 2 status have access to all Level 1materials as well as exclusive Level 2 marketing materials.

This year A2O Level 2 agents will have access for the first time to personalized promotional materials.  With just few simple steps, you can add your name and contact information to personalize these items:

• Magnetic Business Cards
• Magnetic Memo Clips
• Pens

A new tent card is also available for A2O Level 2 agents. Tent cards can be displayed on your desk, in the reception area of your office, at community meetings (formal marketing/sales events), and other events.

How do you order these exclusive items?  Visit the UnitedHealthcare Producer Portal to access the Agent Tool Kit. You can also read 2012 - UHC - A20 Program Benefits (2) for more information about these exclusive items and details about the A2O program.

Following recent discussions with The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), UnitedHealthcare has been required to communicate with and provide training to their contracted Agents as follows:

• Code of Conduct/Conflict of Interest Policy Awareness — Contracted and vendor agents working on MA or Part D programs must read and attest that they understand and will follow all applicable policies of the UnitedHealth Group Code of Conduct (including the Conflict of Interest policy).
  • All contracted agents must take action by March 31, 2012.  See below for instructions on how to access the Code of Conduct and complete the attestation.
• Fraud, Waste and Abuse (FWA) & Compliance Training — Agents working on MA or Part D programs must have compliance program training and FWA training within 90 days of employment and annually thereafter by the end of the year.
  • Contracted agents satisfy this requirement with the completion of the annual certification modules, specifically the ‘Ethics and Compliance’ module. There are no additional requirements at this time for agents who have certified.
• Exclusion/ Sanction/ Debarment Checks — All agents must be in good standing with the Federal health care programs. Current agents working on MA or Part D programs must be checked to ensure that none are excluded from participating in Federal health care programs.  For information or access to the exclusion databases, see http://oig.hhs.gov/exclusions/index.asp and https://www.epls.gov/
  • Contracted agents are reviewed for excluded status as part of the current UnitedHealthcare contracting process.

UnitedHealthcare is providing an online Code of Conduct/Conflict of Interest Module and Attestation form for you to meet the requirement of the first issue noted above. The module is now available through the LearnShare section of the the UnitedHealthcare Broker Portal. The information is presented in the form of a presentation with links to additional resources. The Module also includes the full UnitedHealth Group Code of Conduct/Conflict of Interest document: UnitedHealth Group Code of Conduct; Our Principles of Ethics and Integrity.

• The Code of Conduct/Conflict of Interest Module and Attestation form can be accessed through the Learning Center on the UnitedHealth Group Agent websites:
  • For FMO and Downline agents use https://www.unitedhealthproducers.com
  • For ICA and Telesales use https://www.unitedhealthadvisors.com
• The module is located immediately below the Prerequisite section.
• Complete the module by agreeing with the attestation statement and submitting your electronic attestation form on the final page of the module.
• The module takes approximately 5-10 minutes to complete
• The Module and attestation form must be completed immediately but no later than March 31, 2012.

Please Note — When staff members at N&F took the course today, there was no link to click on to “Agree” to accept the Code of Conduct.  However, when we reached the end of the presentation and closed the window, it counted as completed.

In a press release found on Market Watch, UnitedHealthcare announced that it has signed a new agreement to be able to offer the SilverSneakers program in its Medicare Advantage plans through 2014.  UnitedHealthcare first started offering SilverSneakers on select plans in 2004.  For 2012, members in 35 states will have access to the benefit through their UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan.

SilverSneakers is one of the nation’s leading fitness solutions designed to keep older adults active and healthy. The SilverSneakers Fitness Program was founded in 1996 and serves 46 clients with more than 7.8 million eligible members. The Healthways national fitness center network offers convenient access to more than 14,000 participating fitness and wellness facilities nationwide.

You can read the entire article on the Market Watch website.