CMS’ New Error-Ridden Plan Finder Leads Senators to Push for More Info on SEPs

Medicare open enrollment for 2020 coverage ended Saturday, Dec. 7, and while the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) indicated a special enrollment period (SEP) for seniors who enrolled in a plan based on erroneous information, senators are calling for CMS to specify information regarding the SEP and make it available for enrollees throughout 2020.

Since the Medicare Plan Finder’s (MPF) rollout in late August, users have reported problems including cost and coverage information that is inconsistent with the information on insurance company websites.

Incorrect prescription drug pricing was also listed as a problem. On Dec. 5,  a group of 15 United States Senators addressed a letter to CMS Administrator Seema Verma that read, in part,

Unfortunately, people with Medicare may not realize they received erroneous information from the MPF until they visit their pharmacy well into 2020.

For more on the inaccuracies regarding the MPF tool, check out last week’s Hertel Report post.

In a Nov. 27 blog post, CMS addressed the reported “glitches” and “malfunctions” with the Plan Finder by stating, “Let’s be clear: the new Plan Finder has experienced no outages since it was launched. It displays the most current and accurate information on premiums, deductibles and cost sharing that Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans provide.”

The agency went on to boast a 14% increase in traffic on the MPF compared to last year and stated users are navigating the site with more ease after 57%  more got through to their plan results lists than previous years.

Despite CMS believing the MPF displays the most “current and accurate information,” officials told Kaiser Health News that beneficiaries would have the option to switch plans in 2020 because of the tool’s misinformation.

CMS provided few details on a what those options would be and when a special enrollment period would be implemented, which served as the basis of the senators’ letter.

The senators wrote:

People with Medicare rely on the MPF to choose the best coverage for their health and financial needs and they should be able to trust the information provided is accurate and complete.

One of the larger changes to the MPF noted by critics is that plans with the lowest premiums are now automatically placed on top, rather than sorting the plans by total cost as the previous plan finder did. Premiums are only part of the cost, not the full cost.

For more on the special enrollment period for seniors and people with disabilities, check out Kaiser Health News and the Associated Press reporting.

Also take a look at this CNBC article for more alternatives if the wrong plan was chosen during OEP.

View CMS’ blog post on the MPF on the agency’s site.