Medicare Open Enrollment Guidelines

The Medicare Open Enrollment Period (OEP) for Medicare Advantage and the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug plans begins October 15 and will continue through December 7.

Mutual of Omaha will begin accepting applications with a January 1, 2019 effective date on October 1, 2018.

OEP provides you an opportunity to help those individuals who plan to disenroll from their current Medicare Advantage plan and want to return to Original Medicare and purchase a Medicare supplement policy with an effective date of January 1, 2019.

It is important to follow the guidelines below and provide the proper documentation with your client’s application to help prevent any delays in processing.

Required Documentation
For individuals voluntarily disenrolling from their MA plans:

  • Complete the “Previous or Existing Coverage Information” section on the application and submit one (1) of the following with the application:
    • A copy of the applicant’s MA plan’s termination notice (needed if applying for Guaranteed Issue);
    • A copy of the letter the applicant sent to their MA plan requesting disenrollment (dated October 15th or later); or
    • A signed statement that the applicant has requested to be disenrolled from their MA plan.

For individuals whose MA plans are terminating:

  • Complete the “Previous or Existing Coverage Information” section of the application send the following with the application:
    • Page 1 of their termination letter from their current carrier, or
    • If they do not have their termination letter, a legible copy or image of their Medicare Advantage card will be accepted. A legible copy or image of a Medicare Advantage card will only be accepted for individuals whose plans are terminating not for those who are voluntarily disenrolling from their MA plan.

Med Supp e-App Process:
While in the application process:

  • Click on the “Attach Eligibility Documents” button, and
  • Attach PDFs of the necessary documentation to be submitted with the application. Documents can not be attached via the e-App process after the application is submitted.

The e-App provides a validation message, which will indicate whether the current MA plan your client is enrolled in has been terminated, meaning the carrier has terminated the plan. This creates a guaranteed issue situation and the message returned will indicate your client does not need to provide proof of disenrollment.

Note: Individuals who are not eligible for guaranteed issue must complete the health and medication questions on the application. Plans D, G and N are not available for guaranteed issue in most situations.
 

Providing Documentation After an Application is Submitted:
If the required documentation is not available at the time the application is submitted, or in the case of an e-App an electronic copy can not be created and attached, it may be faxed at a later date following the steps below:

  • Step 1.  Obtain the policy number (The policy number will appear on the Case Monitoring Report on Sales Professional Access (SPA) or on the Med supp e-App dashboard for applications submitted via the e-App)
  • Step 2.  Write the policy number on the documentation
  • Step 3.  Fax the documentation to 402-997-1920

For general information, please call Mutual of Omaha’s Sales Support at 800-693-6083.
 

Medicare Open Enrollment Guidelines
 

#goldencareagent
#mutualofomaha