KAILUA-KONA — Some Kaiser Permanente patients on Medicare were worried Monday after receiving official documents that left them with the impression they were losing coverage.
But they won’t be losing coverage.
The confusion was largely the result of government letters notifying people of a change in the program, which reached those people before Kaiser’s letters did, wrote Laura M. Lott, director of communications and public relations for Kaiser Permanente Hawaii.
“The (Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services) letter sent to seniors is very technical and not exactly ‘user friendly,’” Lott explained. “We’ve received many calls and want to make sure our seniors know that information is coming, and all existing Kaiser Permanente members will be offered the ‘new’ plan, so they can continue to see their same doctor and receive the same high-quality care and services at the same locations.”
The change will reduce the two current plans, “Essential” and “Essential Plus,” to one plan called “Senior Advantage Hawaii Island,” which goes into operation on Jan. 1, 2017.
It will affect 3,945 people currently on the island, she wrote.
“Unfortunately, the federal government does not allow us to make significant changes to an existing plan. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulations require us to dis-enroll members from the existing Medicare plan and offer a ‘new’ plan,” she wrote.
The letters from CMS have already arrived, but the new plan information is expected at the end of the week.
“We are concerned that this lag time may cause confusion for some seniors. It is unfortunate, but CMS rules prevented us from communicating about the new plans with members in advance of CMS notification (on) Oct. 1, 2016,” Lott wrote.
Thomas Hackett was one of people caught off guard by the letter, which stated “Your Medicare plan won’t be offered in 2017 … Kaiser Permanente is an HMO plan with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in Kaiser Permanente depends on contract renewal.”
“My wife and I are 67 years old and living in Ocean View for the past six years,” Hackett wrote to the WHT. “Kaiser has been in the news lately for the Maui Hospital transition. But I have not heard anything about the cessation of coverage here.”
Members on Maui and Hawaii Island have to re-enroll due to Medicare rules. It is entirely up to the patients if they re-enroll with Kaiser Permanente, Lott said, “although we hope they re-enroll.”
Lott referred people to the Hawaii Island-specific website at kp.org/medicare/hawaiiisland. It includes information on the plan changes, documents and needed paperwork. Additionally, the company can be reached at 1-800-805-2739, which is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.
There will be town hall meetings across the island for people who have questions with the plan in Kailua-Kona, Waimea and Hilo.
Hilo’s meetings are all at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. They are at 9 a.m., noon, 3 and 5 p.m. on Oct. 17. They are scheduled for 9 and 11 a.m., as well as 2 p.m., on Oct. 18.
The Kailua-Kona meetings are at the Royal Kona Resort. They are at 9 a.m., noon, 3 and 5 p.m. on Oct. 19 and 9 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. on Oct. 21.
The meeting in Waimea is at the Anna Ranch Heritage Center at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Oct. 20.
The changes come as the result of the fact premiums, co-pays and Medicare reimbursement don’t adequately cover the cost of providing the various services, Lott wrote.
The new plan will have a $194 premium, against the $63 of the Essential and the $202 Essential Plus plans.
“We know that these changes may be difficult for some seniors, so there are financial assistance programs. Given the rising cost of medical care and drugs and Medicare reimbursement rates, these changes are necessary. We want to be here to care for all our members for many years to come. To do that, we have to be financially stable,” she wrote.