Humana ACA Commissions/New Rates

[Ann H]

What happened to sending in a cancelation letter stating please cancel my policy on 12-31-xx Just my thoughts on this.

The Open Enrollment is over by then. You'll be going 12 months without coverage unless you can cancel it before the end of open enrollment and take a short-term plan for the remaining days of December, or unless you can instruct Humana not to default auto enroll.

 

[anonymous1]

So when oct 1 starts the have Humana find a better plan get the subsidy ECt what ever. They fax the cancelation in then. That way Humana cannot renew and trap them in by default I'm not sure what I'm missing

 

[AllenChicago]

What happened to sending in a cancelation letter stating please cancel my policy on 12-31-xx Just my thoughts on this.

I typed several questions into the little box on the left side of the Humana webinar screen today and received answers to most of them in real time.

One of the questions had to do with a Humana client cancelling her Humana plan, even if she previously chose to change her renewal date to keep the same plan for an additional year. The response was that (paraphrasing) There's no contract. A person can change to an Exchange plan at any time during open enrollment.

Another had to do with high-deductible HSA Humana plans. Despite what they said in the webinar about existing policyholder plans being "made compliant", most HDHP/HSA plans will need to be totally canceled. Maybe Humana will not have any HDHPlans?

So, even though the Humana choices are the most complicated I've seen, we have to keep in mind that no matter what option the client chooses, or is automatically assigned to, he/she has until March 15, 2014 to change their mind and get another on or off Exchange policy from Humana, or any other carrier for that matter.

After about 40 minutes into today's Humana webinar, I actually started to feel GRATEFUL that my state (Illinois) is not allowing any carriers to play games with the policy renewal dates. It's BOOM..January 1st, and everyone who didn't choose another exchange or non-exchange QHP will be converted to a Humana, Blue Cross, Aetna, Unitedhealth, etc., ACA-compliant plan in the blink of an eye. It will make people mad who didn't read the letters they received from carriers over the prior 3 months, or respond to their agent, but that's too bad. It's SIMPLE, with no bull to delay the inevitable.
-ac

 

[Ann H]

So when oct 1 starts the have Humana find a better plan get the subsidy ECt what ever. They fax the cancelation in then. That way Humana cannot renew and trap them in by default I'm not sure what I'm missing

So, let's take that example again, and use the method you mentioned above.

* The client has Humana.
* The client extends their Humana renewal to December 2014.
* Open enrollment in the year 2014 ends on December 7th, not March. (The March extension is only for the first open enrollment that begins 10/1/2013.)
* The client selects their ACA compliant plan, but it's not Humana. It's Aetna.
* Early in OE (let's say November), the client completes their enrollment in Aetna for an effective date of 1/1/2014.
* Humana is set to default auto enroll them on 12/30/2014 for a Humana ACA compliant plan.
* If the client doesn't do something to stop that default auto enrollment, then Humana's default auto enrollment will be an SEP (due to the current plan ending), and the client is stuck with it for a year, because they don't have another SEP available to them (unless the client can prove that the carrier or agent did something wrong and enrolled them in the wrong plan, which opens a new SEP).
* So, to avoid that, you are recommending that the client should fax a cancellation notice to Humana. When? Effective 12/29/2014 before the auto-enroll happens, and then takes a short-term plan for 2 days? Effective 12/1/2014 and takes a short-term plan for 31 days? That may be okay for a healthy and risk tolerable client, but not all clients. It seems to me that a form or letter instructing Humana to NOT default auto enroll them in a Humana ACA compliant plan is a better choice.

Let's even change that scenario from 2014 to 2013. Let's say the client does NOTHING about the Humana renewal strategy offer. So, the client is in group B where the renewal date is not delayed, and their plan must become ACA compliant 1/1/2014, if I understood today's webinar correctly. So, Humana auto enrolls them 12/31/2013 for an ACA plan effective 1/1/2014. The open enrollment extends to March 2015 this year, so they have time to change that, I think. Do they? If their plan became effective 1/1/2014, and they don't realize the error for a few weeks, can they still change plans in OE even though the first plan has been in effect for a few weeks? I know that CMS was saying they can change their mind, but how about after the policy is issued and effective? Maybe an MAPD agent who deals with CMS a lot can answer that (I do group & IFP but not Medicare).

 

[taterpeeler]

ann, im going to bed but to answer your question... once an election has gone into effect the election period is over

 

[kahlestyle]

Ann, I was going to go to bed too
But now I'm going to shoot myself in my fuggin head
Good bye, Sweet Forum, I will miss you

 

[Post Quartermaster]

What happened to sending in a cancelation letter stating please cancel my policy on 12-31-xx Just my thoughts on this.

My thoughts, exactly.

 

[FLM2]

So, let's take that example again, and use the method you mentioned above.

Let's even change that scenario from 2014 to 2013. Let's say the client does NOTHING about the Humana renewal strategy offer. So, the client is in group B where the renewal date is not delayed, and their plan must become ACA compliant 1/1/2014, if I understood today's webinar correctly. QUOTE]

I have the Group 2 letter and it has the same options as Group 1 for extension, the only difference in the groups is that Group 2 will get a premium increase on December 1st if they choose Option A.

 

[HealthGuy]

what a headache...any further clarification on this Humana renewal grey area?

 

[taterpeeler]

if u will let me wake up I will call my h1 rep and have a come jesus meeting