Washington State - Switching from MA to MS

[wolf5150]

Helping a friend that lives in Washington, she is currently covered under a MA plan and becoming dissatisfied with it, she is wondering if an option exists for her to switch to a MS plan with a guarantee issue. I know each state/carrier has different guidelines. Anyone familiar with Washington state guidelines and various carrier guidelines regarding this type of switch? TIA!

 

[straightnochaser]

Washington State is only GI if switching from another Med Supp.. Unless they fall under any federal guidelines they would need to go through underwriting.

 

[Blaize]

Your friend may be in luck. Look into AARP/UnitedHealthcare supplements. At least for now, UHC considers WA State MAPD to be more comprehensive coverage and will Guarantee Issue to their Med Supps during an open window such as AEP, OEP, or SEP.

As far as I know, UHC's exception only applies to Washington State, and they could change it anytime, but they did say it would apply to AEP 2024.

 

[Cdevin]

This is interesting, is there anywhere that documents this? I have a client right now that I think would fit this billing.

 

[Blaize]

This is interesting, is there anywhere that documents this? I have a client right now that I think would fit this billing.

No, I did not see it in any formal announcement. However, it was discussed and included in a summary following one of last October's virtual sales meetings. I used it successfully for one new client during AEP but had to call my UHC rep to walk me through LEAN and answer the questions correctly, as it was not intuitive. The client also needed to submit proof of WA St residency and their current WA St MAPD plan. Once the Med supp was approved and issued, the client applied for PDP.

I would contact your WA St UHC sales rep to confirm this is still accurate information.