We’re now #1 in the individual California Medicare Supplement Market-April Underwriting Holiday and Bonus Program
We are incredibly excited to announce Blue Shield of California is now #1 by market share for individual Medicare Supplement plans in California. Over the last three years, we’ve grown our individual Medicare Supplement membership by over 70,000 subscribers to move from the #3 position into #1.
With a Blue Shield of California Medicare Supplement plan, your clients can count on the flexibility and freedom they need from a health plan.
Rich in benefits, our Medicare Supplement plans are designed to be affordable. They include basic gym access at no additional cost through SilverSneakers®, and several savings program opportunities1, which can help keep monthly plan rates even more affordable for your clients.
We also offer a full portfolio of Medicare plans, including Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, designed to fit your client’s budget and coverage needs with a wide selection of covered prescription drugs and an extensive network of doctors and specialists.
To celebrate and thank you for helping us achieve our #1 position; we’re offering a new Broker Bonus Program and Underwriting Holiday:
Underwriting Holiday
For a limited time, Medicare beneficiaries can enroll in a Blue Shield of California Medicare Supplement plan without answering health questions or obtaining underwriting approval during our Underwriting Holiday, between April 1, 2022, and April 30, 2022, for new applications with an effective date of May 1, 2022. This offer allows your clients to enroll in ANY2 available Blue Shield of California Medicare Supplement plan. Please see the 2022 Underwriting Holiday flyer for complete details.
Broker Bonus Program
Enroll your clients in a Blue Shield of California Medicare Supplement plan with MORE benefits. Earn a $250 bonus for every approved "new to Blue Shield" Medicare Supplement Plan G, Plan G Extra, and Plan G Inspire3 application with an effective date of May 1, 2022.
You can also earn a $50 Specialty bonus with every dental plan sold in conjunction with Medicare Supplement Plan G, Plan G Extra, and Plan G Inspire1 with an effective date of May 1, 2022.
For details, please review our 2022 Medicare Supplement plan bonus flyer for more information.
We’re here to support you, our broker partners, with the tools and resources you need to manage your book of business. Online
application status and
client lists help you save time and improve how you interact with your clients and prospects.
Blue Shield of California is a trusted and experienced health plan with the momentum to grow even more. Together, we can achieve better member outcomes.
Please visit our
Medicare Supplement plan page for more information on plan details, dues, saving program opportunities
1, and commissions.
1Savings due to increased efficiencies from administering Medicare Supplement plans under this program/service are passed on to the member.
2Plan F Extra is only available to applicants who attained age 65 before January 1, 2020, or first became eligible for Medicare benefits due to disability before January 1, 2020.
3Available in select counties in northern California.
SilverSneakers® is a registered trademark of Tivity Health, Inc. © 2022 Tivity Health, Inc. All rights reserved
Shield on Demand- See what's new
With Shield on Demand, you can customize a variety of materials, including flyers and side-by-side benefit highlights to meet your specific sales objectives and client's need. Our one-stop-shop digital platform provides immediate access to our most up-to-date, brand-approved sales tools.
Here's what's new this month:
We've also made updates with the latest information to the following:
For more information on how to use Shield on Demand, check out our
quick start guide or log in to
access Shield on Demand now.
Update: July 1, 2022, Medicare Supplement plan cycle
New changes to Medicare Supplement plans go into effect on July 1, 2022. To better help members plan for their health care costs, the 6-month rate guarantee increases to 12-months for open Medicare Supplement plans. For more information, please review our July Rate Action FAQs.
Also effective on July 1, 2022, Medicare Supplement Plan G Inspire plans will receive a rate alignment, and most open plans will receive a rate increase. Plan G Inspire rates will align with the rest of the open plan portfolio by moving to once-a-year rate action and single-age bands.
-
Once-a-year rate action will reflect both an age band (when applicable) and annual rate action.
-
Age bands will change from every two years to one year, resulting in a one-time rate increase to even-age band rates (e.g., 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82 and 84).
-
“Under 65” age rates will receive a rate reduction and be set at 2x the “Age 85+” rates.
Open Medicare Supplement plans A, F Extra, G, G Extra, and N moved to once-a-year rate action and single-age bands last year, effective July 1, 2021.
The Medicare Supplement rate action for July 1, 2022, includes open plans
The summary below provides a breakdown of the average rate increase for each Open plan and age band effective July 1, 2022.
-
Plan A will receive a rate pass, but age-band increases will apply
-
Plans F Extra, G, G Extra, G Inspire, and N will receive an average 4% rate increase
-
Age band 65: average 5.5% increase
-
Age bands 66 to 69: average 5.0% increase
-
Age bands 70 to 74: average 3.3% increase
-
Age bands 75+: average 3.8% increase
The impact of rate increases by age might deviate from the percentage shown due to rounding. Medicare Supplement rates are rounded to the nearest dollar.
All Closed Plans receive a rate pass effective July 1, 2022.
Dental/Vision Plan rate changes effective July 1, 2022, for Medicare Supplement open plan members.
-
Dental PPO Plan 1000: Increase from $35.00 to $36.10*
-
Dental PPO Plan 1500: Increase from $51.30 to $52.80*
-
Specialty Duo Dental + Vision: Decrease from $55.40 to $50.40
For a complete list of resources, including EOCs and rates sheets for closed plans, please visit our
Help current clients page.
* Rates before the $3 Dental Savings are applied. The savings are due to increased efficiencies from administering Medicare Supplement plans under the programs that are passed along to the subscriber.
Year-round support for your clients with qualifying life events
Your clients may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) if they've had certain life events. During a SEP, your clients can add or drop a plan whenever the life event occurs at any time of year.
Examples of life events include losing health coverage, moving locations, or changes in household.
For more information, please review our bulletin for SEPs for complex issues and our Products for Medicare-eligible clients page.
Your clients may be missing out on important benefits and services
We are offering a series of broker training webinars to bring you up to speed on our 2022 Dual Special Needs Plan (HMO D-SNP) products. We will share insights and best practices that can help transform the way you sell and discuss Dual Eligibility/LIS and other levels. We will also provide some selling tips when working with Dual-qualified beneficiaries.
With a Blue Shield TotalDual (HMO D-SNP) or Blue Shield Inspire (HMO D-SNP) plan, your clients get all of the following and more.
-
Access to Premier full network providers
-
Unlimited transportation to doctor appointments
-
Unlimited worldwide emergency/urgent care
-
Doctors on-call 24/7 by phone or video
-
Home meal delivery1
-
Dedicated Care Navigator to create your personalized care plan
Limitations may apply. Benefits vary by county and plan.
Register today for one of our 2022 Dual Special Needs Plan (HMO D-SNP) webinars, where you'll also get the latest California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) mandate information available and we answer your questions about
Cal MediConnect plans sunsetting on December 31, 2022.
April/May Webinar Dates
1Upon discharge from an inpatient hospital or skilled nursing facility. Covers 22 meals and 10 snacks per discharge. Coverage is limited to two discharges per year.
Blue Shield of California named one of the world’s most ethical companies
Blue Shield of California has been recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2022 by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.
We have received this designation for a sixth consecutive year – and 10th of the past 11 years. In 2022, Ethisphere recognized 136 organizations spanning 22 countries and 45 industries.
Read more by checking out the full article on our News Center.
Broker training dates and Helpful FAQs
We’re committed to providing you with the tools and resources to help our members navigate the complicated and evolving healthcare space. Broker training events are your opportunity to interact and ask questions with our Blue Shield team of subject matter experts.
Topics Include:
-
General 2022 Product Overviews and Q&A
-
Mastering Your Local Area Marketing
-
Medicare Supplement plan Q&A
April Dates and Topics
May Dates and Topics
Also, please remember to bookmark the
News and Announcement page on Broker Connection for helpful information and FAQs.
Blue Shield members can get free over-the-counter COVID-19 tests
Starting April 4, 2022, beneficiaries enrolled in a Medicare plan with Part B benefits can get up to 8 free FDA-approved, authorized or cleared over-the-counter tests per calendar month from participating pharmacies and health care providers for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Please note that Medicare won’t cover over-the-counter COVID-19 tests for those who only have Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) coverage.
This benefit applies to individuals enrolled in the following Blue Shield of CA/Blue Shield Promise plan types:
-
Medicare Advantage
-
Cal MediConnect
-
Medicare Supplement
-
Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (PDP), if the member has Part B. Medicare won’t cover over-the-counter COVID-19 tests for those who only have Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) coverage. Note: Minimum coverage requirements for having a Part D plan: Part A and Part D OR Part B and Part D.
Only participating eligible pharmacies and health care providers can submit claims to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under this initiative. If a Medicare beneficiary submits a claim for an over-the-counter COVID-19 test, the beneficiary will receive a letter explaining that they must have the participating eligible pharmacy or health care provider that gave them the tests submit the claim on their behalf. People with Medicare are not eligible to be reimbursed through this initiative for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests purchased before April 4, 2022.
Member communications and updates to member-facing FAQs are in development and intended to go out by the end of April. For more details on Medicare coverage for COVID-19, please visit our Medicare FAQ
page and review our testing coverage grid
here.
Tools at Your Fingertips ~ Scheduled Maintenance: commissions systems
We want to provide you with all the resources you need to succeed. Here are some tools to help you be an expert guide for your clients when discussing Blue Shield of California plans:
*Scheduled commissions/broker compensation systems update April 22-24
Please note that we will be performing a scheduled update and system maintenance to our commissions and broker compensation systems beginning at
8 pm Friday, April 22, 2022, through Sunday, April 24, 2022.
As a result, the following system functions will be unavailable during this time:
-
Automated Broker Appointment Applications
-
Access to Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) Information
-
Access to Commission Statements
Access and system functionality will be restored by
7 am on Monday, April 25, 2022.
We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.
Stay current on the latest health news from Blue Shield of California by visiting our
News Center, or receive updates in your inbox by
subscribing today.
Y0118_22_175A_C 04142022