Medicare enrollment for 2019 started this week and many seniors and families are expressing concerns about the significant change happening with private Medicare plans available in our region.

Seniors eligible for Medicare have several options to secure the best coverage possible to meet their needs. Options include selecting Original Medicare Parts A and B and buying a private Supplement plan to cover out-of-pocket expenses or selecting a private Medicare Advantage plan available through five different insurance companies.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decided to make a significant change for 2019 by eliminating the option of Medicare Cost plans for 66 counties in Minnesota, including Brown and Nicollet. This change by CMS has been communicated directly to Medicare beneficiaries, prompting them to consider new options for coverage in 2019. Historically, local doctors and hospitals were included as in-network providers for most all Medicare plans; however that is changing Jan. 1, 2019.

Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Minnesota decided to exclude Allina Health and Sleepy Eye Medical Center in some of its Medicare plans for 2019. Both of our organizations appealed this decision by Blue Cross Blue Shield, but they were not willing to include Allina Health and Sleepy Eye Medical Center in all their network plans despite the fact that more than 90 percent of area seniors get much of their health care from our two organizations.

The specific plans Allina Health and Sleepy Eye Medical Center will be out of network are only the BCBS Medicare Advantage PPO Core, Choice, Complete Plans for residents in Brown, Nicollet, Watonwan, and Blue Earth counties in our region. Individuals that purchase or currently have BCBS Medicare Supplement plans (Senior Gold and Basic) can continue to receive in-network care from Sleepy Eye Medical Center and Allina Health and are not impacted by this change.

There are many other local Medicare Advantage plans with great benefits available for seniors with full in-network access for Allina Health and Sleepy Eye Medical Center. These plans include Allina Health Aetna, UCare, Medica and Humana.

If individuals have questions about their Medicare coverage and options, we recommend talking with our local community insurance brokers.

Unfortunately, this issue of local doctors being carved out of networks is becoming more common and will also be impacting individuals under age 65 purchasing insurance through MNSure this fall. We will provide another update to our communities in the next couple weeks on which MNSure plans will include Allina Health and Sleepy Eye Medical Center. Allina Health and Sleepy Eye Medical Center are grateful for the relationship we have with our patients and communities and look forward to continue providing the very best health care close to home.