Most of the people who are in the affected HMOs will have at least one other Medicare HMO available to them. And, one additional HMO has been approved to offer managed care coverage to Medicare beneficiaries in the Capital District. But some counties will no longer have an HMO option available for Medicare. HMOs that are terminating their Medicare contracts should have already sent letters to their members about their intent to withdraw from the Medicare program. These beneficiaries will continue to be covered by Medicare after 1999.
Beneficiaries have to make choices about their health care.
They will receive information through the mail. Members of HMOs that are terminating contracts should have received a letter by September 15. Unless there are no longer any HMO options available, the letter will include a list of HMOs that will offer plans in their area. Seniors should get more details from those plans and learn the questions to ask in order to compare options to make fully informed choices. It is a good idea to purchase a policy early enough to have Medigap coverage begin at the same time that an individual returns to original Medicare.