HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- With Capital BlueCross' new product offerings recently approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Medicare beneficiaries now have more choices when selecting their health care and prescription drug coverage.
"There is a lot of change underway in the Medicare world," said Anita M. Smith, Capital BlueCross president & CEO. "And change - particularly in something as important as your health care coverage - can be very stressful. We're focused on working hard to make that change simple, and as beneficial as it possibly can be for seniors. We've made certain the products they know and trust - like SeniorBlue - continue to be there as they've always been."
SeniorBlue, offered by Capital BlueCross through its wholly owned subsidiary Keystone Health Plan Central, has been in existence for almost a decade and is the largest Medicare Advantage plan in the area. Building on that foundation, Capital BlueCross is rolling out a number of new options for consumers through Keystone Health Plan Central and another wholly owned subsidiary, Capital Advantage Insurance Company. These include four different health maintenance organization (HMO) options (one without drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries with drug coverage from other programs, such as TRICARE) and one new preferred provider organization (PPO) plan. In addition, a stand-alone prescription drug plan, called SecureRx, will be made available through arrangements made by Capital BlueCross to people in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
These new offerings are in direct response to the creation of a new prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries called Medicare Part D, made possible by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003.
The SeniorBlue options are based on the level of co-pays and deductibles, and will be available to individuals and group customers in the following 15 counties: Berks, Centre, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Juniata, Lehigh, Mifflin, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Schuylkill, Snyder and Union. In addition to those counties, SeniorBlue PPO is also offered in Adams, Franklin, Fulton, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties.
Open enrollment for any of these new products for current Medicare beneficiaries begins on Nov. 15, 2005. In addition, those turning 65 years old have the three months prior to their birthday through three months after their birthday month to enroll. These new products are also available to Capital BlueCross' group customers, through their dedicated sales representatives.
For more information about any of these new Medicare offerings, readers can go to http://www.capbluecross.com and click on the Medicare product link, or call 1-800-990-4201 (tdd: 1-800-779-6961).
Capital BlueCross, Keystone Health Plan Central and Capital Advantage Insurance Company are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Association
Capital BlueCrossCONTACT: Joseph Butera of Capital BlueCross, +1-717-541-6139,Joe.Butera@capbluecross.com
Web site: http://www.capbluecross.com/
