—Understanding the campaign's importance from the patient-perspective
By now you’ve seen the Plan for Duke commercials and heard the radio ads. This campaign, which runs until late January 2017, was created to proactively educate and help consumers understand changes to their health insurance options and encourage them to take an active role to ensure they have access to their trusted Duke physicians and providers.
Health insurance has changed a lot in the last several years, especially with the passage of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA). The good news is that more consumers now have access to health coverage. However, their plan options, costs, and access may vary from year-to-year depending on their insurer and where they live. This is, in part, why the Plan for Duke campaign is so important.
We asked Rebecca McHenry, DHIP Associate Vice President for Managed Care Contracting, for guidance on what you should share with your patients, should they ask questions about open enrollment:
- Direct them to www.PlanforDuke.com for helpful information, videos and county-by-county listing of health plans that include Duke.
- Patients can also call the Duke Consultation and Referral Center —a hotline available weekdays between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.— at 919-385-0556.
- If a patient is transitioning their care to a non-Duke provider, help them by issuing refills on vital medications to prevent delays or lapses in treatment before their current plan ends.
- Determine if patients might need prior approval authorizations for certain medications if they switch providers.
- Patients who previously had Aetna or United Healthcare will be switching to Blue Cross Blue Shield. Inform them that they must complete prior approval forms and CoverMyMeds drug authorization requests during the first two weeks of 2017.
- Determine if ongoing courses of treatment for your United Healthcare and Aetna patients who plan to switch to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC will require BCBSNC authorization for treatment plans and services carrying over to 2017. This includes necessary authorizations for:
- Continued patient access to rented medical equipment and supplies
- Ongoing patient access to certain therapeutic services
