Insurance News

Due to Medicare regulatory guidance, the Special Election Period for Individuals Affected by a Government Entity-Declared Disaster or Other Emergency (Disaster/Emergency SEP) is changing effective April 1, 2025. Starting April 1, 2025 beneficiaries seeking to use the Disaster/Emergency SEP must call 1-800-MEDICARE. Brokers can no longer assist clients with these enrollments. What’s changing effective April […]

Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP) recently submitted formal comments in response to the proposed Contract Year (CY) 2026 Medicare Advantage and Part D rule (CMS4208-P). Representing over 100,000 licensed health insurance agents, brokers, consultants, and employee benefits specialists, NABIP emphasizes the critical role agents and brokers play in […]

States are increasingly joining multistate compacts to allow physician assistants (PAs) to practice across state lines, addressing a critical shortage in healthcare workers. The PA Licensure Compact, now adopted by 13 states including Delaware, Utah, and Wisconsin, aims to simplify this process by granting a “privilege to practice” in participating states without additional licenses. The […]

Centene has announced that starting January 1, 2025, it will no longer pay commissions to insurance brokers for enrolling or renewing members in its Medicare Part D plans due to changes from the Inflation Reduction Act. This decision, which will impact the livelihoods of brokers and the communities they serve, was communicated in an August […]

One of our clients just got scammed today. He received a phone call asking if he received his new Medicare card and he gave out his personal information believing it was a legitimate call. The scammers enrolled him in a Medicare Advantage plan and he lost his stand-alone prescription drug plan. He is currently struggling […]

With slow federal progress on AI regulations in healthcare, several states have taken proactive measures to protect residents. Colorado and California lead this evolving regulatory landscape, potentially shaping future national policies.  Colorado’s SB 205, signed by Governor Jared Polis, addresses AI use in critical decisions, focusing on preventing algorithmic bias, especially concerning genetic information. Consumer […]

The White House released a fact sheet on Tuesday detailing the launch of the “Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing,” co-chaired by the DOJ and FTC. In the fact sheet, the Biden administration outlines several actors that the Strike Force will focus on – including “insurance companies paying brokers to steer patients towards certain plans based […]

CMS finalized Medicare payment rates for hospital outpatient and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) services for calendar year 2024. Issued annually, this regulation traditionally sets payment rates for hospital outpatient departments and ASC services, as well as update policies related to reimbursement, coding and other areas. In this year’s final rule, CMS also included several provisions on enforcing […]

Englewood, FL (August 23, 2023) – Pope Insurance, a full-service insurance agency, recently hired Daniela Koci of Koci Insurance Services. In her role at Pope Insurance, Ms. Koci will focus on serving Medicare and Group Benefit clients. “We are excited to welcome Daniela to Pope Insurance,” said Carolyn Pope, Founder of Pope Insurance. “We believe […]

The DOL, HHS, and Treasury Department (tri-agencies) released a proposed rule and technical release earlier this week focused on mental health parity. While the proposed regulations do not make any sweeping changes to fiduciary responsibility, they do require plans and issuers to collect and evaluate relevant data to assess the impact of NQTLs on parity. […]