Medicare info available on U.S. government site
Designed for beneficiaries
The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the agency that runs Medicare, has created a new Web site: www.Medicare.gov.
Designed with the beneficiary in mind, www. Medicare.gov offers a variety of information about Medicare, including details of new choices available under the Balanced Budget Act.
However, the site also provides information that may be of interest to health care providers, including a "Medicare Compare" database that gives details about the managed care plans that serve Medicare beneficiaries.
"Medicare Compare" contains information about accredited managed care plans that already serve nearly 6 million Medicare beneficiaries across the country. The information is compiled by HCFA with cooperation from managed care plans and will be updated quarterly.
Users select own info
"Medicare Compare" contains the following information:
1. Toll-free telephone numbers and Web site addresses for health plans.
2. Service areas listed by state, zip code, and county so beneficiaries can compare services in their own geographic areas.
3. Benefit and service packages offered by each plan, including detailed information on premiums, copays/deductibles, and more.
Users can select the level of detail they want to know about the plans, searching either by state, county, or zip code.
In addition, users can display side-by-side comparisons of services offered by two health plans and search for a specific type of service such as vision or podiatry care.
A variety of other information is available at the World Wide Web site, including a section about new managed care options for Medicare beneficiaries and a section on reporting fraud and abuse. n
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