Cheryl Matheis of AARP, the nation's largest seniors organization, was quoted saying, "Historically, people don't use services as much as the services are available to them, because they're just not aware."
"The need for outreach became apparent in recent weeks following the release of three polls, USAToday said:,
- The National Council on Aging posed 12 questions about the law to 636 seniors and found that fewer than 17% of them knew half the answers. For instance, only one in three knew that Medicare will offer free annual wellness exams
- The Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit research organization, and Harris Interactive market research firm found similar confusion among both seniors and the general population.
"More than four in 10 people in the Kaiser poll wrongly," the article said, "believe the law included a government panel to make end-of-life decisions for Medicare patients. More than one-third in the Harris Poll said it included a government plan to compete with private insurers, something that was scuttled during congressional debate. 'The level of ignorance and misinformation is sort of astounding,' says Humphrey Taylor, chairman of the Harris Poll. 'It seems people are still reacting to the rhetoric, not the substance of what is in the bill, because they don't actually know what is or is not in the actual legislation.'"
"Despite outreach from the federal and state governments, insurers, businesses and consumer groups, however, it is up to the individual to seek the available care, coverage or tax credits… In the case of the health care law, the article reminds, a number of provisions kicking in this year must be claimed. Among them:
- Young adults. If they lack coverage, they can stay on their parents' plans up until they turn 26.
- Tax credits. As many as 4 million small businesses are eligible for tax credits of up to 35% of their health insurance costs.
- Preventive services. Consumers can obtain tests such as mammograms and colonoscopies without having to pay a share of the cost.
- High-risk coverage. People with pre-existing conditions or who are uninsured at least six months can get this coverage through a state or federal high-risk pool.
BloomBussinessWeek, yesterday, posted that "Aiming to ensure strong consumer protections and clear disclosures about retained asset accounts (RAAs), National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) President Rep. Robert R. Damron (KY) today released a draft Beneficiaries' Bill of Rights. The model legislation came on the heels of Rep. Damron’s August 4 announcement that NCOIL needed to provide guidance for the 44 states that do not currently regulate the use of such accounts..."
In NCOIL's announcement Damron said, "The model bill guarantees that life insurance consumers and beneficiaries will be fully protected during their greatest times of need. Our model would forbid insurers from using RAAs as a default method of paying death benefits and require that beneficiaries opt in to allow use of such accounts. The legislation would mandate that insurers using RAAs provide clear and comprehensive disclosure about beneficiaries' policy options and would require the specific disclosure that beneficiaries can write one single check to access the entire death benefit.
"…We are sending the model legislation to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in advance of the group’s summer meeting and would hope that the NAIC will use this as a focal point for any measure that they will develop. We think it addresses the concerns that have been raised by various attorneys general and others that have been investigating the issue. Legislators will be prepared to move on this model during our NCOIL Annual Meeting in November in order for legislatures to consider it in 2011 sessions."
National Conference of Insurance Legislators' Press Release
Proposed "Beneficiaries’ Bill of Rights"
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