Medicare News
| For Immediate Release: | Contact: |
| Monday, June 28, 1999 | CMS Office of Public Affairs 202-690-6145 |
For questions about Medicare please call 1-800-MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov. |
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HMO PLAN OFFERED TO MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES IN DELAWARE
The Health Care Financing Administration today approved Principal Health Care of Delaware Inc. to offer managed care coverage to Medicare beneficiaries in Delaware.
Principal Health Care of Delaware will now be able to serve Medicare beneficiaries throughout Delaware, beginning July 1,1999. About 110,000 eligible Medicare beneficiaries live in the state.
Currently, about 6.5 million Medicare beneficiaries -- out of nearly 40 million aged and disabled Americans -- have enrolled in Medicare HMOs. HCFA, which oversees the Medicare program, has approved 16 applications this year for new or expanded service areas and has an additional 27 applications from managed care plans seeking to serve beneficiaries in new or expanded service areas.
Managed care and other new health care options, known as Medicare+Choice, are available where private companies choose to offer them. Original fee-for-service Medicare, currently chosen by more than 33 million beneficiaries, is available to all beneficiaries.
"We are pleased Principal Health Care has decided to serve Medicare beneficiaries in the state of Delaware," HCFA Administrator Nancy-Ann DeParle said. "While most beneficiaries are still receiving care through original fee-for-service Medicare, other managed care options are increasingly available and we welcome every opportunity to give seniors and the disabled more health plan choices."
Congress created Medicare+Choice in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to expand the types of health care options available to Medicare beneficiaries. As part of Medicare+Choice, Medicare now offers new preventive benefits and patient protections, as well as a far-reaching information program that includes a national toll-free phone number, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227 -- a new Internet site -- www.medicare.gov -- and a coalition of more than 200 national and local organizations to provide seniors more information.
