The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 created new health care options, called Medicare+Choice, for the millions of Americans who rely on Medicare. Just as important, Medicare beneficiaries now have new preventive health benefits and new patient protections. To help beneficiaries maximize their use of both new benefits and program flexibility, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) is initiating an extensive education program to help beneficiaries make more informed choices about Medicare.

Medicare&You, HCFA's comprehensive information program, provides beneficiaries with accurate, easy-to-understand information about their benefits, rights, and health insurance options so they can become more active participants in their health care decisions. This is the largest and most comprehensive educational effort in the history of Medicare. This effort relies on broad-based feedback from beneficiaries, their families, Congress and organizations that provide care and help beneficiaries make health care choices.

As part of Medicare&You, HCFA is conducting an ongoing, comprehensive evaluation -- learning from beneficiaries what works best for them -- in the five states which piloted the information program in 1998: in Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Oregon and Washington in 1998. The results of this evaluation will guide Medicare&You for the year 2000 and beyond.

The National Medicare Education Program

Medicare&You handbook. In early November 1998, HCFA mailed the first Medicare&You handbook to 5.1 million Medicare beneficiaries in five pilot states -- Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Oregon and Washington. A condensed Medicare &You bulletin was mailed to beneficiaries in the remaining 45 states and territories. HCFA chose a phased-in approach to understand how best to reach beneficiaries about Medicare. That strategy, endorsed by the Institute of Medicine and the American Association of Retired Persons, allowed HCFA to evaluate and test each phase of the ongoing campaign.

Medicare&You 2000 will be mailed to all Medicare beneficiary households beginning September 15, 1999. The handbook includes descriptions of the rights and protections enjoyed by Medicare beneficiaries, new preventive benefits and descriptions of available health plan options including original fee-for-service Medicare and managed care organizations.

Improvements to Medicare&You 2000 were based on evaluations received from beneficiaries who received the handbook in 1998. Changes to the handbook include:

• Up-front summary. Rather than reading the handbook cover-to-cover, many beneficiaries filed it for later reference. Medicare&You 2000 will now include three pages summarizing key information for easy reading and to highlight important changes to Medicare. Readers can obtain more details in later in the guide.
  
  
• Local plan quality and performance information. The handbook will now include a sample of quality and beneficiary satisfaction information about managed care plans and some quality information about fee-for-service. Additional information will be available through 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) and www.medicare.gov.
  
  
• Additional feedback. HCFA will now include a postcard in a sample of handbooks to gather more feedback for continuous quality improvement.
  

Internet Activities. In June of 1998, HCFA launched the beneficiary Internet site, www.medicare.gov. Information on the site includes the current Medicare&You handbook, lists of resources for beneficiaries and people who work with beneficiaries, general information about Medicare and, on the Medicare Compare page, detailed comparisons of the benefits and costs of managed care plans is available by community. Consumer satisfaction surveys and standardized performance measurement systems of available managed care plans are also available on Medicare Compare. In addition, www.medicare.gov hosts Nursing Home Compare, which includes detailed information about individual nursing homes across the country.

On September 15, 1999, detailed plan information will be updated on Medicare Compare, including the addition of the Medicare&You 2000 handbook. Specific information about individual Medigap policies is also expected to be added to the website.

Toll-Free Medicare Helpline. 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is now available across the United States. The toll-free telephone line, phased in across the country earlier this year, operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is staffed by customer service representatives between 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday. At other times, the telephone line provides pre-recorded information which can help callers request local Medicare Compare information, copies of the Medicare&You handbook in English or Spanish or answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Customer service representatives are available to help answer general Medicare questions and questions related to Medicare health plan choices, process requests for plan comparison information and plan disenrollment forms and make referrals to other information sources where appropriate. The service accommodates both English and Spanish-speaking callers and offers a TTY line (telecommunications device for the deaf and hearing impaired): 1-877-486-2048.

National Alliance Network. HCFA has enlisted national and local partners to support and participate in the National Medicare Education Program. More than 200 national and local organizations that work on behalf of aged and disabled Americans are involved in this public-private partnership. Together with HCFA, these national partners are reaching out to other organizations at the state and local levels. They, in turn, are working with Medicare beneficiaries and other interested organizations and individuals to help them better understand the changes to the Medicare program. Part of this outreach includes public presentations and exhibits at local health fairs and other health-related events.

Enhanced Beneficiary Counseling from State Health Insurance Assistance Programs. Key partners in the National Medicare Education Campaign include the State Health Insurance Assistance Programs. These organizations are part of each state's Office on Aging or Office of Insurance. Extensive training has been conducted with SHIP staff and volunteers to prepare them to help Medicare beneficiaries make informed decisions about their health care.

National Train-the-Trainer Program. More than 700 individuals from HCFA partner organizations across the country have received training about Medicare+Choice and other changes to the Medicare program. The goal of the training is to give trainers the information and tools to teach others in their organizations and communities how to help beneficiaries understand their options.

Regional Education About Choices in Health Campaigns. Each of HCFA's 10 regional offices is conducting educational and outreach efforts at the regional, state and local levels. Many of these activities are targeted to meet the needs of specific groups such as African-Americans; American Indians; Latinos; Asian and Pacific Islanders; caregivers; beneficiaries with disabilities who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid; and rural beneficiaries. Part of this outreach includes public presentations and exhibits at local health fairs and other health-related events.

Targeted and Comprehensive Assessment of Education Model. HCFA conducted a yearlong evaluation of the Medicare&You program to help beneficiaries obtain prompt, reliable information. The agency solicited input from beneficiaries, their families, Congress, and organizations that provide care and help beneficiaries health care choices and looked at the five-state information campaign in the five pilot states -- Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Oregon and Washington. Beneficiaries in those states received copies of the Medicare&You handbook and early access to 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

HCFA will continue to assess the overall education program and, with feedback from beneficiaries, partners, health plans and health care providers and Members of Congress, make improvements to the Medicare&You handbook, www.medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to meet the needs of beneficiaries into the year 2000 and beyond.