AHIP Testing 2022| 685 QUESTIONS| GRADED A+ Agent Harriet Walker has recently begun marketing Medicare Advantage and related products aimed at meeting the needs of senior citizens. Client Mildred Jones has expressed interest in a Medicare Advantage plan. It is now the beginning of September. If you were in Agent Walker's position, what would you do? Correct Answer: Inquire whether the client qualifies for a special enrollment period, and if not, solicit an enrollment application once the an nual open enrollment election period begins on October 15th. Mrs. Fields wants to know whether applying for the Part D low income subsidy will be worth the time to fill out the paperwork. What could you tell her? Correct Answer: The Part D low income subsidy could substantially lower her overall costs. She can apply by contacting her state Medicaid office, or calling the Social Security Administration Mr. Wendt suff ers from diabetes which has gotten progressively worse during the last year. He is currently enrolled in Original Medicare (Parts A and B) and a Part D prescription drug plan and did not enroll in a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan during the last annual open enrollment period (AEP) which has just closed. Mr. Wendt has heard certain MA plans might provide him with more specialized coverage for his diabetes and wants to know if he must wait until the next annual open enrollment period (AEP) before enrolling in such a plan. What should you tell him? Correct Answer: If there is a special needs plan (SNP) in Mr. Wendt's area that specializes in caring for individuals with diabetes, he may enroll in the SNP at any time under a special election pe riod (SEP) Ms. Moore plans to retire when she turns 65 in a few months. She is in excellent health and will have considerable income when she retires. She is concerned that her income will make it impossible for her to qualify for Medicare. What could you tell her to address her concern? Correct Answer: Medicare is a program for people age 65 or older and those under age 65 with certain disabilities, end stage renal disease or Lou Gehrig's disease, so she will be eligible for Medicare Mr. Schmidt would like to plan for retirement and has asked you what is covered under Original Fee-for- Service (FFS) Medicare? What could you tell him? Correct Answer: Part A, which covers hospital, skilled nursing facility, hospice and home health services and Part B, which covers professional services such as those provided by a doctor are covered under Original Medicare. Mr. Hernandez is concerned that if he signs up for a Medicare Advantage plan, the health plan may, at some time in the future, reduce his benefits below what is available in Original Medicare. What should you tell him about his concern? Correct Answer: Medicare health plans must cover all benefits available under Medicare Part A and Part B. Many also cover Part D prescription drugs. Mrs. Raskin is a widow who will attain aged 65 and enroll in Medicare in just a few weeks. She concerned about having prescription drug coverage. Which of the following statements provides the best advice? Correct Answer: Prescription drug coverage can be obtained by enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan that includes Part D coverage. Mrs. Willard wants to know generally how the benefits under Original Medicare might compare to the benefit package of a Medicare Health Plan before she starts looking at specific plans. What coul d you tell her? Correct Answer: Medicare Health Plans may offer extra benefits that Original Medicare does not offer such as vision, hearing, and dental services and must include a maximum out-of-pocket limit on Part A and Part B services. Mr. Meoni's wife has a Medicare Advantage plan, but he wants to understand what coverage Medicare Supplemental Insurance provides since his health care needs are different from his wife's needs. What could you tell Mr.Meoni? Correct Answer: Medicare Supple mental Insurance would help cover his Part A and Part B cost sharing in Original Fee -for-Service (FFS) Medicare as well as possibly some services that Medicare does not cover. Mrs. Chen will be 65 soon, has been a citizen for twelve years, has been employed full time, and paid taxes during that entire period. She is concerned that she will not qualify for coverage under part A because she was not born in the United States. What should you tell her? Correct Answer: Most individuals who are citizens and over age 65 are covered under Part A by virtue of having paid Medicare taxes while working, though some may be covered as a result of paying monthly premiums. Mr. Bauer is 49 years old, but eighteen months ago he was declared disabled by the Social Security Administration and has been receiving disability payments. He is wondering whether he can obtain coverage under Medicare. What should you tell him? age. Correct Answer: After receiving such disability payments for 24 months, he will be automatically enrolled in Medicare, regardless of Mr. Davis is 49 years old and has been receiving disability benefits from the Social Security Administration for 12 months. Can you sell him a Medicare Advantage or Part D Prescription Drug policy? Correct Answer: No, he cannot purchase a Medicare Advantage or Part D policy because he has not received Social Security or Railroad Retirement disability benefits for 24 months. Ms. Henderson believes that she will qualify for Medicare coverage when she turns 65, without paying any premiums, because she has been working for 40 years and paying Medicare taxes. What should you tell her? Correct Answer: In order to obtain Part B cove rage, she must pay a standard monthly premium, though it is higher for individuals with higher incomes. Mr. Diaz continued working with his company and was insured under his employer's group plan until he reached age 68. He has heard that there is a premium penalty for those who did not sign up for Part B when first eligible and wants to know how much he will have to pay. What should you tell him? Correct Answer: Mr. Diaz will not pay any penalty because he had continuous coverage under his employer's plan. Mrs. Peňa is 66 years old, has coverage under an employer plan and will retire next year. She heard she must enroll in Part B at the beginning of the year to ensure no gap in coverage. What can you tell her? Correct Answer: She may enroll at any time while she is covered under her employer plan, but she will have a special eight -month enrollment period that differs from the standard general enrollment period, during which she may enroll in Medicare Part B. Mrs. Kelly is entitled to Part A, but is not yet enrolled in Part B. She is considering enrollment in a Medicare health plan. What should you advise her to do before she will be able to enroll into a Medicare health plan? Correct Answer: In order to join a Medicare health plan, she also must enroll in Part B. Mrs. Park has a low, fixed income. What could you tell her that might be of assistance? Correct Answer: She should contact her state Medicaid agency to see if she qualifies for one of several programs that can help with Medicare costs for which she is responsible. Mr. Yu has limited income and resources so you have encouraged him to see if he qualifies for some type of financial assistance. Mr. Yu is not sure it is worth the trouble to apply and wants to know what the assistance could do for him if he qualifies. What could you tell him? Correct Answer: He might qualify for help with Part D prescription drug costs and help paying Part A and/or Part B premiums, deductibles, and/or cost sharing. Mr. Patel is in good health and is preparing a budget in ant icipation of his retirement when he turns 66. He wants to understand the health care costs he might be exposed to under Medicare if he were to require hospitalization as a result of an illness. In general terms, what could you tell him about his costs for inpatient hospital services under Original Medicare? Correct Answer: Under Original Medicare, there is a single deductible amount due for the first 60 days of any inpatient hospital stay, after which it converts into a per-day amount through day 90. After day 90, he would pay a daily amount up to 60 days over his lifetime, after which he would be responsible for all costs Mrs. Shields is covered by Original Medicare. She sustained a hip fracture and is being successfully treated for that condition. However, she and her physicians feel that after her lengthy hospital stay she will need a month or two of nursing and rehabilitative care. What should you tell them about Original Medicare's coverage of care in a skilled nursing facility? Correct Answer: Medicare will cover Mrs. Schmidt's skilled nursing services provided during the first 20 days of her stay, after which she would have a coinsurance until she has been in the facility for 100 days Mr. Rainey is experiencing paranoid delusions and his physician feels that he should be hospitalized. What should you tell Mr. Rainey (or his representative) about the length of an inpatient psychiatric hospital stay that Medicare will cover? Correct Answer: Medicare will cover a total of 190 days of inpatien t psychiatric care during Mr. Rainey's entire lifetime. Mrs. Quinn has just turned 65 and received a letter informing her that she has been automatically enrolled in Medicare Part B. She wants to understand what this means. What should you tell Mrs. Quinn ? Correct Answer: Part B primarily covers physician services. She will be paying a monthly premium and, with the exception of many preventive and screening tests, generally will have 20% co- payments for these services, in addition to an annual deductible. Mr. Buck has several family members who died from different cancers. He wants to know if Medicare covers cancer screening. What should you tell him? Correct Answer: Medicare covers periodic performance of a range of screening tests that are meant to prov ide early detection of disease. Mr. Buck will need to check specific tests before obtaining them to see if they will be covered. Mrs. Turner is comparing her employer's retiree insurance to Original Medicare and would like to know which of the following services Original Medicare will cover if the appropriate criteria are met? What could you tell her? Correct Answer: Original Medicare covers ambulance services. Mrs. Wolf wears glasses and dentures and has enjoyed considerable pain relief from arthritis through acupuncture. She is concerned about whether or not Medicare will cover these items and services. What should you tell her? Correct Answer: Medicare does not cover acupuncture, or, in general, glasses or dentures. Mr. Singh would like drug coverage, but does not want to be enrolled into a health plan. What should you tell him? Correct Answer: Mr. Singh can enroll in a stand -alone prescription drug plan and continue to be covered for Part A and Part B services through Original Fee-for-Service Medicare. Mr. Alonso receives some help paying for his two generic prescription drugs from his employer's retiree coverage, but he wants to compare it to a Part D prescription drug plan. He asks you what costs he would gen erally expect to encounter when enrolling into a standard Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. What should you tell him? Correct Answer: He generally would pay a monthly premium, annual deductible, and per -prescription cost sharing. Mrs. Geisler's neig hbor told her she should look at her Part D options during the annual Medicare enrollment period because features of Part D might have changed. Mrs. Geisler can't remember what Part D is so she called you to ask what her neighbor was talking about. What could you tell her? Correct Answer: Part D covers prescription drugs and she should look at her premiums, formulary, and cost sharing among other factors to see if they have changed. Mrs. Paterson is concerned about the deductibles and co-payments associated with Original Medicare. What can you tell her about Medigap as an option to address this concern? Correct Answer: Medigap plans help beneficiaries cover coinsurance, co -payments, and/or deductibles for medically necessary services. Mrs. Gonzale z is enrolled in Original Medicare and has a Medigap policy as well, but it provides no drug coverage. She would like to keep the coverage she has, but replace her existing Medigap plan with one that provides drug coverage. What should you tell her? Correct Answer: Mrs. Gonzalez cannot purchase a Medigap plan that covers drugs, but she could keep her Medigap policy and enroll in a Part D prescription drug plan. Mr. Kelly has substantial financial means. He enrolled in Original Medicare and purchased a Medigap policy many years ago that offered prescription drug coverage. The prescription drug coverage has not been comparable to that offered by Medicare Part D for several years and despite notification, Mr. Kelly took no action. Which of the following statements best describes what will occur if Mr. Kelly now decides to enroll in Medicare Part D? Correct Answer: He will incur a late enrollment penalty. Mr. Capadona would like to purchase a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan and a Medigap plan to pick up costs not covered by that plan. What should you tell him? Correct Answer: It is illegal for you to sell Mr. Capadona a Medigap plan if he is enrolled in an MA plan, and besides, Medigap only works with Original Medicare. What impact, if any, will the Medi care Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) have upon Medigap plans? Correct Answer: The Part B deductible will no longer be covered for individuals newly eligible for Medicare starting January 1, 2020. Mr. Lopez has heard that he can sign up for a product called "Medicare Advantage" but is not sure about what type of plan designs are available through this program. What should you tell him about the types