IBM Medicare Via Benefits IBM announcement of splitting into two companies

 In October 2019 IBM announced it would be splitting into two public companies.  

This is a link to the SEC filing:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/51143/000110465920113260/tm2032661d1_ex99-1.htm

In this filing there is a "TBD" regarding what happens with the pension plan.  It will have to belong to one of the companies if both of them are public companies.

This is an excerpt from the BBC and is a lot easier to read:

International Business Machines (IBM) has announced it will split into two public companies.

The move is an attempt to shift its focus to higher-margin businesses like cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

A new company focusing on legacy IT infrastructure will be named and spun off next year.

It marks the latest shift by the world's first big computing firm to diversify away from its traditional businesses.

IBM Medicare Via Benefits Medicare Advantage advertising during fall open enrollment 2020

This year I thought about smashing my TV to bits rather than wait for yet another commercial about Medicare Advantage plans to end. AND, I don't watch that much "free TV".  It was insane. I cannot imagine what it was like for social media users.  

Here's why I found it so upsetting.  The commercials were incredibly misleading and bordered on being outright lies.  In the past, these kinds of commercials were slapped down by the FCC for being duplicitous. Where is the FCC? Why was the head of HHS not in a rage over how the ads were trying to trick people into signing up for subpar insurance? Where was AARP as a defender of seniors?  There seems to be no "watchdog" who is willing to slap down the insurance industry. I am all for honest capitalism but this is corruption.

I am writing this post knowing the readers of this blog are highly unlikely to be swayed by the drivel in Medicare Advantage advertising.  However, if you know people who are vulnerable, please help them "see the light" about the Medicare Advantage ads.  There is no such thing as "free".  Everything has a price.  Even when people don't have to pay for healthcare, the price is being so poor they cannot afford it and the places where they can go to get care are incredibly limited. Help your friends, please help them understand those Medicare commercials are a pile of BS. 

IBM Medicare Via Benefits Medicare Recipient Insurance Cost Analysis from 2007 - 2021

 This information is updated to include 2021 cost information. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rfKZhgninJGJqgcvAYcc8txskhLGnVpK/view?usp=sharing

It was originally posted in a blog entry on March 2020 at:

 http://ibmmedicare.blogspot.com/2020/03/ibm-medicare-via-benefits-medicare-cost.html

IBM Medicare Via Benefits HRA FSA Reimbursement for part B 2021 Process

 Maybe you are like me.  I received a postcard from Via Benefits maybe a month ago and barely looked at it.  At least I didn't throw it away.  It was about automatic premium reimbursement.  I've been doing that for my part D and medigap so I tossed the postcard in the Medicare mail pile and wondered when I was going to get my form in the mail to setup the automated monthly reimbursement for part B in 2021 like I did in 2018 and 2019.  

A friend called yesterday and was asking me questions about how to fill out his 2021 form because he has an IRMAA (he is a retired executive). IRMAA is a premium differential higher income people pay to be in Medicare (but don't call it a tax!)  We talked through the form he received and I realized I had not received my part B form. I called him back to ask when he received it and he said he called Via to request it be mailed.

Smart me, I decided I would just print mine off the Via Benefits website. I knew how to print forms off the Via website! Fat chance. Such began my decent into insanity. It took a couple of tries but I did succeed in logging on.  It had been a while since I'd been on the site. I tried to find "forms" but the website had been redesigned.  I crawled all over the main site and the reimbursement site and no forms were anywhere.  Then I tried to do a search.  The "HELP" function circulated but never loaded so I couldn't do a search.  I went back through every menu item again and couldn't find forms.  

It was time to composed a hate filled message to submit as a "ticket" and I decided to further work out my aggression by sweeping leaves off the back deck.  Then I looked at that damn post card. It was about how to get part B reimbursement but they never say on the card that it is only for people who don't have IRMAA so he couldn't have used it.  I went back to the website, determined to learn how I could do it (the postcard said I could do it online) and how he could have done it because of  his IRMAA.

Here's what I learned.  If you don't have an IRMAA and still have the postcard, you can mail in the response card and they will turn on automatic reimbursement for part B.  If you threw out the postcard, you can call or turn it on in your Via Benefit reimbursement profile. If you have an IRMAA, call Via to get the form like he did OR do a recurring premium reimbursement function and fill out the questions in the function fields using "Medicare" as the insurance company.  You then have the option of printing out the "form" created by the application to mail with a copy of you SSA letter or submit it online and upload an image of your SSA letter.  

Of course, I bitterly complained to Via Benefits in their survey.  It seems to me they do not field test their redesigns on seniors. At the very least, there should be a stellar "Help" function that will actually load. I think it is elder abuse!

IBM Medicare Via Benefits Medicare Insurance is INSURANCE - like house insurance or car insurance!!!

This is a philosophical post.  It's appropriate because, years ago when I started the blog, I said I was "Plato pondering the meaning of health insurance".

I don't know why this is true, but I experience it over and over as I counsel people.  Most people do not look at medical insurance the way they look at car insurance, house insurance or life insurance.  The right objective for any insurance is to rarely use it unless something really bad happens.  House and car insurance are supposed to rarely used. Predictable things aren't covered. If houses are build in an earthquake zone, people cannot even get earthquake insurance. If someone has a lot of car accidents they have to pay a whole lot for car insurance and become "assigned risk".  Those policies never cover small stuff. If my house needs a repair, I pay for it.  If my car needs new tires, I pay for it.  

Why do people believe their Medicare insurance has to pay for every thing they need medically? Be sure Medicare insurance will pay for the BIG things.  It's the same as being sure insurance covers a house flood or a one car crash.  Two years ago, unfortunately, our two cars were demolished when a tree fell during a storm.  Boy, was I glad we had good car insurance.  Up until that time, we paid a whole lot of car insurance premium money for years and years and rarely used it. We are lucky we haven't needed to use to our house insurance. I'm really glad I didn't used my life insurance when I had a policy!

Buy Medicare insurance that is good for covering the "big" things that might happen even if it costs you more to do it and it doesn't cover small things like a doctor copay.  Big things are things such as long hospital stays, inpatient physical and occupational therapy sessions, chemotherapy treatments, or limb loss prosthetics. If you are paying premiums and don't need to use you Medicare insurance, that's a good thing, not a bad thing.

Medicare Advantage advertisements and insurance brokers don't talk about the cost of covering BIG things.  They talk about little stuff like primary doctor copays or dental cleanings.  When a BIG thing happens, people on those plans often face astronomical bills and it can be financially devastating because those plans fall apart. It is also when people learn about the terms of their Medicare Advantage insurance policies.  

 

IBM Medicare Via Benefits part D 2021 Planfinder (for 2021 plan selection) Update

October 31, 2020 update:

 According to CMS, the problems with Medicare planfinder function are fixed.  If you decide to switch to a new part D plan, before you make the change, call the phone number at the bottom of the detailed information for the plan that is in planfinder and verify the drug coverage and costs.  If you are making a switch by calling Via Benefits or 1-800-MEDICARE, do the same thing.  Write down the name of the person you speak to at the insurance company, the time and the date.  This way if there is a problem in January you have the ability to contest and change to another plan because of "special circumstances". You do that by calling 1-800-MEDICARE and using the phrase "special circumstances SEP" when you ask to change to another plan.

October 26, 2020 post:

There are, once again, problems with the Medicare planfinder function.  The "add a drug" function is incomplete because the drug selection list doesn't have all the drugs covered by Medicare. If a drug is covered, it is no guarantee it will be covered for you if you are using it for an "off label" condition even though your doctor prescribed it. The price stated might not be the price you will pay in 2021.

It is very hard  to figure out if all of drugs a user wants are covered by a given plan unless the user goes into deep details on the plan.  The most confounding aspect is there is no guidance to tell users that if a drug is not covered, then the cost of that drug does not "count" in the calculations to determine costs for the three drug phases.  

Complain, complain, complain to your federal and STATE government representatives.  How are seniors supposed to be able to make good choices when they have bad data?  Complaining to HHS is a waste of time.  Complaining to your drug plan is even more so.  Complain to your elected officials.  Complaint to your governor, your state and federal representatives, your state attorneys general, and your consumer protection agencies.  COMPLAIN

IBM Medicare Via Benefits Medicare Hospital cost data for 2021

 In 2019 I wrote a blog post about the significant difference in cost for a hospital stay coverage for Original Medicare with an "N" Medicare Supplement insurance policy, and a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan with a $0 premium, but an out of pocket maximum cost (MOOP). 

MA plans are significantly more expensive if you need a lengthy hospital stay. It also is expensive if you are unlucky and have several hospital stays 60 days apart. I updated the table comparison for 2021 since that MA MOOP number has significantly increased.  The original post explains more about the table and was written  September 21, 2019: http://ibmmedicare.blogspot.com/2019/  

The table update for 2021. The average premium of an "N" plan is about the same in 2021. The highest premium for an N plan (which is NYC) is about $200/mo:

Phase	Original Medicare +  Medigap N at $150/mo	Sample (actual) 2021 Medicare Advantage plan $0 premium
Hospital Benefit Period (Every 60 days)	$1452 deductible Paid by Medigap N plan	No deductible
Hospital Days copays Every Benefit Period	$0 days 1-60  $363 days 61-90  $726 for 60 lifetime days All copays paid by Medigap N	$400 days 1-5 $0 days 5-90 $? lifetime days (not described in planfinder)
If exceed 150 days in hospital	All Medigaps provide this extra benefit of 365 addition lifetime days with $0 copay	No Medicare Advantage plans have this benefit  Patient pays all hospital costs after 150 days
Maximum hospital stay cost for 2021	$1800 for 2021 (Medigap premium $150 x 12)	$7,550 for 2021 (if within 150 day limit)

 

   

IBM Medicare Via Benefits Medicare costs for 2021 relating to Fall Enrollment choices

 CMS has not published the 2021 fee for Medicare part B enrollment yet (this is the amount you must pay to the government irrespective of the structure of your Medicare insurance), but they have published important cost information for Medicare Advantage plans and for part D prescription drug insurance plans (for people with original Medicare).  That is important information to consider when you are selecting your insurance for 2021. 

1. Part D prescription drug plans or part D coverage in Medicare Advantage plans:
     
   The deductible amount maximum for this category of insurance (no matter how you get drug coverage) is $445 in 2021 (in 2020 it is $435).  This is the maximum a plan can have before you start paying copays.  During the deductible phase of part D coverage, you are responsible for the full negotiated cost of prescriptions. The deductible does not apply to tier 1 generic drugs.  It is mostly for brand name drugs. As mentioned in earlier posts, this amount is only relevant to consider in two situations.  If you don't take any drugs, then you might want a plan without a deductible so that you get immediate insurance benefit should you be prescribed a drug during the year.  The second reason is if you have a cash flow problem and cannot afford an upfront out of pocket payment of $445 even though the total annual cost of drugs for your plan might be higher.  The best way to "pick" a part D plan is by the estimated total annual cost for the plan (premiums + copays). Plans with low or no deductibles will have higher monthly premiums and/or copays.   
     
   The other aspect of part D coverage is consistent no matter how  you get your prescription drug coverage.  When your drug costs exceed thresholds, you move to the next 2 phases where the insurance company is just administering the accounting.  In 2021 you move into phase 2 when the total cost of  your drugs is $4130 in 2021  ($4020 in 2020).  It is what you pay + what the insurance company pays.  You stay in phase 2 until "out of pocket" costs are $6550 in 2021 ($6350 in 2020). It includes what you paid in phase 1 (not what the insurance company paid) + what you pay in phase 2 (25% of the drug cost) + the pharmaceutical company discount (75% of the drug cost).  When that total is $6,350 you move to phase 3,  the catastrophic phase.  You stay in phase 3 for the rest of the year.  In phase 3 you pay 5% of the drug cost and CMS pays 95% of the cost of the drug.
      
2. Medicare Advantage  Plan Maximum Out of Pocket Cost (aka MOOP)
     
   This subject is the least understood and the most important part of Medicare Advantage plans.  It is the maximum annual cost you might incur (excluding premiums) in a given year.  It is also eye popping how much this amount has increased from 2020 to 2021.  In 2020 it was $6,700. In 2021 it is $7,550.  That is a 12.7% increase.  This maximum cost does NOT include the cost of your drugs.  It only relates to "health services".  If you have a Medicare Advantage plan that is a PPO, it also does not include any out of network provider costs.  The cap on out of network provider costs can be any amount the plan decides up to $11,300. For example, one plan set it at $11,000 but it is complicated. Plans are required to have a total $11,300 limit on the combined in and out of network costs. I originally thought there was no out of network limit and earlier wrote:  NO ceiling for out of network costs.  Here's how MOOP (in network) cost has changed over the last 10 years. As I have said in other posts, administrations matter:

Year	MOOP Amount	Increase	% increase Prior year
2012	$4,317	$36	.8%
2013	$4,352	$35	.8%
2014	$4,826	$226	5%
2015	$5,052	$226	4.6%
2016	$5,257	$205	4.1%
2017	$5,332	$85	1.6%
2018	$6,700	$1,368	25.6%
2019	$6,700	$0	0%
2020	$6,700	$0	0%
2021	$7,550	$850	12.7%

IBM Medicare Via Benefits Be Aware of Medicare Advantage Bias in CMS literature

 CMS is the abbreviation for the federal government agency, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,  that oversees Medicare.  This federal agency is responsible for publications, email messages and oversight of Medicare insurance policies and Medicare medical providers.

Over the years, many Medicare advisors have written extensively about the "disadvantage" of Medicare Advantage insurance plans.  I have pointed to some of those articles on this blog and written about the push, particularly in the last 4 years, by the federal government to get Medicare eligible participants to enroll in Medicare Advantage insurance plans.  It makes no sense, because these plans do not reduce the tax payer burden for the cost of Medicare. It would appear it is CMS's way to privatize Medicare and thereby get millions of dollars in campaign donations for the pushers.

A non-profit organization, Center for Medicare Advocacy (CMA), has been trying to hold the federal government accountable and expose it.  There are a huge number of pitfalls associated with Medicare Advantage plans.  Most of these insurance plans, to put it impolitely, suck.  Kaiser Permanente is about the only one worth considering but it is not available in many areas. 

  Here is a link to a recent "alert" document by CMA: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dyJuWaxDOz9DcCKyiuPAT2-8mzYJJ7_K/view?usp=sharing

To access the file, at least when I tested it, I had to download it.

The bottom line - which I feel is sad - I DO NOT recommend you rely on federal government literature as your only source of education about your Medicare choices.  

There are several non-profit groups like CMA and Medicare Rights Center (1-800-333-4114) who offer a balanced approach to Medicare information and in MRC's case, provide Medicare counseling.  The  state health insurance assistance department for your state (which is found at www.shiptacenter.org) also typically provide honest assessments as that is not where insurance industry lobbyists spend a lot of time.  The library might also be a good source of Medicare information. What is not a good source of information?  Insurance agents, and, unfortunately, the federal government because they are both biased.

IBM Medicare Via Benefits Medicare Fall Enrollment for 2021 is Oct 15 - Dec 7, 2020

It's that time of year! Yesterday, I receive an "ANOC" for my stand alone prescription insurance plan. I have that kind of prescription insurance because I use original Medicare.  ANOC stands for "annual notice of change".  This year the thick booklet with all the information about the pharmacy networks and drugs covered by the plan in 2021 that usually are mailed as part of the annual notice of change were not sent.  Unfortunately it is even more likely people will throw out the notice.  Make sure to read your mail!

In the document, my prescription drug insurance said the drug and pharmacy information will be available on their website starting October 1,2020.  The days of quickly flipping through a thick booklet are gone and the likelihood people will go online to look for changes is slim.  My plan shifted the pharmacy information to a "Pharmacy Locator Tool".  That makes me wince.  Yet another thing to learn to figure out how the plan has changed.

More than ever, it is really important to make sure your prescription drug insurance plan is the best plan for you to have in 2021.  Drug insurance plans change from year to year.  Drugs are added.  Drugs are dropped.  Drug costs and deductibles go up (they seem to never go down).   Drugs that did not require "step therapy" - meaning trying a cheaper variety of drug before this one is approved - suddenly have a step therapy requirement.  Drugs that did not have quantity limits get quantity limits. 

YOU MUST CHECK HOW YOUR PLAN WILL CHANGE for 2021!!!!!! 

If you have a Medicare Advantage plan you have more work to do.  You must not only check the changes about prescription drug coverage, but also check the changes in medical coverage copays and medical provider networks.  One way to find out about provider network changes is to ask your current doctors if they will accept your plan in 2021.  Another way is to call your plan to find out the changes but their provider network directories are notorious for being wrong.  Make sure you write down the date you called, who you talked to and take notes on what they tell you.  Do this just in case you get incorrect information because you can use that to dump the plan if you find out they lied to you. 

Via Benefits might also help with some of this.  I am sorry to keep writing this but Via Benefits is an insurance agent.  The more products you buy through them, the more commissions they receive and you do not have to buy all your Medicare coverage from them. If you are on original Medicare and bought a medigap through them then you can change your drug insurance to the best fit policy for you and not have to worry about whether or not they sell the best policy.

Figuring out whether or not you have the best policy is not easy.  If you don't want to use a computer and go to www.medicare.gov to use the planfinder tool (ah, that lovely word again) then call 1-800-MEDICARE to as for help.  If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, then you need to call Via Benefits to pick from the set of Medicare Advantage plans they sell.

Reminder, for people with original Medicare and a medigap plan, this is NOT the time of year when you change your medigap plan.  Depending on the state where you live, you might not be able to change your medigap plan at all or you might be able to change it at specific times.  Check with your State Health Insurance Assistance Agency to find out the rules (their phone number can be found at www.shiptacenter.org).

IBM Medicare Via Benefits Medicare Recipient Insurance Cost Analysis from 2007 - 2020

I have been keeping track of how the cost of Medicare deductibles, coinsurance and copays have increase since 2007.  It is significant!   The current administration has been very aggressive at increasing how much seniors have to pay for Medicare.
   
The way this cost increase is passed along for those using Original Medicare with Medicare Supplement plans (aka medigaps) is the supplement insurance plan premiums increase. It is way too risky to not have a medigap if you use Original Medicare.  People without medigaps are often forced into bankruptcy because Original Medicare does not have an annual cost cap.

The way Medicare Advantage plans pass along the cost is by increasing the cost of things such as premiums, adding deductibles or raising the annual out of pocket maximum cost to the government limit ($6,700).  The other way is to pass along cost increases by cutting services by doing such things as shrinking provider networks, the choices for DME devices decrease or zero copay hospital days coverage decrease.  Then there is always their favorite ways to do it. They increase the denial of claims because they know sick people are often too overwhelmed to appeal a denial and just pay it or they push physical therapy facilities to discharge patients before they are fully recovered.
 
No matter how you get Medicare coverage (Original or Medicare Advantage),  the policy holder always has to pay the part B premiums unless they are really low income ($18,000/year with no cash assets). There is no insurance to cover the part B cost. The part B fee is paid to the government and entitles you to receive insurance coverage for provider services such as office visits or lab tests. It's your choice how you get that insurance coverage. If you stay with Original/Tradition Medicare it becomes an insurance premium for the government insurance pool. If you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan, the government gives your part B payment to the insurance company issuing your policy.

A picture is worth a whole lot of words so I created the following analysis. To access this file, you may have to download it:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pAF75fHqCqLKcFXo0PxRI52NZJA_8PBk/view?usp=sharing

 

IBM Medicare Via Benefits Medicare Advantage Analysis

Yesterday there was an article about Medicare in the Sunday New York Times Business section.  Unfortunately, it was not on the front page.  Everyone needs to read it!
     
It was, yet, another sad story about the misery of Medicare Advantage insurance and also captured the strategy of the current administration to dismantle Medicare by pushing it into a Medicare Advantage insurance delivery system. 
 
Please take time to read the article and tell anyone and everyone you can how these plans are only good for healthy people. When someone on that kind of plan gets really sick, they discover their plan's limitations and have no recourse but to live (or die) with those limitations.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Fo7Nw6JwBMhS2N7KHWDfO9F5WmzHv4Rb

IBM Medicare Via Benefits IBM Supplemental Drug & Medical Benefits

When IBM stopped offering Medicare eligible retirees Medicare group health insurance and moved to a "premium reimbursement" model, they also announced two benefits for Medicare eligible retirees that are separate from HRA funding.

A couple of days ago I looked at those two benefits again.  Although I hope to never need these benefits from IBM, it is nice to know they are available.  Both of these benefits are in addition to HRA funding and would come into play during a catastrophic situation:

1. IBM Supplemental Drug Benefit:
    
   The purpose of this benefit is to help retirees with the cost of a very expensive drug where part D insurance isn't doing much to defray the cost.  The help comes into play when the total cost of the drug exceeds $100,000.  Before you gasp, that total cost is computed by adding what you pay, what your insurance plan pays, what the pharmaceutical company pays by discounts and what Medicare pays when you are in catastrophic coverage for your part D plan.  I'll use a simplistic example, but please realize the phase dollar numbers I use are fictitious (the percentage numbers are accurate).  Also, pay attention to how I defined "total cost" in this paragraph.
    
   First off, remember there are 3 phases to a part D plan.   Phase 1 (total cost less than $4000) is when you pay a copay decided by the plan and the insurance company pays the rest.  Phase 2 (entered when total cost exceeds $4000) you pay a copay of 25% of the cost of the drug and the pharmaceutical company covers the rest.  Phase 3 (entered when total cost exceeds $6000)  you pay 5% of the cost of the drug and Medicare covers the rest.  There is more innuendo involved than what I described but this is the essence of how a part D plan works.
   
   You've been prescribed drug XYZ in January.  The drug is $12,000/mo. before insurance kicks in. In the first month, you will blow right through the first phase AND second phase because the drug cost is so high.  Your copay will be about $4,500 of that $12,000.  Boom, you are in  Phase 3 (aka Catastrophic coverage) .  Month 2 your copay is $600/month (5%) for the drug UNTIL month 9.  At that point the total cost of the drug exceeds $100,000 and IBM will pick up the rest of your copays until the end of the year.  So, your cost for the year is $4,500 +  $4,800 (8*600) = $9,300 and IBM will cover $2,400 of the yearly cost. It's not a huge benefit but it is something.
     
2. IBM Supplemental Medicare Benefit
   
   This benefit is a bit easier to explain.  It's about private nursing and home care so there are no phases.  First off, if you did not already know this, Medicare DOES NOT cover private nursing care when you hire a full time nurse to help you.  Medicare does cover some home care, but it has to be related to a medical problem where the patient has been discharge home and now is home bound and needs someone to come to the house, such as an aid to change a feeding tube, and while there they can bathe you or do other simple chores. You have to use a Medicare authorized agency for the services and the amount of time you get for home care is a few hours a week (about 20) unless there is something dire in the beginning of the treatment where the doctor requires a nurse to come every day.  But that cannot go on for more than a couple of weeks. Medicare absolutely does not cover long term home care.
        
   Here's where IBM comes into play. Sometimes you absolutely do need more services than Medicare will cover so you start paying for services even though you know it will be denied by Medicare. Maybe it's something like needing an overnight nurse to help you in the first few days after you come home from the hospital to make sure you don't fall during the night. Even though the doctor prescribes it - Medicare will certainly deny the claim because it doesn't relate to your specific medical problem! (I know, it's stupid because if you fall you will end up back in the hospital which will be a lot more expensive than a night nurse.)
      
   When you have paid out-of-pocket $6,500 for denied private nursing or home care then IBM will cover the cost of denied services for the rest of the year. Reminder, a Medicare Advantage plan or a Medicare Supplemental plan will cover some claims so this is only about denied claims for services.  Of course, IBM will want to review the situation before they commit to do it, including information from your doctor showing medical necessity and evidence that Medicare denied the coverage.  Still, it seems to me that this could be a significant benefit for very ill people.

There are a few more detail about these benefits in the "About Your Benefits" book I mentioned in earlier posts.  In order to get that document you need to logon to www.netbenefits.com.  I posted the 2019 version https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j1OX3l3l_0xsnXYDtCDCjBcE4p3bfWlP/view for easier access, but it is already obsolete because IBM eliminated the Life Planning benefit.  The description of the above benefits starts on page 184.

      

The most important thing is don't forget these benefits exist!!!

IBM Medicare Via Benefits HRA Reimbursement Tactics

Several people I know try to interact with Via Benefits reimbursement as little as possible.  It's a  strategy for some but might not be easy for people to do from a cash flow perspective.
 
They are paying a year's worth of their part D and Medicare Supplement premiums in January and then submitting claims to Via Benefits to be reimbursed.  Some insurance companies even offer a discount if you do it.
 
There is no guarantee Via Benefits won't mess up the claim, but it's a one time haggle instead of the recurring aggravation of needing to monitor for reimbursement mistakes and deal with the mistakes when they occur.

There is an aspect about using that strategy that is a little morbid.  It may be difficult to recoup advanced payment of premiums from the insurance company if something happens. Maybe that's a small issue compared with the difficulties of dealing with Via Benefits!

IBM Medicare Via Benefits Reimbursement Problems and Errors for 2020

Something is amiss with Via Benefits Reimbursements.  Make sure your recurring premium reimbursements and your claims are being properly processed. It seems they are messing up!

My problem relates to recurring premium reimbursement.  I did not change my insurance plans in 2019 and had purchased the policies through Via Benefits in 2018.  What is supposed to happen is automatic premium reimbursements continue into 2020 without any action on my part.  That's what happened in previous years.

I noticed about a week ago the auto reimbursement for the Medicare Supplement policies for me and my spouse didn't happen. When I looked on the website there was still the information showing auto reimbursement but no funds had been dispersed. However, the part D insurance reimbursement looked to be working okay.

I used the "Help" function in the reimbursement services function to open a ticket to complain about the Medicare Supplement premiums.  They fixed it and "closed" the ticket without any explanation. The way I knew it really was fixed was by not only checking on the website but also looking for the direct deposit of the premiums for January 2020.

Then, I looked again at the part D auto reimbursement payment.  They display that disbursement in a strange way.  It's not worth explaining but it is confusing - at least for me. On second look,  I realized they reimbursed automatically for the part D January insurance premium for me but had not done it for my spouse's part D insurance.  Again, I used "Help" to open a ticket.  Again, it was fixed and closed without any explanation. When I checked it again, they showed the premiums were reimbursed on 1/1/2020 BUT they did not deposit the reimbursement in my account, nor did they reduce the HRA account by that amount.  I generated another help ticket.  What a mess!

Although I don't like the way the "Help" works, I think it might still be better to use than trying to call them, if you have a claims problem.  It seems calling them is a nightmare no matter what you need - whether it is changing insurance or resolving a claim problem. Unfortunately, you have to call them if you want to change your insurance provider because they have to record your voice when they make the change.
   
To use their online system to file a reimbursement complaint, sign on to the website and click the reimbursements link to get to it. "Help" is at the top of the HRA funds and reimbursement web page. Don't use the "Help" function on the main web page you see when you first log on.  You must click the reimbursements link to see the Help associated with reimbursements.

Doing it online not only eliminates talking to incompetent representatives, it will also provide clear documentation on your complaint interactions in your account and provides a reference if you are forced to call them.

What follows is a comment posted by a reader a couple of days ago who is having a miserable time with Via Benefits and did try to resolve it by calling them. The moral of this post is pay close attention to what Via Benefits is doing and be sure your claims are properly processed!!!
   
 
To get reimbursed for the part of my Medicare part B premium that is not covered by the SHAP $900, I send in a Reimbursement form in January of the next year, after the previous years last quarter SHAP has processed. I include a copy of my SS letter showing what the Medicare Part B premium will be for that previous year, a copy of the 4 quarterly payments by SHAP for the previous year, and ask for the balance not paid by SHAP, on reimbursement form. I sent all this data for 2019 in in early January 2020, expecting the balance to be taken out of my 2019 HRA. VIA Benefits treated it as a recurring premium reimbursement for 2020,divided the balance due by 12, and took the first months(January 2020) payment out of my 2020 HRA. After spending an hour on the phone with VIA Benefits(half of it when rep put me on hold to talk with someone else), I was told they would try to straighten it out. I would need to call back in about 10 days to see if it got straightened out. I asked if they could email or txt me to tell me the status, but no, I would have to call back after 10 days. Since you never talk to the same person twice, I imagine I will have to go through the whole thing again with the new rep. Omaha worked much better for claims than El Paso does.