New Hampshire
Fewer options, more confusion for Medicare enrollment in New Hampshire this year
The enrollment period for Medicare began Oct. 15 and lasts until Dec. 7. But this year, there are fewer options for Medicare Advantage plans, requiring more work for many patients and healthcare providers during and after enrollment.
Major insurance carriers like Anthem and Martin’s Point have pulled out of Medicare Advantage in New Hampshire. Aetna has also pulled out of most counties in the state while some counties, like Coos, only have two options for seniors.
According to the New Hampshire Insurance Department, 77,000 seniors are affected by these Medicare Advantage changes.
At an information session this week at the Concord Public Library, Tim Harrigan, a state-licensed, private Medicare plan advisor, walked Medicare enrollees through the process of signing up for the program. Harrigan offers services to seniors for free, and is paid by most insurance carriers that serve Medicare Advantage plans.
One thing Harrigan teaches enrollees is how to navigate the many calls a person might receive once they’re eligible for Medicare, including from scammers.
“Medicare will never, ever call you ever, unless you reached out to them, and they’re getting back to you,” Harrigan told the group at Concord Public Library. “The Social Security Administration will never, ever call you unless you reached out to them, and they’re getting back to you with a response.”
Harrigan says it’s best for seniors to reach out to their local Social Security office, rather than using a 1-800 number from a third party, especially if they can’t confirm who they are speaking to.
A spokesperson for the New Hampshire Insurance department encouraged patients to call Medicare directly at 1-800-Medicare or contact ServiceLink, New Hampshire’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for free counselors that can help them navigate enrollment.
During this current enrollment period, Harrigan said he’s been working everyday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. trying to get people enrolled. The biggest concern he’s seen so far is that seniors are losing their current plans starting next year. He worries that some might not be able to access some of the region’s top hospitals, as they have in the past.
“If you live in northern or western New Hampshire, there’s really only one option, and that’s an HMO plan where the local doctors are not in the network,” Harrigan said. “For example, Dartmouth-Hitchcock isn’t in the network with that company. So the only network facilities they’ll be able to access are in Concord,” which may be further for patients to travel.
At the information session, a number of people said they are losing their current Medicare Advantage plans, and must choose from limited options, or have had to change plans for multiple years in a row.
Jim Culhane, president and CEO of Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice, said they are bracing for the impact Medicare Advantage changes will have on seniors who receive their services, and on their own operations.
“If you change insurance on January 1, and you were having services with us on December 30, and you’re having services that continue well after the first of the year, our job is to make that largely seamless,” Culhane said. “But that seamlessness takes a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure a person doesn’t have a break in care at the start of the new year.”
Culhane said that work requires “a lot of hours and a lot of people behind the scenes that are completing certain documentation, changing documentation, creating new schedules and so on.”
Culhane said navigating Medicare — whether people are choosing Part D supplemental insurance or enrolling in Medicare Advantage — can be complicated because insurance companies might offer one benefit at the cost of another.
“The devil’s in the details, and consumers rarely have the opportunity to explore what those details are, and frequently buy products that may or may not be ideal for them,” Culhane said.
After January 1, Culhane said Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice may see patients who have new coverage that doesn’t cover their prior treatment plans, meaning providers may have to adapt those plans if patients can’t afford to pay out of pocket.
“Whereas one insurance may say, ‘yes, they can have eight physical therapy visits,’ another insurance will say, ‘no, we’re only going to approve four physical therapy visits,’ ” he said.
Culhane said coverage changes could reduce the availability of in-home support or other outpatient care, for example, which could reduce patient safety at home, and lead to rehospitalization.
“It’s a very expensive outcome when an individual goes back to the hospital and it’s certainly not what the patient would like,” Culhane said. “When we develop a plan of care and say an individual needs a certain number of nursing visits or physical therapy or occupational therapy visits in order to remain home, we do so under the philosophy of trying to prevent someone from needing to go back to the hospital.”
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New Hampshire
N.H. lawmakers to vote on increasing tolls, civil rights, and k-12 education – The Boston Globe
One proposal (Senate Bill 627) would generate more than $53 million per year in estimated revenue for turnpike projects by essentially doubling what certain cars pay on the state’s toll roads.
The cash fare for Hampton’s main toll booth on Interstate 95, for example, would jump from $2 to $4 for cars and pickup trucks. The toll wouldn’t increase at all for motorists who use New Hampshire’s E-ZPass transponders.
“Surrounding states already have the same in-state discount structure in place,” Democratic Representative Martin Jack of Nashua wrote on behalf of a House committee that unanimously recommended the bill.
A potential hitch: Governor Kelly Ayotte. She’s expressed opposition to the whole toll-hiking idea, and proven she’s not afraid to use her veto pen.
Modifying civil rights standard
Another proposal (Senate Bill 464) would add a few words to the state’s Civil Rights Act. Instead of addressing conduct that is merely “motivated by” a legally protected characteristic, the proposed revision would address conduct that is “substantially motivated by hostility towards the victim’s” protected characteristic (such as their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability).
The prime sponsor, Republican Senator Daryl Abbas, an attorney, testified the change was small and aligned with the law’s intent. But the attorney who oversees the Civil Rights Unit at the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Sean Locke, testified in opposition, saying the proposal could reduce protections, especially since the meaning of “substantially” is somewhat vague.
The House is also weighing a proposed amendment that would add a few more words than Abbas’s version, potentially narrowing the Civil Rights Act’s applicability a bit further.
Open enrollment for K-12 schools
A third proposal up for a vote on Thursday (Senate Bill 101) would make every K-12 public school in New Hampshire an “open enrollment” school. That way, students could freely choose to transfer to a district other than the one where they live.
The proposed policy is controversial, partly because of how schools are funded. Districts rely mostly on local property taxes to cover their costs, as the state government chips in relatively little, and property tax rates vary widely from one community to the next. That generates concern about who will foot the bill when a student transfers.
In light of those concerns, Republicans are offering a compromise amendment to SB 101 that would require the state to provide more money per pupil that a district receives via open enrollment, as the New Hampshire Bulletin reported. Democrats are offering their own amendment to establish a study commission on this topic, rather than adopt the proposed policy now.
Lawmakers have until May 14 to take action on the bills that came from the other chamber, though they have until June 4 to iron out any discrepancies.
Amanda Gokee of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
This story appears in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free email newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. Sign up here.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
Boston MedFlight often touches down at the scene of some of the worst tragedies in New England – where minutes can mean life or death for a victim. The critical care transport operation is now expanding with a new base in New Hampshire.
The organization is hosting an open house at the new Manchester location on Thursday.
Boston MedFlight flies a critical care transport paramedic and nurse on every flight. Jaik Hanley-McCarthy says their helicopters and ground vehicles are equipped to handle just about any emergency medical procedure.
“Anything that can be done in the ICU,” explained Hanley-McCarthy. “We have a mobile lab so we can draw blood and run labs in real time.”
Boston MedFlight now has five bases across the region.
“Having a base in Manchester just expands this Boston-level care even further north to the more remote areas of the state,” said Hanley-McCarthy.
Boston MedFlight operates as a network of bases and some of the locations are staffed 24 hours.
Chief Executive Officer Maura Hughes says the nonprofit operation survives on public and private donations.
“We provide about $7 million in free care every year to patients,” said Hughes. “Not every hospital can be everything to every patient. We’re really the glue that keeps the health care system together.”
Heather Young says her daughter, Teighan, is still alive because she was flown for a critical assessment and procedure after falling off a truck and hitting her head.
“She should not be driving and walking and talking and all the things she’s doing as quickly as she is,” said Young.
Teighan just turned 18 and plans to go to college to study the medical field.
“I want to be a nurse and help other people,” she said.
It’s stories like this that keep the men and women who work Boston MedFlight focused on their mission.
“I think we just go call by call and try to do the best we can,” said Hanley-McCarthy. “I think when we stop and truly think about it, I think that weight is pretty heavy.”
Boston MedFlight also has a yearly reunion where patients and the team get together here in Bedford to meet and check in on their progress. It really shows you how connected they are to the people they help.
New Hampshire
Hiker who set out in warm spring weather found dead after snowstorm in New Hampshire mountains
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A Massachusetts hiker who set out in warm spring weather was found dead deep in New Hampshire’s White Mountains after a snowstorm dumped several inches of snow in the area, authorities said.
Kent Wood, 61, of West Roxbury, was discovered Tuesday evening on a remote section of the Kinsman Pond Trail in Franconia Notch, about 5.5 miles from his vehicle, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.
Wood had driven to Franconia Notch on April 17 for a weekend camping and hiking trip, and set out on a hike the next morning in warm, clear weather, officials said. Family and friends last heard from him Saturday afternoon.
When he failed to return or make contact for two days, officials said relatives reported him missing Tuesday morning, prompting a large-scale search.
HIKER IDENTIFIED, POPULAR TRAIL CLOSED AFTER DEADLY FALL A UTAH’S ZION NATIONAL PARK
An aerial view of Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire, where a hiker was found dead on Tuesday. (Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group, File)
Rescuers quickly learned Wood had packed for mild conditions, not the three to five inches of snow that fell in the area between Sunday and Monday.
Fog hovers over a narrow road through Franconia Notch in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire on Dec. 27, 2021. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis)
Search teams from Fish and Game, PEMI Valley Search and Rescue, and the Army National Guard launched a coordinated effort, focusing on the Lonesome Lake and Kinsman Pond areas.
FAMILY’S SPRING BREAK HIKE TURNS INTO LIFE-OR-DEATH RESCUE AFTER PARENT FALLS 70 FEET OFF UTAH CLIFF
Conservation officers located Wood’s body around 7:41 p.m. Tuesday. Crews carried him out overnight, reaching the trailhead shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday.
Franconia Notch and the Appalachian Trail are seen in New Hampshire on Sept. 21. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
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Since Friday, six hikers from Massachusetts have been rescued in the White Mountains, Fish and Game said.
Officials are reminding hikers that winter conditions still grip the mountains, with snow, freezing temperatures and rapidly changing weather.
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