With Open Enrollment starting yesterday (November 15) and going to December 31, Consumers for Health Care Choices has released a new paper alerting beneficiaries to a new option -- Medical Savings Accounts. SPN members may want to alert their own constituents about this new opportunity.

For the first time ever Medicare is making Medical Savings Accounts available to virtually all beneficiaries during the current open enrollment season. The program could be a huge boon for beneficiaries because it eliminates the need for MediGap coverage, provides a way of paying for non-Medicare covered services, limits out-of-pocket exposure, and offers the opportunity to save-up for future expenses. Beneficiaries should be sure to check it out.

This paper explains some of the advantages and lets readers know how to find information on the CMS web site.

The paper is available at CHCC's web site -- http://www.chcchoices.org/publications.html

Greg Scandlen