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Open enrollment begins Tuesday for older and disabled adults who want to shop for the Medicare Advantage managed-care plans and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. They are available for everyone covered by Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people 65 or older, plus some younger disabled Americans. ...While many Medicare Advantage plans offer extra benefits for dental, vision and hearing, plans this year can expand their supplemental benefits. That includes home and bath safety devices, emergency response devices, telehealth and short-term meals — even pest control services for chronic illnesses. (Lin-Fisher, 10/13)

Health officials are urging Missouri’s 1.2 million Medicare enrollees to research new plans to save money during this year’s open enrollment. Enrollment in the state-funded health insurance program for older adults begins Tuesday and lasts until early December. Patients can save money by researching and changing plans, federal officials said. (Fentem, 10/11)

CMS unveiled star ratings for both Medicare Part D prescription plans and Medicare Advantage plans that show even more of the plans achieving higher star ratings. The number of Medicare Part D prescription drug plan members who will be in plans with four stars or more in 2020 rose to 27.6%, up from just 3.5% last year, according to data released by the CMS on Friday. The percentage of four-star or greater Medicare Advantage Part C plans with prescription drug coverage grew to a whopping 81.1% of members in 2020, up from 75.3% in 2019. (Cohen, 10/11)