Excellus BCBS Medicare Broker News Vol. 7 No. 10

AEP Enrollment Updates And Reminders

Now that the Annual Enrollment Period is here, Excellus BCBS wanted to provide you with some critical updates and helpful reminders as you begin to enroll members into our plans.

• Please refrain from using the SEP for Individuals whose plan or contract is terminated or non-renewed or selecting "My plan is ending its contract with Medicare, or Medicare is ending its contract with my plan" on the application when enrolling members impacted by plan discontinuations until after December 7, 2025.
• Remember to remove the 2025 Star Ratings sheet from enrollment kits and replace with the 2026 version before November 2nd. You can download the updated sheets or order printed copies in Sales Hub. Any enrollment kits ordered after October 20th will include the updated star rating sheet.
• Summary of Benefits, applications, Star Rating PDFs, and more are now available to download from Sales Hub. If you are experiencing issues with logging into your Sales Hub account, please keep the following tips in mind:
  
  • If you previously registered for Sales Hub, you would still have an active account, even if you’ve switched agencies or have a gap in your certification. Email the broker account service team if you cannot remember your username or password.
  • If you’ve made multiple login attempts, you may receive an error. Try deleting your recent search history or cookies before trying again, especially if you have reset your password.
  • When in doubt, refer to the Quick Start User Guide or reach out to your Broker Account Service Consultant.
• Many resources and tools are available to you and members 24/7 at ExcellusBCBS.com. Visit our website or use the links below to access:
  
  • Find a Doctor or Find a Dentist tools
  • Formularies and Rx Lookup
  • Member Forms
  • EOC’s, ANOCs, and SOBs
• Please remember to send any personal health information (PHI) securely when emailing about clients. Any member information should be encrypted and never used in email subject lines.

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Broker Support Team Update

Earlier this Fall, Kelly McBride, Manager of Medicare Systems and Broker Operations, announced her retirement. Best wishes Kelly the in her next chapter and thank her for her many years of service and dedication to the Excellus Medicare broker program.

Excellus is also excited to announce that Ashley Curri has accepted the role of Manager of Medicare Systems and Broker Operations. Many of you know Ashley as the Interim Medicare Broker Account Executive for CNY as well as a Strategic Partnership Account Executive. Ashley has been with Excellus BlueCross BlueShield for 9 years, with many of those years directly supporting broker partners and growing the Medicare program. In her new role, Ashley will manage all Medicare broker systems and operations in addition to overseeing the Medicare Broker Account Service Consultant team.

Ashley resides in the Utica region with her high school sweetheart, Dan, 3 sons that keep her busy and involved in all things sports, and 2 Great Danes.

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New Broker Support Hours

Agents have provided valuable feedback earlier this year on hours of operation. Excellus heard you and made changes to ensure their team is available to assist you during this exceptionally busy AEP.

From now until December 7, 2025, broker support team hours will be:

• Monday - Friday: 8:30 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.
• Saturday: 9:00 A.M to 12:00 P.M.

Please reach out to Broker Account Services with any requests, questions, or concerns.

• Rochester Region: 1-844-611-5878; ExcellusBSD@excellus.com
• CNY/Utica Regions: 1-855-841-2498; ExcellusBSD2@excellus.com

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Fall Medicare Member Insider

The autumn edition of the Excellus BCBS Medicare Member Insider magazine is now available. All Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Medicare members received a copy of this in the mail. They also receive the monthly Insider email newsletter if opted into digital communications.

Agents are encouraged to read and share with your clients, as Excellus includes important plan information and tips on how to use supplemental benefits.

This edition covers some important topics such as:

• A guide to 2026 plan benefits
• A closer look at using Silver&Fit
• Finding purpose in retirement
• Healthy eating made easy

Fall Medicare Member Insider (PDF)
Medicare Member Insider Archive

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REMINDER: Special Election Period Notice

30.6.10 – SEP for Individuals whose plan or contract is terminated or non-renewed

This Special Election Period exists for members of Medicare Advantage plans affected by a termination of contract by an MA organization. For 2026, this will include members who are currently enrolled in the following plans:

• For members in Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, & Yates counties: Medicare Blue Choice® Discovery, Blue Choice® Select, Blue Choice® Extra, Blue Choice® Advanced, and Blue Choice® Value Plus.
• For members in Lewis, Oswego, Oneida, Onondaga, Madison, Cayuga, Cortland, Tioga, & Steuben counties: Medicare BlueFlex
• For members in Broome, Tompkins, Jefferson, Schuyler, Chemung, Chenango, Herkimer, & St. Lawrence counties: Medicare BlueFlex, BlueEssential, BlueActive, and BlueClassic.

Members impacted by a plan discontinuation will be able to use this SEP to select a new plan starting December 8th, 2025 until February 28th, 2026. Please note that the termination effective date for the plans listed above is January 1, 2026. Members will need to select a new plan prior to January 1st, or they will be defaulted to Original Medicare.

CMS Disenrollment Guidance (PDF)

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REMINDER: Informational Events For Discontinued Members

To support you and your clients who are impacted by 2026 plan discontinuations, Excellus will be holding virtual webinars throughout AEP. These educational events will be hosted regularly by the team to help members understand the plan changes, the options available to them, and next steps to take. It is the hope that by sending your clients to these events to learn more, Excellus can save you time and make for more meaningful conversations with those you need to meet with.

Save the Dates:

• Rochester members: Every Tuesday @ 12pm from October 7th through November 11th
• CNY members: Every Wednesday @ 12pm from October 8th through November 12th

Please reach out to the Broker Account Services team with any questions.