After selling health plan, exec rolls out new Medicare venture

Central Penn Business Journal (PA)

It is a brokerage firm called MediPlanConnect. Based in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, the firm is focused on selling Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans from a range of insurers, including Capital BlueCross, Highmark and UPMC Health Plan.

"It is a brokerage but its going to be a little different in several ways," said Fiaschetti, who is president and CEO of the firm. Open since Sept. 1, it has four employees and serves customers in Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties.

The firm hopes, for example, to make it easier to compare plans based not just on price but also on coverage options, Fiaschetti said. "Thats not so easy to compare and I dont think anybodys doing that well."

People also can be confused by the difference between Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans, Fiaschetti said. Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private companies that contract with Medicare to serve beneficiaries. Medicare Supplement plans, often known as Medigap plans, help pay costs not covered by traditional Medicare.

In helping clients understand the differences, MediPlanConnects four employees draw on decades of experience working for health plans. Fiaschetti worked previously for Highmark and then co-founded and sold a Medicare Advantage plan called Vibra Health Plan.

"If we can develop a better information base than whats out there today, we think we can capture a lot of the market," he said.

MediPlanConnect also will work with members to help them resolve issues with claims and other elements of insurance reimbursement, Fiaschetti said.

"This is all were going to do and were going to do it in a big way," said Fiaschetti, adding that he would like the company to be working across Pennsylvania by the end of 201.

The company has marketed itself so far through mailings to people turning 65 and becoming eligible for Medicare, and by creating a Facebook page, Fiaschetti said. But it plans to ramp up marketing through the fall. The annual enrollment period for Medicare runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 for insurance coverage starting Jan. 1.

MediPlanConnect also will seek customers from among those who can enroll in Medicare midyear, Fiaschetti said. That group includes people retiring in their late 60s or 70s and needing to transition from employer-based coverage to the government program.

"Were seeing more and more 66- and 67-year-olds just buying it for the first time," Fiaschetti said.View the full article from the Central Penn Business Journal at http://www.cpbj.com/article/201717/CPBJ01/171974/after-selling-health-plan-exec-rolls-out-new-medicare-venture. Copyright 2017 BridgeTower Media. All Rights Reserved.

CREDIT: Joel Berg