Humana Expands 2023 Medicare Advantage Dental Benefits in Florida

Humana is expanding 2023 dental benefits under its Medicare Advantage plans in Florida and will offer members access to a more extensive provider network and higher annual allowances.

Humana—Florida’s largest Medicare Advantage plan by membership—offers health maintenance organization (HMO) plans, preferred provider organization (PPO) plans, and special needs plans (SNPs).

“We’re thrilled to announce a significant investment in our dental benefits and network,” Caraline Coats, Humana’s South Florida Medicare President, said in the press release. “In our 30-plus years of serving Medicare members in Florida, we’ve learned a lot about what is important to our members, and dental care is a top priority and, of course, important to one’s overall health.”

Starting in 2023, Florida residents enrolled in a Humana HMO or PPO Medicare Advantage plan can access the Florida GoldPlus Dental Network. This network includes 8,100 dentists across Florida and a nationwide network, allowing members to seek in-network care in and outside the state.

The payer is also expanding coverage for dental procedures and increasing flexibility on how to pay for services, according to Coats.

For example, most 2023 plans will include benefits covering major services, such as periodontal scaling. In addition, annual allowances have increased to $6,000 for select plans.

The payer has also improved flexibility when it comes to allowances. Members can now choose how they use their allowance on the Humana Spending Account card, with the option of using it to cover out-of-pocket dental, vision, or hearing expenses.

Human has expanded benefits for beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid as well. The Healthy Options Allowance provides dual eligibles with a monthly allowance of $150, $175, or $275 to spend on groceries, utilities, rent, personal care, or pet care, depending on their healthcare needs.

The higher dental allowance of up to $6,000 is also included on all Humana Medicare Advantage dual eligible special needs plans.

Beneficiaries in Florida can access these new benefits in 2023 by enrolling in a Humana Medicare Advantage plan during the Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plan annual enrollment period, running from October 15 to December 7, 2022.

Humana has also introduced new Medicare benefits for beneficiaries outside of Florida. The payer is extending its Medicare local preferred provider organization (LPPO) plan into 260 new counties and will introduce its dual eligible special needs plans into 184 new counties.

Additionally, the payer said it will increase the number of HMO and LPPO plans with zero-dollar premiums.

Humana plans have a history of high member satisfaction. For the second year in a row, Humana ranked number one for customer experience quality in Forrester’s 2022 US Customer Experience Benchmark survey. The payer received the highest ranking for customer service, offering transparent prices, and providing clear communication.