The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reports the following:  Some Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in plans offered by Universal American (UA), received erroneous 2010 Annual Notice of Change /Evidence of Coverage (ANOC/EOC) notices. As a result, CMS has approved a Special Election Period (SEP) through March 31, 2010 for approximately 225,000 beneficiaries in 44 states.  The plans involved may be marketed as:

• Today's Options Preferred Provider Organization (a.k.a. Pyramid)

• Private Fee For Service (a.k.a. American Progressive)

• Generation's Healthcare Health Maintenance Organization (a.k.a. Select care or Global health)

The affected beneficiaries have begun receiving notices, which include errata sheets. The majority of corrections (approximately 167,000 in total) do not directly relate to benefits.  Because the actual mailing will vary depending on the plan and region, CMS has provided a typical cover letter that a beneficiary will receive.

Affected beneficiaries can contact 1-800-MEDICARE if they would like to leave their UA plan and enroll in Original Medicare or a different plan.