Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans has more than doubled since 2011.At the end of last year, the plan 28 million participants45% of all Medicare beneficiaries.
According to one study, most of these enrollees were satisfied with their plan and preferred it over other forms of health insurance such as Medigap Report Online health insurance brokers released Monday eHealth. Enrollees cited the affordability and comprehensiveness of Medicare Advantage as the main reasons for their satisfaction.
In its report, eHealth surveyed 2,848 Medicare Advantage participants in late May. 88% of enrollees are satisfied with their plan, and 86% say they would recommend Medicare Advantage to family or friends.
Nearly half of Medicare Advantage enrollees said they chose the plan because they wanted all of their Medicare benefits in one plan, an option they wouldn’t have had if they were enrolled in a supplemental plan like Medigap.
The majority of respondents who previously enrolled in Medigap preferred Medicare Advantage. In this group, 59% of beneficiaries said they were more satisfied with their Medicare Advantage plan, and another 23% said they were equally satisfied.
These high levels of satisfaction are good news, as most Medicare Advantage enrollees report that they will struggle to afford alternative plans. Two-thirds of respondents who chose Medicare Advantage over Medigap did so because Medigap is too expensive. If they had to look elsewhere for similar coverage, three-quarters of Medicare Advantage enrollees said they couldn’t afford a monthly premium of more than $50.
Only 6% of participants were dissatisfied with their plans. Among these respondents, complaints focused primarily on physician networks, out-of-pocket costs, and prescription drug coverage.
Overall, 13% of respondents said their claims or prior authorization requests were denied. Of this group, 43% said they were told related services were excluded from their plan — many of which were for services like dental and vision care, which Medicare typically doesn’t cover. Another 15% said refusal was because their service or prescription was deemed medically unnecessary.
eHealth’s report comes three weeks after the American Hospital Association sent a letter To the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “to take prompt action to hold the Medicare Advantage program accountable for improperly and unlawfully restricting beneficiaries’ access to necessary medical care.” The AHA’s letter is to a Report The Office of the Inspector General from HHS found that an estimated 13 percent of Medicare Advantage prior authorizations are denied and 18 percent of payment denials should be approved.
Having a Medicare Advantage plan is important because enrolling in such a plan is will surpass Enroll in traditional health insurance by 2025.
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