About one-quarter of elderly Americans don’t fully understand their Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement plans, according to a new survey.
The findings also revealed where Americans turn when they lack understanding of the health insurance plans they rely on. Currently, about one-third of all Medicare recipients are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan.
When it came to MA plans, 29% said they understand their plans not very well or not well at all, according to the survey, which was conducted by MedicareGuide and queried more than 1,000 adults 65 and older. When it came to Medicare Supplement plans, 23% said they do not fully understand their plans.
Part of the problem may stem from the vast differences between the private healthcare insurance market and the Medicare program.
"Many who enroll in Medicare most recently had a comprehensive health insurance plan," Jeff Smedsrud, co-founder of HealthCare.com, told Health Exec. "There is a deductible, a co-payment and then often 100% coverage thereafter. Medicare is different. There are limits based on days of service, limits on Medications, limits based on whether you have both part A (Hospital and surgical) and part B (Provider). And, many people who worked for large companies have never really shopped for health insurance. But, there are many public guides and resources available."
Doctors were the most trusted source among survey respondents (29%) for information on Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage plans, followed by a licensed agent (20%), then friends and family (16%), government information (15%) and the Internet (4%). However, the Internet was the second most used source for information. Interestingly, only 3% of respondents signed up for a Supplement or MA plan when they used doctors as their source of information.
More than half of Americans––52%––used an agent to enroll in a Supplement or Advantage plan, the survey found. Almost one-third enrolled in person with an agent, while 23% enrolled with an agent through the phone. Another 29% enrolled themselves online and 8% enrolled by mail.
Between the two types of plans, more elderly Americans said Medicare Supplement plans were easier to understand than MA plans.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."