Good News: Medicare Advantage Prices Stabilize

The premiums for 2014 Medicare Advantage (MA) plans released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS),  has remained stable  according to HealthPocket.  The study also found that consistent with 2013 trends, one third of plans offer a zero premium, a popular option for many cost-conscious and low-income seniors.

More people than ever are selecting Medicare Advantage plans to provide them health coverage. This year, over 14.4 million Medicare beneficiaries are taking part in Medicare Advantage plans, a million more than was the case in 2012. Key to the growth of the program has been its ability to provide a reasonably stable offering, allowing retirees to reliably predict their health coverage expenses.

In 2013, more than half of all MA enrollees selected a zero premium plan. In 2014, 11,725 zero premium plans will be available in counties nationally—51 percent are HMOs, 41 percent PPOs, seven percent private fee-for-service plans and one percent Medicare cost plans.

“The good news for consumers is that most will continue to have zero premium options available to them in 2014,” said Steve Zaleznick, executive director for Consumer Strategy and Development at HealthPocket.com. “The more complicated reality is that consumers need to research their plan options based on their specific circumstances, such as drugs they take, doctors they see and health challenges they face. That way they can find a plan that will cover their health care needs over the course of the year and not just appeal to their pocket right now.”

The Medicare annual enrollment period will run from October 15 through December 7. During this time, enrollees can compare the features of Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans, including premiums as well as other costs and benefits using sources including HealthPocket’s free Medicare comparison tool. Consumers can already check 2014 premiums for their Medicare Advantage plan options by using the HealthPocket website or Medicare .gov.

About HealthPocket
HealthPocket.com is a free website that compares and ranks all health plans available to an individual, family, or small business, so everyone can make their best health plan decision and save on their out of pocket costs. The Company uses only objective data from government, non-profit, and private sources that carry no conditions that might restrict the site from serving as an unbiased resource. The founders of HealthPocket.com spent decades pioneering online access to health insurance information and knew they could offer something different that can positively change how people buy and use healthcare in the U.S. Learn more at www.HealthPocket.com .

 

 

Category: Blog