A survey that included the participation of 372 seniors who have previously bought private supplemental Medicare plans showed that 58 percent are now using the 2011Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) to rethink their insurance needs.
When the seniors were asked why they were reevaluating their plans, the top three reasons were:
• 45 percent wanted to make certain that they were receiving the best coverage for their needs
• 19 percent had experienced an increase in premiums
• 9 percent had experienced an increase in out-of-pocket expenses.
Another 35 percent said that they didn’t have any intention to reevaluate the plans of which they were already taking part, and another 5 percent said that they knew that they would be purchasing new health insurance plans.
The research was conducted from October 22 through October 25, 2011. It was performed by Extended Health, Inc., the operator of the largest Medicare exchange in the country. The AEP this year started on October 15 and will run through December 7.
According to the Extended Health CEO, Bryce Williams, the survey’s findings indicated that by going over the private Medicare plans to which they are already taking part, “even when they just want to make sure they’ve made the right choice, respondents are being responsible consumers of health plan products.”
Williams explained that this behavior has significant benefits to the individual, as well as the industry which then faces greater competition and must then maintain lower prices. He claims that when seniors are capable of comparing the plans easily so that they can choose the right options for them, they may also be playing a role in creating respondent empowerment.
For information on other supplemental health insurance plans like cancer insurance.