8 in 10 Rate Understanding of Medicare Advantage Good or Very Good: Survey

Data Journalist

Updated on May 8th, 2022

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One in four choose Medicare Advantage plans because they offer dental, vision and/or hearing coverage.

Eight in 10 make use of Medicare Advantage benefits not available on Original Medicare. The most popular is vision coverage.

Eight in 10 rate their understanding of Medicare Advantage medical coverage good or very good.

Four in 10 think they don’t have to stay in-network.

Scroll down for survey details.

MedicareGuide Medicare Advantage Survey 2022

Key Findings

Eight in 10 Medicare Advantage enrollees rate their understanding of their plans’ medical coverage good or very good. 

One in four choose Medicare Advantage plans because they offer dental, vision and/or hearing coverage.

Eight in 10 make use of Medicare Advantage benefits not available on Original Medicare.

84% of Medicare Advantage health insurance enrollees rate their understanding of their plans’ medical coverage good or very good. 

Older Americans are also confident that they understand the costs of their Medicare Advantage plans outside the monthly premium.

79% of respondents their understanding as good or very good. 

Meanwhile, 39% think they don’t have to stay in-network when seeking medical treatment.

With the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period underway, MedicareGuide surveyed over 1,000 65+ Americans who said they are currently enrolled in Medicare Advantage or were in the past. 

Some 44% of all 64 million older Americans eligible for Medicare are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans.

Persuaded by Dental, Hearing and Vision Benefits

One of the key differences between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage is the latter’s inclusion of dental, hearing, and vision benefits. 

MedicareGuide’s survey found that these benefits are in fact a big draw for enrollees. 

Asked to pick the primary consideration in choosing their Medicare Advantage plan from six options, the greatest number (41%) said simply they believe Medicare Advantage is better than Original Medicare (Parts A and B).

But the second greatest number (24%) answered they chose Medicare Advantage because it offers dental, vision and/or hearing coverage. 

Older Americans who have experience with Medicare Advantage also utilize benefits unavailable to Original Medicare enrollees in high numbers. 

The greatest number said they utilize vision benefits (57%), followed by dental (48%), and over-the-counter drug coverage (46%).

These benefits form a large part of Medicare Advantage advertising. 

Asked if they find Medicare Advantage coverage and benefits as advertised, the largest number (81%) answered yes, in an overwhelmingly positive assessment.

Returning to Original Medicare

Despite the good feelings toward Medicare Advantage among respondents, some are leaving for other plans. 

Asked to choose among reasons for leaving Medicare Advantage, respondents cited coverage issues such as that the plan didn’t authorize a procedure (11%), they were billed for out-of-network charges (11%), they skipped a procedure due to cost (10%), or their claim was refused (8%).

Medicare Advantage enrollees face several choices if they decide to leave their plans.

In our survey, the greatest number (22%) opted to return to Original Medicare plus part D drug coverage.

That was followed by Original Medicare plus Medicare Supplement (17%), Original Medicare alone (9%), and Medicaid (4%).

Older Americans opting into Medicare Advantage say they trust agents the most for details about their plans.

36% pointed to licensed insurance agents as the most trustworthy for information about Medicare Advantage.

22% said they most trust government publications such as those published by agencies like the Department of Health & Human Services.

20% look to their doctors for trusted information, and only 7% each to the internet or friends and family. 

At 2% each, hotlines, TV ads and postal mail fared even worse on trust.

Email marketing (0.52%), telemarketing (0.35%) and billboards (0%) rounded out the bottom.

Methodology

MedicareGuide conducted this survey from January 21, 2022, utilizing a SurveyMonkey Audience to poll a national sample of 1,148 U.S. adults aged 65+ who said they are or have been enrolled in Medicare Advantage. The modeled error estimate for this survey is plus or minus 3 percentage points. The sample was balanced for age, gender, and U.S. region according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. MedicareGuide developed this survey with Medicare Advantage experts at 65incorporated.com.



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