Suzanne: And welcome back everyone to Answers for Elders Radio Network. And we are here with the spokesperson for the Coalition for Medicare Advantage… no Medicare Choices. Sorry about that. Why do I do that, I don’t know, Kristine, but I’m so glad that you’re with us because there’s a lot of questions and we just talked a little bit briefly in our last segment about what is Medicare Advantage. How does it work? How has it been? You’ve talked about something that was really powerful, how it was received by seniors. Could you kind of elaborate on that before we start?
Kristine Grow: Yes. And I think that has a lot to do with what you had started to talk about at the end of our last session, which is, today’s seniors have a different expectation for their health care and their health care coverage. They don’t want just coverage when they are sick. They also want coverage when they are well, to help them stay well. They want to get better faster, and they wanna stay healthier longer. So programs like access to healthy foods, things like fitness programs, things like access to community centers, these are things that help them stay more fit physically and that get them out in the community and build new relationships. So they have a better sense of mental wellness and mental well-being as well. These are really strong commitments by these Medicare Advantage plans and the health insurance providers that offer them. And we think those are really big pieces of why our senior voters are so very satisfied with these plans, and they continue to tell Washington every single year that these plans need to be protected.
Suzanne: Well, and, and it’s so valuable because not everybody can afford fresh fruit and vegetables every month, not everybody can afford to go to a health club or even go to community centers or be involved in different activities. I know there’s just so many opportunities for wellness per se and, and we are so focused on that preventative piece here at AFE, because we talk a lot about how do you keep yourself well in the process. So, obviously Medicare Advantage is for seniors, but it’s also for those with disabilities. Is that correct?
Kristine Grow: That’s right. And one of the key disabilities that spring to mind when we talk about Medicare Advantage is end stage renal disease or kidney failure. This is an increasing disease that affects a lot of Americans. End stage renal disease is one of the disabilities in particular that these plans make a very specific outreach to, to make sure that they have access to the care that they need.
Suzanne: And as they are qualified for those, there’s also availability to those that are on fixed incomes or a poverty level. Is that correct?
Kristine Grow: That’s right. And in fact, when we look at the demographics of the enrollees who choose Medicare Advantage — and I think that’s very important, you know, seniors are choosing Medicare Advantage, they’re not required to enroll in it, but they’re looking at these plans and making a decision — and what we find when we look at the enrollees and Medicare Advantage is that 40% of them have an income of $25,000 a year or less. So these are low income households, they have a very fixed income, and they need their household dollars, especially their health care dollars, to stretch as far as they can. So the additional predictability, the financial security that these plans offer, these plans are offered at very affordable price point. Price points keep going down year after year. This year for the 2023 benefit year, the average monthly premium was just $18 a month. And there are a lot of seniors who are able to get those plans for $0 premiums a month, depending on what they qualify for and what plans are offered in their area. So it’s, it’s an important part of their financial stability.
Suzanne: Reaching communities that are marginalized, I’m sure that there’s challenges with health care. How does Medicare Advantage help that population?
Kristine Grow: Well, as you know, a lot of the illnesses and the chronic conditions that we have been talking about have a disproportionate impact on Americans in communities of color. And so in particular, when we look at the demographics from 2020, about 55% of those who are Hispanic or Latino and qualify for Medicare chose Medicare Advantage plans. Black Americans, about 54% of those eligible for Medicare are choosing Medicare Advantage because they do such a good job of coordinating care and caring for these chronic conditions. It’s actually how Congress set up Medicare Advantage and the Medicare Advantage program. This is a value based program, a managed care program. So it was designed specifically, how do we improve care? How do we improve health, and how do we lower costs for seniors and taxpayers alike? And the program has been very successful in doing that, and we find that those costs continue to go down, especially when you compare it on an apples to apples basis to original Medicare. So it’s a really good value for Americans.
Suzanne: And what you’re saying is so valuable because, we sit there and I don’t think anybody thinks about when they turn 65 they have to deal with all this, and then all of a sudden it comes on to them there’s no real preparation except for a bunch of mailings that sometimes you don’t even know where it comes from, because it’s kind of masked and, you know, every time mailings go out to people. You said that Medicare programs are accountable to the government. How do people choose Medicare Advantage? Is that something that, if they go on to your site, they could learn a little bit about, what the program actually is and what kind of questions they should be asking?
Kristine Grow: Sure. So there are a few different resources that are available. A really great website is offered by the federal government itself. It’s Medicare.gov. And it has a lot of very basic, easy to understand information about what is Medicare: What are the different parts? How do I qualify? What would I need to pay for these different parts? And so just really good grounding in what the program offers. It also has a great tool called the Plan Finder tool, which helps you to find a plan that is specific to what you’re looking for. And it helps you compare plans as well to see what’s covered, what’s not, and make sure that you’re comfortable with the choice that you’re making. At the Coalition for Medicare Choices, we very strongly believe that people should have truth in marketing and know exactly what they’re buying. We want them to have a choice that makes sense for them and they’re happy with, nobody wants anybody to choose a plan that they’re not satisfied with.
Suzanne: When I turned 65 and when my husband turned 65 the year after, it was crazy, some of the mailings that we got from companies, and then way down in fine print, it would say on behalf of X-Y-Z company. And I, I was just going like, are we really gonna go through stuff like this? It’s confusing enough, but to be bombarded, and that’s something obviously you guys probably deal with a lot, with kind of deceptive…
Kristine Grow: Yeah, and it’s something that’s been a big topic of conversation, especially in Washington over the past year. The good news is, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is the agency CMS, the one that’s charged with oversight and administration of the Medicare Advantage program, they reviewed all of the marketing materials that go through and they have actually bolstered their marketing requirements and their regulatory requirements for how these Medicare Advantage plans should be marketing to seniors.
Suzanne: And Kristine, you and I are gonna be right back right after this.
