Many Seniors Will Forgo Needed Medical Services if Medicare Advantage is Taken Away

Thirty-five percent of seniors – including 62 percent of low-income seniors – enrolled in Medicare Advantage say they would skip some of the health care treatments they currently receive if the option of choosing a Medicare health plan is taken away, while three-fourths of physicians believe that seniors will be harmed if Congress cuts the Medicare Advantage program.

These are among the key findings of two new surveys released today by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). The survey of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries and a companion survey of physicians who treat Medicare beneficiaries illustrate the critical role Medicare health plans play in the health security of more than 8 million seniors.

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"Seniors and their physicians agree that Medicare Advantage is a vital health coverage option," said Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of AHIP. "As members of Congress engage in budget discussions, they will be hearing from their low-income and minority constituents who count on the essential benefits and lower out-of-pocket costs Medicare health plans provide."

The survey of seniors who are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan was conducted by Ayres, McHenry & Associates, Inc. and The Glover Park Group. The poll found very high and growing satisfaction among Medicare health plan enrollees. Ninety percent of beneficiaries expressed satisfaction with their Medicare Advantage coverage, an increase over the 84 percent who were satisfied in a similar 2003 survey. The survey also found high and growing satisfaction for individual aspects of Medicare Advantage coverage, including quality of care, benefits, preventive care, out-of-pocket costs, and prescription drug coverage.

"This record high satisfaction suggests that this fast-growing group of seniors will be increasingly engaged as Congress debates health and budget issues," said Joel Johnson, a partner at The Glover Park Group.

A survey of physicians who treat Medicare beneficiaries was conducted by Ayres, McHenry & Associates, Inc. The poll examined doctors’ attitudes toward Medicare Advantage and the likely effect that cuts to the program would have on seniors. According to the survey, 74 percent of doctors say cuts to the program would have a negative effect on seniors with only 16 percent saying it would have no real effect. In addition, the vast majority of doctors say Congress should cut other programs or raise taxes, rather than cut Medicare Advantage.

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"Physicians who care for seniors clearly believe that cutting Medicare Advantage will harm their patients," said Dr. Q. Whitfield Ayres, President of Ayres, McHenry & Associates, Inc.

Key findings of the two surveys include:

• Forty-two percent of seniors say they would pay higher out-of-pocket costs if the option of choosing a Medicare Advantage plan was taken away
• Three-fifths of seniors cited either better benefits or lower costs as their reason for joining a Medicare Advantage plan
• Ninety percent of beneficiaries are satisfied with their Medicare Advantage coverage overall, up from 84 percent who expressed satisfaction in AHIP’s 2003 survey
• Enrolled seniors are increasingly satisfied with individual aspects of Medicare Advantage coverage compared to the 2003 survey, including quality of care received (93 to 89 percent), benefits received (89 to 79 percent), preventive care (87 to 78 percent), out-of-pocket costs (80 to 74 percent), and prescription drug coverage (76 to 57 percent), the largest improvement seen
• Three-quarters of physicians believe that making cuts to the Medicare Advantage program would have a negative effect on the seniors enrolled in the program
• By a two-to-one margin, doctors say Medicare Part D has helped seniors get the prescription drugs they need

The new polls follow a recent AHIP analysis of data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, which found that low-income and minority seniors benefit the most from the added benefits available in Medicare Advantage plans. Forty-nine percent of all beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage in 2004 had incomes of less than $20,000. Moreover, 68 percent of minority Medicare Advantage enrollees had incomes below $20,000. The data also show that Medicare Advantage beneficiaries reported greater use of preventive care services than those with Medicare fee-for-service alone.

The complete surveys and summaries of findings are available at http://www.ahip.org/.