We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Medicare Advantage is a huge opportunity for agents. Nearly every senior over the age of 65 has health insurance, the majority through the federal Medicare program. And, among the Medicare population, 42 percent have coverage through a Medicare Advantage plan according to a recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).
And the number is increasing. In fact, the number of people with Medicare Advantage plans grew by 2.4 million people just in the last year—a 10 percent increase, same as the year before. And, if Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections are correct, this growth rate should continue for the next several years.
With more people aging into Medicare every day, about 10,000 per day according to the Pew Research Center, there is a LOT of competition for their business.
The KFF report says that the “average Medicare beneficiary in 2021 has access to 33 Medicare Advantage plans, the largest number of options available in the last decade.” That trend should continue for 2022.
And, with so much competition, insurers are introducing all sorts of perks to lure customers to their plans. Fierce Healthcare reports on what several large Medicare Advantage plans (many of which AHCP can help you with) have planned for 2022.
We’ll let you read the article and visit with the carriers to learn the specifics of each plan, but here are a few of the benefits offered by insurers like UnitedHealthcare, Anthem, Cigna, and Aetna:
- Affordable prescription drugs, including $0 copayments for tier 1 drugs
- In-home physician visits
- A choice among supplemental benefits, “with options ranging from food benefits to home care to transportation”
- A $500 stipend to buy dental, vision or hearing services
- A $50 monthly grocery allowance
- Up to “60 hours of in-home support including light housekeeping, errands and tech support”
- Pest control
- Healthy meal delivery
- Virtual primary care, behavioral health care and physical therapy for $0 copays
- The Silver Sneakers fitness program
- And more…
Obviously, the options available will differ by carrier and by location, so be sure to check on the specifics of the plans in your area. And be sure to discuss these perks with your clients; they are valuable benefits that could be the deciding factor between competing plans. And to help simplify the quoting and enrollment process, be sure to use our Quotit platform where you’ll find all the Medicare Advantage carriers on one place.