Humana Reports Stronger-Than-Expected Medicare Plan Sales

The annual election period for 2023 Medicare Advantage plan and Medicare Part D prescription drug plan coverage ends Tuesday — and early indications are that plan sales are booming.

Humana, which now has about 5 million Medicare Advantage plan enrollees, today prepared for a round of investor meetings by telling the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it expects to increase 2023 Medicare Advantage plan enrollment by about 500,000.

That’s at least 25% higher than the company’s previous enrollment increase forecast, for an increase of 325,000 to 400,000 members.

The Google Trends web search traffic tracking tool shows that search activity for the term “medicare advantage” has been about as high this fall as it was around the same time last year, despite new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services marketing campaign requirements.

What It Means

More of your clients are buying — and thinking about — Medicare Advantage plans.

That will give you a topic you can use to start conversations about health cost planning and all forms of risk management.

For clients who have signed up for Medicare Advantage plans, you might need to talk about care utilization management arrangements for paying for any out-of-network care, and, possibly, the need for travel insurance, for clients who opted for locally based coverage without considering the six months they spend every year in their winter homes.

Medicare Advantage

The Medicare Advantage plan program gives private carriers a chance to offer enrollees plans that look like alternatives to traditional Medicare coverage.

This year, about 29 million of the 64 million people eligible for Medicare have Medicare Advantage coverage.

2023 Coverage Details

A web broker, eHealth, analyzed customer Medicare plan transactions recorded from Oct. 15 through Nov. 8. The broker found signs that its customers are paying more attention to expected out-of-pocket spending, as well as to the premiums.

The percentage of customers who picked Medicare Advantage plans with a $0 monthly premium fell to 84%, from 88% a year ago.

For stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, average monthly premiums increased to $31, from $21.

One sign of who might have the financial capacity to use your services: About 5% of the eHealth Medicare plan customers who participated in a company survey in May said they could afford to pay $200 or more per month for alternative coverage if Medicare Advantage plans were not available.

(Image: Adobe Stock)