Millions of seniors are set to face significant disruptions to their Medicare Advantage plans in 2025, groups are warning, citing a recent data release on the numbers of plans available.
The Medicare open enrollment period runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 annually.
Data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Medicare Advantage plan offerings for 2025 "confirm that many seniors are now experiencing a reduction in coverage choices, higher costs and reduced benefits, which can vary substantially based on where a beneficiary lives," according to Mike Tuffin, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade group.
A recent analysis by Better Medicare Alliance, an advocacy group supporting Medicare Advantage, shows that "while premiums for the average Medicare Advantage enrollee will remain stable next year," there will be a reduction in plan choices, higher out-of-pocket costs, and fewer supplemental benefits for seniors.
These changes are a direct result of recent federal policy decisions affecting the Medicare Advantage program, "including insufficient funding, coding changes, and changes in the Inflation Reduction Act; as well as pressures from higher utilization rates and growing medical costs," the Alliance said.
About 1.3 million Americans are currently enrolled in Medicare Advantage general enrollment plans that will not be available to them in 2025, Tuffin wrote in a recent blog.
"The number of general enrollment MA plans in 2025 decreased by 6% relative to 2024," Tuffin reported, and "over 60% of Medicare eligible Americans live in counties with fewer general enrollment plans in 2025 relative to 2024."
Nine insurers stopped offering any Medicare Advantage general enrollment plans in 2025.
The New Hampshire Insurance Department said in a statement on Oct. 18 that several insurance carriers in the state will be exiting or reducing their participation in the Medicare Advantage market due to financial pressures.
The development "is driven by rising healthcare costs and a federal decision that effectively reduced Medicare funding by 1.28%" over the course of 2024-2025, the state's insurance department said.
Higher Costs
Seniors in many states are also seeing double-digit premium increases, according to AHIP, with 19 states experiencing an average premium increase of more than 10%.
Those states are: Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming.
