On September 22, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced information on premiums and costs for Medicare Advantage (MA) and stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) for calendar year 2017.
CMS stated that 2017 Medicare Advantage premiums will “remain stable [and even decrease] and more enrollees will have access to higher quality plans while, for the seventh straight year, enrollment is projected to increase to a new all-time high.” For calendar year 2017, CMS has estimated that the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium will decrease by roughly $1.19 (about a 4% decrease), from $32.59 to $31.40. Approximately two-thirds of Medicare Advantage enrollees will experience no premium increase.
CMS also reports that ninety-nine percent of Medicare beneficiaries will have access to a Medicare Advantage plan in 2017 and that more of those plans will offer additional supplemental benefits, such as dental, vision, and hearing benefits.
CMS is expecting an increase in enrollment, to 18.5 million enrollees next year, an increase of sixty percent since 2010. Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans is projected to increase to thirty-two percent of all Medicare enrollees in 2017, an increase from just twenty-four percent in 2010.
It is estimated that average premiums for the Medicare Part D prescription drug program will also remain stable, saving beneficiaries billions on prescription drugs. In July 2016, CMS announced that the average premium for a basic Medicare prescription drug plan is projected to be $34 a month in 2017. Recent projections show that access to a prescription drug plan will remain strong in 2017, with 100% access to a plan in the individual market, and improved access to employer plans. The average number of Medicare Advantage plan choices per county is relatively unchanged from 2016, and access to supplemental benefits will continue to grow.
Andy Slavitt, CMS Acting Administrator, said “Medicare Advantage and the prescription drug benefit continue to be a great option for seniors and people living with disabilities. Medicare enrollees will continue to have access to predictable premiums and high quality care.”
It is estimated that due to the Affordable Care Act, Medicare beneficiaries are seeing reduced costs through: (1) savings on covered brand-name and generic prescription drugs and (2) access to certain preventive services with no co-pay or other cost sharing. More than 11 million seniors and people with disabilities have received savings and discounts in the coverage gap, since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act.
Open Enrollment for 2017 Medicare health and drug plans starts October 15, 2016, and ends on December 7, 2016.
Information on premiums and costs of 2017 Medicare health and drug plans can be found here.
A fact sheet on Medicare Advantage and Part D can be found here.
Information on Medicare Open Enrollment, including state-by-state fact sheets, can be found here.
State-by-state information on discounts in the “donut hole” can be found here.
State-by-state information on utilization of preventive services at no cost sharing to beneficiaries in Medicare can be found here.