Soon after this year's Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) began in October, a majority of seniors said they're reevaluating their plans, according to a survey.
Extend Health polled 372 seniors between Oct. 22 and Oct. 25. That was about a week after Medicare enrollment began on Oct. 15, which is a full month earlier than the previous start date, and ends on Dec. 7 instead of Dec. 31.
Fifty-eight percent of seniors who have purchased private Medicare supplemental plans in previous years using a health insurance exchange intend to reevaluate their plans during the AEP. The top three reasons for reevaluating plans include "I want to confirm that I have the best coverage for me" (45 percent); "My premiums increased" (19 percent); and "My out-of-pocket expenses increased" (9 percent). 
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Thirty-five percent indicated they do not plan to reevaluate their existing plans while 5 percent said they intend to purchase new plans.
"These results show that by proactively reevaluating their existing private Medicare plans – even when they just want to make sure they've made the right choice – respondents are being responsible consumers of health plan products," said Bryce Williams, CEO of Extend Health. "That pays dividends by promoting competition among carriers, which helps keep prices down."
Questions and detailed results from the October 2011 survey are as follows:
During the AEP, did you already or do you plan to:
| Reevaluate one or more of your existing plans? | 58.3% | |||||
| Renew your existing plans without reevaluating | 34.9% | |||||
| Purchase new plans | 5.4% | |||||
| Discontinue one or more of your plans without reevaluating | 1.4% | |||||
If you plan to reevaluate one or more of your existing plans, what is the most important reason prompting you to do so?
| I want to confirm that I have the best coverage for me | 44.8% | |||||
| My premiums increased | 19.0% | |||||
| My out-of-pocket expenses increased | 8.6% | |||||
| My current plan changed or is no longer offered | 4.8% | |||||
| My prescription drugs changed | 1.9% | |||||
| My health status changed | 0.0% | |||||
| I do not plan to reevaluate my existing plans | 21.0% | |||||
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