While the number of Medicare Advantage Plan D stand-alone prescription drug plans is expected to drop significantly next year, few are forecasting a major contraction in MA medical plans. Nonetheless, some plans are going away, and some Medicare consumers will also be making fairly substantial changes in coverage.
To find out where the sweet spots will be for brokers looking to connect with such customers, Ritter Insurance Marketing studied data from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and generated several lists of where opportunities will likely be the greatest for new sales.
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Ritter segmented these potential customers into two groups: those experiencing plan exits, and those who will undergo significant benefit changes.
"Consumers who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans that aren't going to be available in 2015 are experiencing plan exits. These impacted individuals have two options: they can do nothing and have their coverage default to Original Medicare, in which case they should look for a Medicare Supplement and a Part D plan, or they can enroll in another Medicare Advantage plan," Ritter said. "Beneficiaries who are experiencing significant benefit changes are staying in their current plans or being cross-walked to new plans; however, their monthly cost is fluctuating by $35 or more in 2015 versus 2014."
The company then sorted these by geographic location. Here's what Ritter reported:
Top 3 states for plan exits
- California — 71,858
- New York — 57,186
- North Carolina — 56,889
Top 3 counties for plan exits
- Honolulu — 29,703
- Los Angeles — 21,168
- Forsyth, North Carolina — 13,569
Top 3 states for significant benefit changes
- North Carolina — 134,999
- New York — 114,341
- Wisconsin— 101,044
Top 3 counties for significant benefit changes
- Milwaukee —25,783
- King, Washington — 24,040
- Monroe, New York — 21,907
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
