Only 64% of Medicare beneficiaries know when the yearly enrollment period is, survey finds

With rising inflation threatening to increase the cost of health care in the coming year, one way seniors can manage their expenses is to switch to a different Medicare plan. But though the Medicare enrollment period – which runs each year from October 15th to December 7th – is currently underway, a new survey from private health insurance marketplace eHealth suggests that many seniors haven’t reviewed their coverage options. In fact, many don’t plan to do so: some 45% of Medicare beneficiaries haven’t reviewed their coverage options in the past year, and a full third of respondents say they probably won’t.

Even some of those seniors who plan to review their options might miss out on the opportunity, as only 64% of survey respondents are able to accurately say the enrollment period was currently taking place.

The eHealth survey, which looked at 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries, suggested that these trends are particularly worrying given that more than half of all seniors have experienced changes to their health situation in the past year. For instance, many seniors have been given new medical diagnoses, started seeing new doctors, or have been prescribed new medications. These changes might warrant an alteration in their health coverage, but despite this, a full 53% of seniors still have the same insurance plan that they had three years ago, and only 9% of seniors have changed to a new plan within the last year.

Fran Soistman, eHealth’s CEO, comments on the findings in a press release, saying, “Your coverage needs can evolve each year, and this may be especially true for Medicare beneficiaries. Your provider network and benefits under your current plan may also be changing for 2023. Reviewing your options could save you money.”

Read more: Medicare open enrollment period: 10-steps for guiding your clients

Many seniors are especially vulnerable to rising health care costs because they live on fixed incomes, the eHealth report points out. Of the individuals surveyed, more than three quarters say they were worried about rising health care costs due to inflation, and more than a third say they couldn’t afford any out-of-pocket price increases in their health care plan. A further 24% could manage at most a 5% increase in costs, according to the survey data.