The future of Medicare tied to Medicare Advantage growth, experts say
As government program costs are expected to balloon, insurers hope to carve out more of that business.
A surging interest in Medicare Advantage among the retirement-aged population and the fast-consolidating ranks of private payers has some experts asking whether the program might be
the future of Medicare overall.
As it stands, one in three Medicare beneficiaries, about 18 million people, are already enrolled in Medicare Advantage and those numbers are only expected to climb as 10,000 baby boomers a day turn age 65.
While all Americans become eligible for Medicare at 65 years old, allowing insurance companies to take on that risk as managers of those benefits is attractive to consumers because these programs often come with lower out-of-pocket expenses and extra coverage beyond what is just covered in Part A and Part B of Medicare.
Also, federal subsidies mean some beneficiaries pay no premium.
And despite federal cuts in payment rates in April, the
Medicare Advantage program continues to grow.
"We view Medicare Advantage as an increasingly favorable and critical business for health insurers in the medium term," said Standard & Poor's analysts James Sung in a recent report.
"It remains the largest and most advanced retail market in the country.".......
The future of Medicare tied to Medicare Advantage growth, experts say | Healthcare Finance News
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