According to KFF, the number of Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees is on the rise, partly due to “marketing efforts” by insurance companies and brokers. report Published on Wednesday. Enrollment in MA plans has doubled since 2010.
CMS has recently worked Reduce misleading MA marketing. To understand how MA is promoted on television and what the impact is for patients, KFF analyzed advertising data from the Wesleyan Media Project. The analysis includes all English TV ads aired in national and local markets from October 1, 2022 to December 7, 2022. Below are seven findings.
1. During this period, Medicare ads aired nearly 650,000 times in total, or more than 9,500 times per day. Most of his television ads were sponsored by health insurance companies, and one in five were sponsored by brokers or other third-party groups.
2. Medicare Advantage TV ads accounted for 85% of all airtime during the 2023 open enrollment period. The remaining ads were for other types of plans, such as Medigap and standalone Part D plans, or for general open enrollment periods in general.
3. Approximately 27% of MA broadcasts included images of government-issued Medicare cards or similar images. Additionally, 16% of MA broadcasts included a phone number called the “Medicare” hotline, but it was not the government-sponsored 1-800-Medicare line. The latter was primarily done by brokers and third parties.
“both CMS And that Senate Finance Committee KFF expresses concern that the use of the Medicare name, logo, or card in private marketing materials may confuse beneficiaries and lead them to believe they are contacting official government resources. “There are,” KFF said. “New regulations from CMS We aim to address this issue by banning the use of Medicare cards except for educational purposes. ”
4. Some advertisements say, “Medicare enrollees… miss out on the benefits that would otherwise be available If you are not enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan,” KFF said. This was more common among brokers and other third parties compared to health insurance companies.
“If you receive Medicare from traditional Medicare, language such as 'missing' or 'eligible' may mean that some viewers may have incomplete coverage or have not completed the required enrollment steps,” the researchers wrote. It could give the impression that they are missing out.”
5. Approximately 92% of MA ad airings mentioned additional benefits such as dental, vision, and hearing. Additionally, 85% mentioned the possibility of lower out-of-pocket costs. Only 4% mentioned quality assessment.
6. More than one in four MA Plan ad runs featured seniors getting active through activities like hiking and yoga. Only 4% of older adults had visible disabilities and 1% had serious illnesses.
7. More than half of MA ads sponsored by brokers and other third parties used celebrity endorsements such as Joe Namath and Lionel Richie. Only 3% of insurance company-sponsored broadcasts featured celebrities.
“There is no question that Medicare has become more complex. Every year, as more people enroll in Medicare Advantage plans, marketing becomes more confusing and people are trying to make difficult decisions about coverage. may cause disruption,” said Drew Altman, president and CEO of KFF. news release. “We heard directly from seniors in our focus groups that this advertising is often perceived as misleading and leaves them feeling overwhelmed. That's not a good basis for that.”
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