Medicare Advantage woos seniors with plan perks, but a study found they often go unused

Seniors person embraced Medicare Advantage plans for their escaped oregon profoundly discounted perks specified arsenic eyeglasses, dental coverage, gym memberships, and reimbursements for — not joking — play clubs and pickleball paddles.

While those program perks are a pleasance to ideate using, galore radical ne'er interaction them.

“Medicare Advantage enrollees often don't cognize which supplemental benefits are offered by their plans oregon however to usage them,” Gretchen Jacobson, vice president for Medicare astatine the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit probe foundation, told Yahoo Finance.

“Most Medicare Advantage enrollees accidental that they would similar to person notifications astir unused benefits,” she added.

Eight successful 10 see these benefits to beryllium an important portion of their plans, according to a caller survey from the Commonwealth Fund. Yet, 3 retired of 10 beneficiaries reported not utilizing immoderate supplemental benefits successful the erstwhile year.

Less than fractional took vantage of dental, vision, gym memberships, oregon over-the-counter cause allowance benefits, and less than 1 successful 10 utilized benefits similar proceeding aids, market allowance, oregon repast delivery.

Roughly 34.4 cardinal radical are enrolled successful Medicare Advantage plans, which accounts for astir 54% of each eligible Medicare beneficiaries, up from 32% a decennary ago, according to KFF, a wellness probe nonprofit.

The alternate wellness security programme to accepted Medicare for those 65 and older consists of plans tally by backstage security companies, specified arsenic UnitedHealthcare and Humana, and they’ve skyrocketed successful popularity successful caller years.

A large portion of the allure is each the sparkly extras virtually each of these plans connection that are not included successful accepted Medicare, which is administered by the national government.

To connection these goodies, Medicare Advantage insurers are paid by the national authorities to supply the bulk of these rebates to the tune of astir $86 cardinal this year, according to a 2025 study from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), which advises Congress connected Medicare policy. That’s up from $21 cardinal successful 2018.

One crushed these benefits are not being enjoyed is that enrollees accidental they don’t truly request them. Another concerning factor, though, is that astir a 4th of those surveyed said either they don’t cognize each the benefits their program offers oregon they don’t cognize however to usage them, Jacobson said.

“Given the extended national funds that are provided for these benefits, it's important for some Medicare beneficiaries and the national authorities that Medicare Advantage enrollees cognize what their program has to connection and however they tin usage them,” she said. “Our survey recovered that notifications could beryllium an important measurement successful this direction.”