Next year’s Medicare Advantage market will be two things at once: remarkably stable broadly, but rife with changes under the surface.
Health insurance companies will still offer older adults a lot of plan choices with low, or completely free, premiums. That’s why the federal government expects enrollment in the $500 billion Medicare Advantage program to grow once again in 2025 — a stark contrast from insurers’ cries that modest payment reforms would damage them and seniors’ options.
However, insurers have made important but subtle tweaks to next year’s plans that will force millions of members to shell out more for their prescription drugs and overall medical care than they do currently. Medicare Advantage plans have faced dwindling profits this year as more of their members sought out care. Now, they are paring back certain benefits or shifting costs to unsuspecting beneficiaries to capture back those profits.
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